Suggestions trip to Constanza & San Cristobal

KateP

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May 28, 2004
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Hubby and I are looking to get out of Punta Cana for a long week. Since I haven't been to Constanza in over 12 years I think it would be a nice change. We have a Kia Soul. Up to now what we're considering is:

Day 1
Drive to La Vega then up to Jarabacoa.
Visit Salto de Jimenoa 1 and/or Salto de Baiguate
Continue on road 26 to Constanza and stay at Altocerro

Day 2
Bike around, visit area, R&R
Any restaurant recommendations? I remember Altocerro has an excellent restaurant but we'd probably eat out at least one of the nights.

Day 3
Piramides de Valle Nuevo. How good is the road to the pyramids?
From there we want to head SE to Villa Clara in Los Cacaos (San Cristobal). How good is road 41 from the pyramids on? Would it be feasible to go all the way to Bani or should we track back to Constanza and go down road 12 to autopista Duarte (would stop at Mountain View Cafe on the way)? Not looking for any extreme driving or scrapping my car, just scenic roads and a relaxed drive.
Villa Clara is located NW of San Cristobal up in the hills. Checked out the fb page and looks very nice and quaint, right next to the river. Anyone ever been? Hoping fishing will be good :)

Day 4
Back to Punta Cana

Any suggestions on what not to miss or what to avoid will be appreciated!
 

Chirimoya

Well-known member
Dec 9, 2002
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We were there in December so I can answer two of your questions:

There are at least two good restaurants in Constanza, as well as the one in Alto Cerro: Aguas Blancas and MonCarlo.

The road to the pyramids is unpaved and quite a long, rough ride.
 

PJT

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Jan 8, 2002
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Hot Zone ?

There are not many good restaurants in Constanza. One that is fairly decent is Lorenzos on the main street, Av Luperon. The locals frequent it. It has a good variety on its menu and the prices are reasonable. Food can be prepared for take out. It is not modern by any sort, but clean. Chairs and tables, sort of worn fifties art deco. Staff is attentive and will adjust the menu if needed. Also, there is a new pizza joint near the banks. Have not eaten there but seems appealing.

PJT and wife have frequented this restaurant, Lorenzos, many times.

Traveling to the pyramids from Constanza you may encounter some difficulty with the road, especially with a non 4x4 vehicle. The unpaved road is narrow and sections may be muddy and rutted making transit difficult. Also, this is the national park area in dispute and you may caution yourself about traveling in this political hot zone.

Rt. 41 from the pyramids to San Jose de Ocoa is a big ????? It has been many years since PJT has traveled it and when done required 4x4 with high clearance as some points were extremely rutted and required filling with stone, gravel, or logs to permit transit. Not relaxing. There may have been recent improvements but PJT has doubts.

The better and safer option is to backtrack to Constanza and travel back towards the big town and take the new circunvaluacion from Autopista Duarte to 6 de noviembre to travel onward to San Cristobal.


Anyways, enjoy your trip away from the tourist zone.


Regards,

PJT
 

AlterEgo

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Jan 9, 2009
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Kate, if you find the time to see areas of San Cristobal, come by for coffee. We can show you Playa  Palenque and Playa Najayo (was Trujillo's private beach, his home still overlooks it). 

Send me a message for phone # 
 

ju10prd

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The better and safer option is to backtrack to Constanza and travel back towards the big town and take the new circunvaluacion from Autopista Duarte to 6 de noviembre to travel onward to San Cristobal.

Two more scenic options are:

- take the turn on Auopista Duarte at Piedra Blanca to Rancho Arriba which is a new road with some interesting stops for sightseeing plus the farms and coffee farms of that town and on to San Jose de Ocoa with some wonderful scenery en route even if about 10knm is still unpaved but ok for a 2 wheel vehicle...and ostriches to see as you approach San Jose which is a quaint town. You join the south coats road back through Bani to San Cristobel.

or

- continue on Duarte until a few kms past the last exit to Villa Altagracia and take the signposted road to San Cristobel which soon follows at a higher level Rio Haina and is a very scenic drive indeed until you hit San Cristobel. You will also pass the entrance to Truillos sites at a small river crossing where you can buy a quick snack from hawkers.

Spoilt for choice heh........love the beauty of this country
 

KateP

Silver
May 28, 2004
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Thanks for the suggestions! AE, I'll take you up when we finally make it down!
 

JD Jones

Moderator:North Coast,Santo Domingo,SW Coast,Covid
Jan 7, 2016
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Kate, if you find the time to see areas of San Cristobal, come by for coffee. We can show you Playa  Palenque and Playa Najayo (was Trujillo's private beach, his home still overlooks it). 

Send me a message for phone # 

Not only was it one of Trujillos houses in the area with a private beach, but also where Ramfis (his son) took some of the assassins of his father to be used for target practice while tossing down a couple of cold ones before finally finishing them off.
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
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Jan 9, 2009
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Not only was it one of Trujillos houses in the area with a private beach, but also where Ramfis (his son) took some of the assassins of his father to be used for target practice while tossing down a couple of cold ones before finally finishing them off.

Learn something new on DR1 every day. 
 

KateP

Silver
May 28, 2004
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Now looks like it'll be 2 days in Constanza and one at Presa de Taveras at Villas del Lago as fishing at Villa Clara is not good and I've got it stuck in my mind that I want to fish lol. Looks like a nice spot right on the lake, more like a nice B&B with camping option. Save us a few kms also so a good option all around.

Sent from my SM-G800M using Tapatalk
 

irishpaddy

Bronze
Sep 3, 2013
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Kate, if you find the time to see areas of San Cristobal, come by for coffee. We can show you Playa  Palenque and Playa Najayo (was Trujillo's private beach, his home still overlooks it). 

Send me a message for phone # 

I was there today at both ...very quiet and enjoyable
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
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I was at the piramides today and yesterday, I wouldn't go there in a Kia Soul. Although some people go there in even smaller cars. I went there once in my Santa Fe and promised myself not to do that again. Went now in a borrowed Jeep Rubicon and still found it a rough ride. Totally worth it though. February is a busy month there though, this weekend it was full of Caamaño fans, apparently it was the anniversary of his execution day. The camp side at the pyramid was fill , we camped a few hundred meters further.