What about the costs

Me and my friends are coming to DR in the late September. We are budget travellers (students). This is only one reason why we have no intention of staying in a resort. Because I've been getting different information about prices in DR, I'd be very glad if someone would tell me how much can one expect to pay for a meal, for accomodation, amusement. Are there any camp sites in DR? How well are they organized? Thank you all!

I've stayed in Puerto Plata (off the resort area) for 13 days. You could get pizza, or a chicken/rice dish for about $4 US; fruit really cheap and fresh! Accomodation from $20 US / night and Amusement can be as cheap as a bottle of rum for $3 US and great conversation with the locals! I don't know about camp sites, but I do know you will love the DR... check out local towns like Sosua and Cabarette....

You can have a good time here for very cheap. There are campsites and hostels; try roughguides.com.

How much you spend will depend largely on if you go to tourist places or "regular" spots. In the capital you can find basic accomodations for $20, and even less, and traditional hotels will start around $30. If you go to a basic neighborhood restaurant (away from tourist spots) you can engorge yourself on good food for $2-3US.

I budget $100 a day for my trips to the Dominican Republic (not including rental car) and on a weeklong trip I usually come back with a couple hundred dollars still in my pocket. Of course, I recommend having some emergency cash and credit of any contingencies.

If you know Spanish, other than finding a cheap hotel, the best thing you can do to save money would be to learn how to use the guaguas and caro conchos to get around.

Your best bet is to stay away from the obvious tourist traps. Then you'll be amazed how cheap it is to have a good time. I spend a whole night at a local pool-hall with 3 friends. We had all the rum & coke we would drink - still managing to play pool though. Total bill was about 8 US$. You could hardly get two beers in a bar in Stockholm for that... Have fun

Re: What about the costs - Here you go......

We returned from three weeks on budget travel in the DR in June. If you wann cheaper places and want to avoid other tourists (the latter was very important to us), avoid Sosua, Cabarete (not necessarily expensive, but very touristy) and Punta Cana (very expensive and very touristy). Try going to Bayahibe (near La Romana), Las Terrenas (Samana Peninsula), or inland to places like Costanza and Jarabacoa in the mountains. We traveled everywhere by Guaguas (8 seat minibuses carrying about 15 passengers) - a fun and very cheap way to travel and meet locals. I didn't see or hear of any campsites or youth hostels there, but here are some typical prices:

Hotel Room (no air con. or hot water) : US$15 - 20 Large Meal (local restaurant) : US$2-4 Street food (Empanadas, fruit, etc.) : US$1 Rum (in a bar ask for 'un servicio' - half a litre of rum, and a bottle of coke - just order more coke as you need it) : US$3 100 km journey by luxury bus (if that's your thing) : US$6 100 km journey by guagua (better way to travel) : US$3 Large bottle of Presidente beer : US$1-2

My wife and I traveled all around the country and spent an average of US$50 a day total.

Have fun,

David