Staying for several months in the fall

DuctTape with more than 1,000 uses. :classic:

Good that you won't stay in one place all that time, especially on that "cruise ship that goes nowhere". There are those who will recommend other locations, but I recommend Cabarete.

I am also a musician, but have been more involved with English language rock and roll lately.

The merengue/bachata music is quite popular on the north coast. How able you would be to get into it as a player, I have no idea. The sax parts are pretty darn simple and repetitious on those styles.

Many of our clients stay for a season. They purchase a moto and resell them when they leave. Make sure it has legal title.

YES... $500 will get you on the road...

Windy has a band in Sosua Cabarete.... quite a bike ride form your area

Will Woody Allen join you for a bit ?

ductTape said:

I'm getting ready for my adventure in the DR and could use some help putting the pieces together. It all begins with my best friend's wedding in Punta Cana the last week of September and doing the whole resort thing. After the wedding party leaves, I'll be staying on the island until about Thanksgiving (mid/end of November) when I'll have to head back to the states. I won't stay in Punta Cana the whole time -- I'm looking for a cheaper and less touristy experience for the remainder of my stay. I'm also a saxophonist and want to get immersed in the merengue / bachata scene while I'm there.

So, where would you recommend to stay for two months given that:
1) Cheap / affordable. I'm on a budget.
2) Good local music scene
3) Able to communicate with my terrible spanish. IE indie traveler friendly

Is it better to rent a place for a few months or stay at a hostel?

In my pipe dream I also want to be able to ride around on a motorcycle (as I do in the states) to see the countryside. I've seen bikes at dealers in the DR for super cheap (~USD$500 or so), are those a scam? Stolen? Will they get immediately confiscated by the federales when I get stopped?

Thanks!!!

Click to expand...

Sounds like a plan and a lot of fun. Perhaps you might want to spend some time in Santo Domingo in the Colonial Zone. You may be able to find some musicians hangin' there. As far as buying a ride you might want to find out from the Dominican Consulate if you can buy a vehicle under the new immigration guidelines. Many laws have changed and the DR now requires a cedula(residency card)for many transactions. If you are able to travel around check out the Samana Peninsula and Las Terrenas. This is a tourist town but on a much smaller scale than Punta Cana. There is a large European population with many goods and services not found in other areas of the DR. Check it out and good luck.

There are plenty of cheap small hotels all around the country. Do not rent in one place. DR1 Directories has probably the most complete list of places around the country, but only telephones are listed.
http://dr1.com/directories/Hotels-Resorts.html

If you have time, suggest you just make your way around the island.

Punta Cana -- Check out the Ojos Indigenas Park. Visit Macao Beach.
Head north. Spend two nights at Cano Hondo near Los Haitises Park. Take the excursion to visit the park and the out islets.

Arrange at the hotel for the local ferry to Samana. Take the boat taxi to Cayo Levantado. Two nights.

Head for Las Galeras. Plenty of small hotels. 5-7 nights. Visit Playa Rincon, La Playita, Playa Colorada, Playa Fronton. All day visits. Eat on the beach in Playa Rincon and La Playita. Go by boat taxi to Playa Colorada and then to Playa Fronton (on the opposite side)

Head for Las Terrenas. Plenty of small hotels/ night life. 4 nights. Visit Playa Coson for body waves. Have lunch on the beach at Luis.

Go west to Puerto Plata via Nagua. Visit Playa Grande. Laguna Dudu on the way. 2 nights.

Stay in Cabarete. 2 nights. Take in the windsurfing and kite boarding vibe.

Stay in Sosua. 2 nights. Take in the beach scene of Sosua Beach, also Playa Alicia.

Stay in Puerto Plata. 2 nights. Visit the Brugal Rum Factory, also hike up the Isabel de Torre Mountain, and take the sky lift down. Walk along the Malecon down to the San Felipe Fort. Visit the Central Park. Visit Ocean World Park.

Head to Punta Rucia. 2 nights. Go scuba diving. Visit Cayo Arena.

Head to Montecristi. 2 nights. Visit the old city center. Take the excursion to the Cayo 7 hermanos. Eat stewed or baked goat specialties on the road to Santiago.

In Santiago. 2 nights. Visit the Centro Leon Cultural Center. Check out DR1 listings for a Rancho tipico (see earlier postings) by Hillbilly.

Head to Jarabacoa, 2 nights. Go river rafting.

Head to Constanza. 2 nights. Chill out in this lovely mountain town.

Head to Bonao. 2 nights. Walk up the Jima trails, visit the Cristian Tiburcio museum-house and the Candido Bido Cultural Center in town. Stop by on the Parador with the Santos de Palo store on the Duarte Highway. Lunch with typical food in Tipico Bonao or Miguelina's, also on the highway.

Head to Santo Domingo. 3 nights. Take an entire day to walk the colonial city. Another day to visit the Botanical Gardens and some out museum or cultural center. Do the restaurant/club scene.

Head west to Barahona. 2 nights. Stay in Barahona and visit the Salt Mines, Enriquillo Lake.
Head southwest to Pedernales. 2 nights. Visit Bahia de las Aguilas and Pelempito Drop.

Head southeast again. Stop on the way at the Centro Perello. They have exhibits and a good coffee shop (they are the leading coffee producers in the country). Stop at Paya to stock up on Dominican sweets.

Return to Santo Domingo. 1 overnight.

Next day head out to La Romana. 2 nights. Stay in Bayahibe town small hotel and take the excursion to Saona Island.

Head east to Punta Cana to take your return flight home.

Total 45 day tour around the island.

Also take note that all these places are easily reached by cheap public transport. If you have the time, then it is not a problem.

ductTape said:

Thanks for all the info! Now to get to 10 posts so I can connect with a few of you.

Winde: So if I was looking for a place to stay in Cabarete, where would you recommend? Or how does one find a place that's not a big hotel? I tried the ads on this website and didn't get any responses.

Click to expand...

For example:

http://dr1.com/rentals/property/P_187.html

Our place. I always respond quickly, did you request info from us?

Reminds me I have to renew that ad..

hey man.
as for your questions and needs.
for music scene Santo Domingo will be the best, but I'm not sure if its nicest place to be.Santiago is also nice for your music needs
anyway, nobody will complain probbaly if you start playing some sax somewhere in front of colmado (as Dominicans love music) - shop, anywhere in the country. just watch out to not impress with its golden color because they will think its from gold and steal it.
so better have some rusty one.
yeah, you can get bike for 500 US. but better pay ~700 and buy something..decent...
cheap hotels are everywhere in the country, they usually are around 10 bucks/ room, if you want aircon, double that.
better yet - visit website from my profile, and get more info (excluding musical one )

DuctTape, where in the states r u from? And what's your age range? I'm taking some friends on a tour for a week around that time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk