Tips for Santo Domingo with Toddler? Also hotel ideas

Hello all:

I'm going to Santo Domingo in December (just before Christmas) for about a week with my wife and baby son, who will be about 19 months old.

I've travelled a lot in Latin America (and speak Spanish pretty well), but this will be my first time in the DR. It's also only the second time I'll have travelled with a small child--we went to Mexico City for a few days with him a year ago, and everything went well.

Our experience in Mexico City was that if anything travelling with a baby was a net positive: he was a great ice-breaker and everyone loved him. There were just a few logistical difficulties: e.g. neither the Mexico City metro nor Mexico City sidewalks are made for strollers!

Now he's a toddler, though, the challenges will be different.

I'd be interested in any thoughts on spending time in Santo Domingo with a small child. Places that we might want to go: parks and museums and playgrounds, for instance. Or things we might watch out for.

I'm also checking out places to stay. As we'll be with a child (and also somewhat to ensure my wife is reassured; she hasn't been to Latin America very much at all), I'm not looking at the kind of bargain-basement places I might usually stay. I'm interested in somewhere in or very near the Colonial Centre, ideally not too expensive with a bit of character.

So far, I'm liking what I see of El Beaterio (El Beaterio Hotel (Santo Domingo): Last Reviewed 21 Days Ago), but frankly there seem to be a lot of nice places out there. Any recommendations, or places we'd want to avoid?

Finally, is it worth taking a trip into the country at all (I'm happy to hire a car if necessary), or is there more than enough to keep us (and the little boy) occupied in the capital?

Any and all advice welcome. Many thanks!

Mauricio, thanks. He'll be about 19 months old.

I have, incidentally, just booked at Conde de Pe?alba (http://www.condepenalba.com/prueba1/hotel.html); there were no double rooms left at the Beaterio, and it looked as though I should make a reservation elsewhere without waiting too long.

So I thought I'd report back from our trip... We just returned yesterday after a splendid week in Santo Domingo.

We were very pleased that we chose to stay at the Conde de Pe?alba. We loved our balcony room, looking out over the square. But even more we loved coming down for breakfast and people-watching from our sidewalk table. Our son very much enjoyed running around the square, meeting other little kids, watching the guys playing dominoes, and (above all) chasing the pigeons. The Parque Col?n was very toddler-friendly.

Indeed, in general we found the Ciudad Colonial very toddler- and child-friendly. We had a little stroller, and the streets and sidewalks were in fine condition. There are also plenty of little squares or parks (the Plaza Espa?a, for instance) where he could run around, and often there were other little kids.

We mainly stuck to the Ciudad Colonial, wandering around and checking out the various museums. The boy was also fascinated by the horse-drawn buggies, so we took a ride on one of them the last day of our stay. As for excursions further afield, we went to the baseball (which was great, and very exciting) and also to the Botanical Gardens (the boy loved taking the train ride and then running around again).

We did things pretty slowly (taking in a nap every afternoon, for instance), and definitely didn't run out of things to do. On the whole we didn't pick things based on what the boy would want, but he cheerfully came along with us and found something to interest him somewhere.

Our only trip outside the city was to Boca Chica. We took public transport, which was fine (and cheap) to get there. And again our boy liked being in the water, playing ball with another kid we met. The one downside, and the only slight bitter taste in our mouth in what was otherwise an excellent holiday, was being thoroughly ripped off by a guy (Jorge Luis--avoid him, but probably not only him) who rented us a couple of chairs and an umbrella on the beach. We couldn't be bothered to have a big argument with him (why make a bad situation worse?), but it was a pain and tinged what was otherwise a delightful day.

Otherwise, we also ate very well (at places from el Conuco to Pat'e Palo and Meson D'Bari). Everyone was very helpful and kind especially to the little boy. We'd thoroughly recommend the city as a child-friendly destination.

Oh, El Conuco was great! The guidebook said something like "this is a tourist trap, but go anyway as the food is so good and the ambience is fun. It's kitsch but in a good way." As it happened, the day we went (at least) the place was full of what seemed to be Dominican office parties; I think we were the only tourists in the place and we were seated at what was practically the last open table.

Sure enough the food was indeed really good. I had the Bandera Dominicana; the boy loved the beans; and we have just (more or less) tried to recreate the meal as Christmas Dinner back here in Vancouver! If that's not a positive verdict, I don't know what is!

Moreover and above all, we really enjoyed the atmosphere: the little boy especially was fascinated by both the bright colours and many objects to be seen and also the music and dancing. The service was really good, and everyone took great care of us. The musicians and dancers were very taken by the boy and encouraged him to join in. Then someone (I'm thinking it was the manager's wife) lent him a little Dominican drum, and he spent the whole time banging it. The only sorrow was when we had to leave, and he had to give the drum back! But we bought a virtually identical drum for him a few days later in a gift shop, and just gave it to him as a Christmas present... which means he has spent the whole of Christmas Day banging his Dominican drum, remembering El Conuco!

Here, by the way, is a picture of him at the restaurant: With His Dominican Drum ? David Aneurin. (If you click around a little you'll see some other photos from our Dominican vacation.)

So as far as El Conuco goes, we have nothing but praise!

Well, in our case at least... the guy insisted at the outset that we wouldn't be paying for the equipment: "s?lo consumo, s?lo consumo" he repeated. And then he handed us a menu that had a $2,000 minimum consumption requirement. So I asked about this, but he said no worries, just order two meals and you'll be OK. Anyhow, at the end of the day it turned out that he overcharged for the food, and we still had to pay for at least some of the chair/table/parasol combo. The final bill was $3,000. So that's $75 USD for a bit of shade, a few beers, and some not terribly good food. Put it another way: we spent less on the (exquisite) tasting menu at Pat'e Palo, which was having a two-for-one special.

You know, I recognize that folk need to make a living. The added insult to the injury was that this guy on the beach also wanted a tip plus he wanted to treat us like we were his best friends, telling us that he'd saved us from the awful "enga?o" that he warned us that other people would try to pull on us.

This is, moreover, where travelling with a toddler has its downside. If we'd been on our own, we have taken more time to scope out the situation. But with the boy we didn't want to be traipsing up and down the beach (what's more, with a stroller that's not great on the sand) looking for the best bargain. We'd already said "no" to the first two or three people who'd come up to us, and this guy seemed trustworthy enough.

Anyhow, as I say, we resolved not to dwell on this. It was the only sour note of an otherwise excellent week.