J
Jeff
Guest
Just returned from 10 days in the DR with wife and four small children. Stayed first in the Colonial Zone at Hotel Palacio. Interesting building with nice little courtyard for breakfast. Rooftop jacuzzi and exercise equipment old and broken. Great location, ambiance and price. Historic sites are fabulous and woefully under publicized in the U.S. given their importance. Felt very safe moving around the historic district, surprisingly clean and prosperous-looking. The pestering by guides is a negative; worth getting a guide just to protect you from pestering -- this is the only real negative here.
Took 4 hour Caribe Tours bus to Sanchez and connected by guagua (open pick-up truck) for half hour trip to Las Terrenas on Samana Peninsula. Bust station in Santo Domingo crowded but very well organized. Leave time to wait in line, but expect very courteous treatment. The bus was comfortable, like a tour bus with dropdown TVs, with cold air conditioning. Recommend it, allows good chance to see the countryside. Kids loved riding in the guagua pickup truck, beautiful views as you go over the mountains.
Stayed at Aligio Hotel, with a last-minute reservation. Manager let kids in free, even with all-inclusive plan. Kids loved the pools, italian food pool bar, nightly shows by the staff and the beach across from the front entrance. The town didn't offer us too much, but it does have some services, etc. Highlight of the trip was the horseback ride operated by Casa Berca Restaurant in nearby El Limon to a waterfall in the jungle. It's inexpensive and a must do. French film crew was there shooting for a travel show. By the time we left the Aligio, my youngest was speaking with an italian accent (and still is).
Went back over to Sanchez and sought public transport in the morning from Sanchez to Sosua. Forget it. Minibus came packed to the gills. rather than wait for hours for another one, was placed in a station wagon of a local who drove my whole family for over 2 hours to Sosua for $50. Stayed at Sosua-by-the-Sea. German-Canadian clientele. Ate meals out, particularly recommend On-the-Waterfront, the fanciest place in town but not expensive by American standards. We loved Sosua Beach and the activity of the locals there. sat under the palms played catch with a baseball, eventually trading one glove for souvenirs for the kids. Visited the old synogogue with help from one of the origian Jewish family members, who told us his family's story in escaping the holocaust to come to Sosua. Took the kids to the Columbus Aquapark, which they absolutely loved and was up to the highest standards for a water slide park.
Airports were not a hassle at all. It's a shame that Americans don't visit the D.R. in great numbers. In my experience, the visitors were almost exclusively European. I'm sure that Americans have misperceptions about poverty, crime, etc. that keeps them away. But the people were great and the D.R. is a great place to visit. Happy to answer any questions.
Took 4 hour Caribe Tours bus to Sanchez and connected by guagua (open pick-up truck) for half hour trip to Las Terrenas on Samana Peninsula. Bust station in Santo Domingo crowded but very well organized. Leave time to wait in line, but expect very courteous treatment. The bus was comfortable, like a tour bus with dropdown TVs, with cold air conditioning. Recommend it, allows good chance to see the countryside. Kids loved riding in the guagua pickup truck, beautiful views as you go over the mountains.
Stayed at Aligio Hotel, with a last-minute reservation. Manager let kids in free, even with all-inclusive plan. Kids loved the pools, italian food pool bar, nightly shows by the staff and the beach across from the front entrance. The town didn't offer us too much, but it does have some services, etc. Highlight of the trip was the horseback ride operated by Casa Berca Restaurant in nearby El Limon to a waterfall in the jungle. It's inexpensive and a must do. French film crew was there shooting for a travel show. By the time we left the Aligio, my youngest was speaking with an italian accent (and still is).
Went back over to Sanchez and sought public transport in the morning from Sanchez to Sosua. Forget it. Minibus came packed to the gills. rather than wait for hours for another one, was placed in a station wagon of a local who drove my whole family for over 2 hours to Sosua for $50. Stayed at Sosua-by-the-Sea. German-Canadian clientele. Ate meals out, particularly recommend On-the-Waterfront, the fanciest place in town but not expensive by American standards. We loved Sosua Beach and the activity of the locals there. sat under the palms played catch with a baseball, eventually trading one glove for souvenirs for the kids. Visited the old synogogue with help from one of the origian Jewish family members, who told us his family's story in escaping the holocaust to come to Sosua. Took the kids to the Columbus Aquapark, which they absolutely loved and was up to the highest standards for a water slide park.
Airports were not a hassle at all. It's a shame that Americans don't visit the D.R. in great numbers. In my experience, the visitors were almost exclusively European. I'm sure that Americans have misperceptions about poverty, crime, etc. that keeps them away. But the people were great and the D.R. is a great place to visit. Happy to answer any questions.