Beach Walker and Boat Taxi's

hi D.,
to the walks you mentioned:
from the Rui Taino to occidental grand flamenco, 1hr one way,
up to the uvero alto hotels north of the riu resort, too far for a walk.
yes, the beaches are all walkable in that area, no restrictions on that. boat taxis can be arranged at your hotel's watersports centers, rates depend on distances and number of persons in your group.
a water taxi will always be more expensive than a landbased cabby.
the mentioned plaza bavaro is not accessible from the beach side, you would need to cross the property of one of the hotels there, they will not allow you to enter/walk throu, so to visit the plazas i would recommend to take a cabby.
have fun
Mike

yes D.,
from the main entrance of the Riu Resort you can catch the guagua.
that one brings you up to the Parada Friusa, just a 10 minutes from the Riu resort, at the Parada you can take the short 10 minutes ride on the next guagua to the plaza bavaro, also at the same parada you can catch the bus to higuey, around a 50 minutes ride. way back to the Riu is no problem neither, at the bus stop for bavaro in higuey you take the Guagua to BAVARO(not to Punta Cana, that would be the route which brings you to the airport, ha ha), that bust will drop you off right at the entrance of the Riu Resort, so one bus less needed on the way back from higuey.
have fun
Mike

You can walk all the way past Flamenco and Fiesta Palladium to Cortecito. The beach has free access to/from Cortecito area as it is a commercial street. There, you can take a Motoconcho to take you to Plaza Bavaro. About 50 pesos. From plaza Bavaro a motoconcho can take you to Riu, don't pay more than 100 pesos.

Maybe MikeFisher can advise on actual rates.

MikeFisher said:

from the main entrance of the Riu Resort you can catch the guagua.
that one brings you up to the Parada Friusa, just a 10 minutes from the Riu resort, at the Parada you can take the short 10 minutes ride on the next guagua to the plaza bavaro, also at the same parada you can catch the bus to higuey, around a 50 minutes ride.

Click to expand...

hehe if you want a "natural experience" take the guagua the employees ride to Higuey, in front of Riu. Give the driver 100 pesos and you will be all set to go. He might even take you for free... the guagua will go directly to Higuey... but be prepared for lots of people squeezed in, and no A/C. (The express bus from Friusa to Higuey is very comfortable and has A/C, runs on the hour).

those public buses are all Guaguas.
from the mainstation at Friusa towards higuey and afterwards back from higuey to the Riu you can choose between the "guagua caliente", running without AC and starting around every 30 minutes, and the "Expreso"(much more comfortable and running AC) starting every full hour both ways.
the by Rubio mentioned Emoloyee transportation buses are something different, yes, they would also bring you, no fix shedule.
yes Rubio, your mentioned motoconcho rates 50 pesos from el cortecito to the plaza bavaro and 100 pesos from the plaza to the Riu are accurate per person rates.
due to dominican motor taxi driving style i would not recommend such to people who are a bit 'scary' or such,
it is DIFFERENT to home, ha ha.
they are available all day long at all spots where people walk.
Mike

so what is "guagua"

Guagua can be a pickup truck
Guagua can be a jeepata (suv)
Guagua can be a small 10 passanger minivan
Guagua can be a 25 passanger minibus
Guagua can be a large comfortable airconditioned 50+ passanger bus

Guagua is everything that moves, has 4 wheels, is used for transport, can accomodate several passangers apart from the driver, and is not a "camion" (truck) or a passanger car.

Guagua caliente - is mostly referred to a bus with no a/c.
Sometimes it refers to airconditioned buses making intermediate stops.

E.g. between Higuey and Santo Domingo

"Expreso" buses are airconditioned, do not make stops and always show movies and are 20 pesos more expensive than regular "caliente" buses. Also, you have to buy a numbered ticket with your seat number in advance. No standing passangers permitted.

"Caliente" buses are also airconditioned, make stops in La Romana and San Pedro, frequently show movies, are 20 pesos less expensive than "expreso" buses. The seats are on first-come first serve basis and many times during peak travel times some passangers may be standing or seated on make-up chairs in the middle aisle.

Because same buses can one week run "expreso" route and next week "caliente" route, what you find on board is practically the same between the two - A/C and movies. What differs are the seat assignments, and 10 minutes of time saved.


Also, there is a separate route Higuey - San Pedro, operated by the same bus syndicate as Higuey - Santo Domingo. This route is "caliente" only. And IT IS "caliente" - older buses, no a/c, no movies.

hi D.
nice to see ya back.
yes, it is walkable over the beach, no problem.
been a pleasure to meet you.
let me know when back in town.
Mike