Dancing

Hemingways on the weekend is your best best. The crowd is a little older, but why just Playa Dorada? They have Salsa Thursdays at La Canita in PP.

Charlielyn said:

Salsa Thursdays at La Canita in PP.

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La Canita is not a place for a tourist to go unless they are VERY familiar with POP, speak Spanish or are accompanied with Dominicans or others who live in the area full time. It's not in the best part of town and it can be seedy at times. You won't likely find many who speak English.

Fiesta Mama said:

La Canita is not a place for a tourist to go unless they are VERY familiar with POP, speak Spanish or are accompanied with Dominicans or others who live in the area full time. It's not in the best part of town and it can be seedy at times. You won't likely find many who speak English.

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Why is it that some people think because you are a tourist you can't go anywhere unless they speak English there or cater specifically to tourists? You don't need to be fluent in Spanish to order a drink or ask where the bathroom is. The lady wants to go dancing to latin music, and that is what you do at places like La Canita. I assume she would be dropped off and picked up at the entrance by a cab. No need to wander around the "seedy" neighborhood. I wouldn't recommend a female go there alone, but with a friend or 2 she will be fine.

monique12, I agree with Fiesta Mama. I think the "seedy" refers to the crowd at La Canita and it is not a place I would recommend to anyone, irrespective of what language they speak.

Odeon have a great new place open and I would suggest that without hesitation.

There is no shortage of places to go dancing but hopefully you will make the right choice for you.

monique12 said:

I heard of a place called Terraca Caribe (please forgive the horrendous spelling!). Is that good place?

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Terrazo caribe is similar in format to La Canita. They play a mixture of merengue, bachata, salsa, tipico and reggeaton and sell drinks at Dominican prices. It's usually not as crowded. If you are bringing your dance partner with you, I would recommend it as possibly a better choice. If you are looking to dance with someone you meet, you will probably find more available Dominicanos at La Canita.

I have been to La Canita dozens of times. I never thought of the place as being "seedy" in the least. What you see there is a bunch of Dominicans having a good time drinking, dancing, listening to music and socializing. Plastic tables and chairs and cold beer at good prices.

Listen, I know it's different for a single woman than a man, but I would still say if you have a small group and want to have fun dancing, you can have it there.

sweetdbt said:

I have been to La Canita dozens of times. I never thought of the place as being "seedy" in the least.

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It took only one time of venturing out there for me to form the opinion I have.

I guess it boils down to "different strokes for different folks'...and of course the individual perception of 'seedy".

Pleased you have had a more positive experience.

It seems that a large part of the DR "experience" almost has to include dancing. Am I going to limit the number of positive experiences by not dancing? I can dance ok I guess, but I prefer to just hangout and chat. Obviously, I could change a little if I have to......

Boulder51 said:

It seems that a large part of the DR "experience" almost has to include dancing. Am I going to limit the number of positive experiences by not dancing? I can dance ok I guess, but I prefer to just hangout and chat. Obviously, I could change a little if I have to......

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Your experience will be what you make of it. If you feel inclined to learned some typical DR dancing, go for it!

I can only suggest doing what makes you happy in order get the most out of your vacation.

sweetdbt said:

I have been to La Canita dozens of times. I never thought of the place as being "seedy" in the least. What you see there is a bunch of Dominicans having a good time drinking, dancing, listening to music and socializing. Plastic tables and chairs and cold beer at good prices.

Listen, I know it's different for a single woman than a man, but I would still say if you have a small group and want to have fun dancing, you can have it there.

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The music is fine as you will find with most local places to dance but the last time I was there, there were NO doors in the women's bathroom nor toilet seats of course, so you basically has to squat over a hole in front of a bunch of other women. I know a lot of the bathrooms at dance places in the DR can be questionable but this was over the top bad. Not my idea of classy. Oreon is much better. There used to be a place called Mountaintop or something like that that I also liked. The places mentioned in Playa Dorada are not great in my opinion because they are dominated with drunk tourists and usually a younger crowd. Campito Bar across from Playa Dorada is also good if there is a function on or a live performance playing. There is also a place on the Malecon (somewhere between La Sirena and about mid-way towards the Forte - sorry I can't be more specific but I don't remember the name and I've only been there once) that is open air and they play good music.

sweetdbt said:

I have been to La Canita dozens of times. I never thought of the place as being "seedy" in the least. What you see there is a bunch of Dominicans having a good time drinking, dancing, listening to music and socializing. Plastic tables and chairs and cold beer at good prices.

Listen, I know it's different for a single woman than a man, but I would still say if you have a small group and want to have fun dancing, you can have it there.

Click to expand...

The music is fine as you will find with most local places to dance but the last time I was there, there were NO doors in the women's bathroom nor toilet seats of course, so you basically had to squat over a hole in front of a bunch of other women. I know a lot of the bathrooms at dance places in the DR can be questionable but this was over the top bad. Not my idea of classy. Oreon is much better. There used to be a place called Mountaintop or something like that that I also liked. The places mentioned in Playa Dorada are not great in my opinion because they are dominated with drunk tourists and usually a younger crowd. Campito Bar across from Playa Dorada is also good if there is a function on or a live performance playing. There is also a place on the Malecon (somewhere between La Sirena and about mid-way towards the Forte - sorry I can't be more specific but I don't remember the name and I've only been there once) that is open air and they play good music.