Colonial City Tours

KaliWeb said:

Anyone know of any Colonial City tours that don't cost $150?
I am visiting in November but am afraid I can't afford that much.
Please if anyone know get in touch...

Thanks

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There are roughly 3 thousand tour guides when you get there who initally BS you and say they work for the gov't and are free but are not free. Negotiate a price and they can show you around.

Frankly, pay $15 buy the MOON guide to the DR ( an excellent read covering every square inch of the country) and use its walking tour info and do it yourself.

The whole shebang is quite walkable and the round trip to the capital will cost you the same anyway (if you are not there to start with).

You can stop now and then on el Conde, get a drink, a bite to eat etc. Even, dare I say, McDonalds.

Dress modestly (pants for men, sleeves for women & not a lot of cleavage) for some of the buildings like the cathedral and the tomb with the eternal flame. Or they won't admit you.

There are qualified tour guides all around the Colonial City who will give you tours for 15 or 20 bucks. Actually the one we had said he would do it for whatever we would give him, and he suggested 20 bucks, but whatever. He was really nice and got to know us well, it was fun spending an hour or so with him. I don't know how many do decent English tours though...

And it's true about not wearing revealing clothing... my shorts were too high and my shirt too low cut but I flirted my way into all the places who's doorman wouldn't let me in and I got to go everywhere anyway

Best to be modest

Bugsey34 said:

There are qualified tour guides all around the Colonial City who will give you tours for 15 or 20 bucks. Actually the one we had said he would do it for whatever we would give him, and he suggested 20 bucks, but whatever. He was really nice and got to know us well, it was fun spending an hour or so with him. I don't know how many do decent English tours though...

And it's true about not wearing revealing clothing... my shorts were too high and my shirt too low cut but I flirted my way into all the places who's doorman wouldn't let me in and I got to go everywhere anyway

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That tomb of patriots thing the soldiers at the door were pretty strict about my traveling mate - too much upper frontal exposure and flirting didn't help. I can see their point it is a pretty revered population, admittedly all dead so they probably don't care.

A possibilty are those pants with zip on and zip off legs and a blouse to cover things up for the time being while inside. I thought to tomb was quite worth seeing - in fact the whole zone is and a $20 tour guide sounds like a good idea if you don't want to do self-guided.

If you do use a tour guide, do not go into any shops with him/her. If you buy anything when accompanied by a guide, the price goes up about 30% so the shop owner can pay the guide the expected commission.

As far as clothing is concerned, it is a sign of respect. Dominicans don't dress that way when the go to the National Cathedral or one of the Colonial Zone sites, why should we think we can? To enjoy a trouble-free tour, dress conservatively.

Moon Guide

KaliWeb said:

I will definitely check out the Moon Guide.. So far I have purchased.. Lonely Planet's Haiti and Dr and The FootPrints Carribean guide.. both are great books but first hand advice is the best!

Thanks again

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There is a new (2002 edition I think) Moon guide to DR due or out - make sure you do not get the older edition - the prices and some hotels, etc., are a tad out of date. I looked it up it is the 2nd edition.

However assuming you could find it cheap and don't rely on it for hotels/restaurants specifically then it is more thorough than LP by many times. It must have taken the author years to research. For DR, Asia, latin America and the American Southwest these fuides are irreplaceable. And cheap.

Look at http://www.moon.com/anatomy/cuba.html for typical content in this case the Cuba book.