How much of DR can I see in 5 days

shawn27 said:

Hello everyone. I've been to DR several times but have always stayed in Santo Domingo and done day trips to Boca Chica or Juan Dolio. I'll be going back March11-16 and wanted to venture out a little more. That being said, I still want to stay in Santo Domingo most of the time.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to possible day trips? I'm probably going to stay in SD Fri and Sat and go to Boca Chica Sunday. Was looking to do day trips Monday or Tuesday. I would appreciate any advice.. Thanks!

Click to expand...

Domestic flights are inexpensive, quick and the offer the best views of the country. Santo Domingo to Punta Cana in 35 minutes for $99.

These and other domestic airlines sometimes advertise specials (Santo Domingo -PUJ, R/T= $100 - same day service) in the airline monthly magazines of the major carriers.

You want to make an impression on the novia? After you've walked off breakfast in the morning in Santo Domingo tell her "Get dressed, we're going to Captain Cook's for lunch".

Regular Flights in the Dominican Republic

Air Century

I'd say there was more to do in the southwest or the Saman? peninsula, both of which can be fitted in to a 5 day visit. Depends what you're looking for.

greydread said:

Domestic flights are inexpensive, quick and the offer the best views of the country. Santo Domingo to Punta Cana in 35 minutes for $99.

These and other domestic airlines sometimes advertise specials (Santo Domingo -PUJ, R/T= $100 - same day service) in the airline monthly magazines of the major carriers.

You want to make an impression on the novia? After you've walked off breakfast in the morning in Santo Domingo tell her "Get dressed, we're going to Captain Cook's for lunch".

Regular Flights in the Dominican Republic

Air Century

Click to expand...

They may have specials on occasion, but the regular rate from Santo Domingo to Punta Cana is $99 each way. That's $200 PER PERSON for a round trip. It may be 35 minutes in the air, but you need to get to the airport by cab, check in and go through security pretty much as any flight. Then you need to get a cab from PUJ to wherever you are going in Punta Cana. I suspect I could leave the same hotel in SD at the same time as someone going to the airport for a flight, drive directly to the same location in Punta Cana, and get there at pretty much the same time.

I would also dispute that flying gives the "best view of the country" A different view, yes, and perhaps beautiful at times, but there is a lot you will see from the ground that you will miss in the air.

Day Trips

Hi:

Honestly, why are you wasting your time in Boca Chica. Get out of Santo Domingo, get on the new highway north to the Samana Peninsula and go to Las Terrenas. This area has Whale Watching in Samana, horseback riding to the falls in El Limon and some of the nicest beaches in the country, a great variety of restaurants, bars, night life and Chicas. Plan on staying for a day or two.

S

dead wrong

sweetdbt said:

They may have specials on occasion, but the regular rate from Santo Domingo to Punta Cana is $99 each way. That's $200 PER PERSON for a round trip. It may be 35 minutes in the air, but you need to get to the airport by cab, check in and go through security pretty much as any flight. Then you need to get a cab from PUJ to wherever you are going in Punta Cana. I suspect I could leave the same hotel in SD at the same time as someone going to the airport for a flight, drive directly to the same location in Punta Cana, and get there at pretty much the same time.

I would also dispute that flying gives the "best view of the country" A different view, yes, and perhaps beautiful at times, but there is a lot you will see from the ground that you will miss in the air.

Click to expand...

This is a domestic flight. There IS NO SECURITY SCREENING. Trust me. I took the bus to Higuey and another bus to PUJ and as soon as I got there I went straight to the domestic terminal and booked a flight back for two days later. The bus trip took over 4 hours and the left leg of my pants had drool prints from the sleeping person seated on a milk crate in the aisle (extra seating) next to me. The bus was travelling far too fast for the road we were on and we got the scary view of the gorge next to the cliff that the highway was cut out of but the driver had to make up the time lost with all those stops which were not necessarily at designated bus stops.

The taxi ride from our hotel to PUJ took all of 10 minutes. We boarded the flight directly and 35 minutes later we landed at SDQ, no customs or immigration necessary, we just walked to our taxi and were back at our hotel in 20 minutes. You can not do THAT in a car.

As for the view, we flew at under 18,000' at sunset along the Dominican South Coast and our plane landed at dusk. Most of the time we were low enough to differentiate the colors of the cars on the highway below us. It was breathtakingly beautiful. I've jumped out of planes that flew higher.

Yes!

shawn27 said:

So you would recommend going to punta cana for two days?

Click to expand...

I wouldn't recommend it if I hadn't done it. Bavaro is a whole different flavor and the beaches will make you hesitate a bit the next time you approach the water in Boca Chica. There are no "floaters" there.

It's an additional expense but I hope you don't go on vacation to NOT spend money.

Live a little. It's a trip you won't forget. I'd much rather have my Dominican remembrances than my money back.

shawn27 said:

I used to bash boca chica all the time on the forum but I had a really great time there in December. I get freaked out by deep water so I really like the fact that the water there is shallow. Maybe I might stay a night at Samana... I've heard that there isn't much to do there at night. Do they have AI's there?

Click to expand...

Samana is OK but not worth the effort for a day trip. A flight to Punta Cana just for a few hours visit? Nah....

A couple of low budget options would be catch the bus to Santiago for the day and spend the day in SD away from the Zona.

Caribe Tours and Metro are Greyhound type buses. Leave early in the morning and spend the day in Santiago. You won't get much done in a day but the bus ride is nice and very comfortable. Visit the monument, have lunch, walk around a bit and come back to SD the same day.

There is a ton of stuff to do in SD to keep you busy for a day. Why not spend the day browsing in the mall, learn to use the publicos, get away from the Zona for a day. You may not be too fond of the publicos but that is the main locals transportation. Make it a game, print out a map of Santo Domingo Centro and use public transpo to get to one of the malls.

Nice to read your comments about Boca Chica..........

shawn27 said:

Actually I did challenge myself and took public transportation to boca chica and it was easy. A lot going on but easy. Seems like there are so many little towns between Santo Domingo and Boca Chica..

Click to expand...

Once you get out and about in Santo Domingo it seems like a bunch of different towns sewn together. In that respect it reminds me of Philadelphia where a lot of residents seem to seldom venture far from their particular neighborhhod and a trip across the river is a really big deal.

Here's what I really love about the country the most. In just about every undertaking one can feel free to just "wing it", tossing the agenda and following your heart. On the Punta Cana trip that I referred to a buddy and I were on a 10 day stay in Santo Domingo and halfway in we wanted to do something different. We had some friends who were staying in Punta Cana so we packed 2 days worth of stuff in our backpacks and wandered down to the bus terminal and off we went. It was a spur of the moment adventure. I had an idea where we wanted to stay but our taxi driver got us a better deal at a resort so we stayed there at $40 a night for each of our rooms. The AI customers there were paying $100/pp-double occupancy so it turned out to be a fantastic deal.

The Dominican Republic has pretty much two sets of costs (this is where it reminds me of NYC). There's what is printed on a paper and waived around by an official looking guy who will insist that prices are fixed, firm and there's the "as the result of conversation" price. I love a deal. I'm going to spend the same amount of money regardless but I'd like to think that I'm not being short changed. This is where your time comes into play. Taking the time to hold a conversation almost always results in improving your position in a negotiation so your time is still money while your on vacation and this was before "Rosetta Stone" when I was walking around with my Berlitz book in one hand and my Franklin translator in the other entertaining my hosts all over the countryside. Nothing makes someone try to understand you more than when you try to understand them. Get out of the city and see the country. It doesn't matter how you get there as long as you're comfortable.

shawn27 said:

There are definitely two sets of costs! It all starts at the taxi ride from the airport to sd. They'll charge $40 but I can get it down to $25. I've learned so much about pricing here. It's so easy to get the "gringo" rate. I'm tempted by your idea of "losing" myself in DR but I'm just wired to be very prepared. It would be helpful to have such sort of 5 day itinerary..

Click to expand...

Haahaha!

You sound like the old me: "Itinerary Man"

Having travelled the World as an anal retentive precision junkie and organizing every step of every trip, after a handful of trips to the DR I finally got the stick out and now it won't go back in.

Lol!

I'm glad you got the stick out!