Playa Dorado

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wolf782

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Mar 9, 2005
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A friend got my fiance and I a couple of nights at The Gan Ventana for our honeymoon. How far is that from caberete and sosua? Can we catch a cab? Are the beaches very different in these 3 spots? Hm so many questions. I realy want to be in Sosua but can't beat a free room and food. Are there any good bars or resturants in the playa dorado area? If we bail out of the All Inlcusive any recomondations for a hotel for honeymooners in sosua or caberete under 75$?
Thanks for you thoughts and time
Chris
 
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Music

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Apr 19, 2002
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Hi wolf782,

That's a nice gift and what a great friend you have! Cngradulations to you and enjoy your honeymoon! :classic:

If I recal correctly Sosua beach is about 20-25 minutes away and Cabarete is 30 or 35 min away. All 3 beaches to me are different. Playa Dorada beach is okay but Sosua beach is nice and fun. Cabarete has great beaches too and they have nice waves.
You can take a taxi from the hotel but it is expensive. I took the gua gua to Sosua all the time it costs 20 pesos really cheap. It's a van which picks up by the side of the road and drops everyone off where they want to go. You will make many stops but I found it pretty fast condsidering all the stops and an intersting ride. Sometimes 20 people are all crammed in that van lol! It's up to you if you want an experience you get one lol.
There are other ways of transportation as well.
I had a lot of fun in Sosua!
Regarding hotels I"m not sure but someone will respond who has information!

Have fun!!! :cool:
 
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lilcanadiangal

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Jan 23, 2004
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wolf782 said:
A friend got my fiance and I a couple of nights at The Gan Ventana for our honeymoon. How far is that from caberete and sosua? Can we catch a cab? Are the beaches very different in these 3 spots? Hm so many questions. I realy want to be in Sosua but can't beat a free room and food. Are there any good bars or resturants in the playa dorado area? If we bail out of the All Inlcusive any recomondations for a hotel for honeymooners in sosua or caberete under 75$?
Thanks for you thoughts and time
Chris
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Puerto Plata is about a half hour away from Sosua and about 45 from Cabarete, depending on how you get there. It takes a little longer on the gua gua! ;) Of course you can catch a cab. Playa Dorada has taxis all over the place. Careful with those prices though, they try to get as much out of you as they can. You can also get to Sosua by walking to the entrance of Playa Dorada, crossing the road and waiting for a public car. For 20 pesos you can get from Puerto Plata to Sosua in the day time. For Cabarete, I always take the Puerto Plata - Rio San Juan bus. You can go to Sosua on that bus as well for the same 20 pesos or to Cabarete for 30.

The beaches are different. Sosua, in my own opinion, is the nicest. It's just a beautiful beach and the water is great for swimming. It's generally the place where people go snorkelling and diving or things like that. Cabarete is a nice too but being the big kitesurfing spot, you'll find the water to be pretty rough for the most part. Not as nice as Sosua for swimming. Playa Dorada is well....nothing incredibly special. I only go there if I don't have the time in the day to go to Sosua.

In the Playa Dorada area, I guess the most popular bars would be Hemmingways and Mangu. A new one opened about a month ago called Roadway and they have some fun theme nights from the signs I've seen, but I've never been there at night. The prices are ridiculous for dinner though in both Hemmingways and Roadway. Mangu is just a dance club. A good place for dinner that I'd suggest would be Cafe Cito. It's not right in the Playa Dorada complex, but it's pretty close. It's about a 5 minute walk to the right after you leave from the doors of the Playa Dorada. Right in between Avis Rent-a-car and Harrison's. The food is great and they have everything from poutine, shishkabobs to filet mignon and lobster.

Guess that's all I can think of for now! Enjoy your honeymoon. And congratulations.
 
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AnnaC

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Jan 2, 2002
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If you don't want the gua gua experience you can ask your hotel to call a taxi. It's 40 US dollars return to Sosua. They will drop you off and pick you back up at what every hour you tell them to come back for that price.

Mangu at Jack Tar was great. You'll see lots of sensual dancing. ;)
 
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wolf782

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Mar 9, 2005
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Thanks so much for you advice.

It seems like Sosua is the place to be. Can you recomend a non all inclusive hotel for us to stay after we use our 2 free days at ventana? 75$ and under?
Thank you so much for your time. I'm a planner and I am just trying to make this the best trip possible.
Thnaks Again Chris


lilcanadiangal said:
Puerto Plata is about a half hour away from Sosua and about 45 from Cabarete, depending on how you get there. It takes a little longer on the gua gua! ;) Of course you can catch a cab. Playa Dorada has taxis all over the place. Careful with those prices though, they try to get as much out of you as they can. You can also get to Sosua by walking to the entrance of Playa Dorada, crossing the road and waiting for a public car. For 20 pesos you can get from Puerto Plata to Sosua in the day time. For Cabarete, I always take the Puerto Plata - Rio San Juan bus. You can go to Sosua on that bus as well for the same 20 pesos or to Cabarete for 30.

The beaches are different. Sosua, in my own opinion, is the nicest. It's just a beautiful beach and the water is great for swimming. It's generally the place where people go snorkelling and diving or things like that. Cabarete is a nice too but being the big kitesurfing spot, you'll find the water to be pretty rough for the most part. Not as nice as Sosua for swimming. Playa Dorada is well....nothing incredibly special. I only go there if I don't have the time in the day to go to Sosua.

In the Playa Dorada area, I guess the most popular bars would be Hemmingways and Mangu. A new one opened about a month ago called Roadway and they have some fun theme nights from the signs I've seen, but I've never been there at night. The prices are ridiculous for dinner though in both Hemmingways and Roadway. Mangu is just a dance club. A good place for dinner that I'd suggest would be Cafe Cito. It's not right in the Playa Dorada complex, but it's pretty close. It's about a 5 minute walk to the right after you leave from the doors of the Playa Dorada. Right in between Avis Rent-a-car and Harrison's. The food is great and they have everything from poutine, shishkabobs to filet mignon and lobster.

Guess that's all I can think of for now! Enjoy your honeymoon. And congratulations.
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:nervous:
 
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wolf782

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Mar 9, 2005
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Thanks

Thank you all so much for your advice. After my 2 free days at Gran Ventana are up I am going to head for Sosua. I am still trying to figure out the best hotel in sosua for under 75$. Pierre Giorgio's, water front, tropix? I think giorgio's may be to exspensive. Any advice would be awsome. I am an obsesive planner and I just want the honeymoon to be as great as possible.
Thanks Again.
Chris
 
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Fiesta Mama

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Jan 28, 2004
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wolf782 said:
Thank you all so much for your advice. After my 2 free days at Gran Ventana are up I am going to head for Sosua. I am still trying to figure out the best hotel in sosua for under 75$. Pierre Giorgio's, water front, tropix? I think giorgio's may be to exspensive. Any advice would be awsome. I am an obsesive planner and I just want the honeymoon to be as great as possible.
Thanks Again.
Chris
Click to expand...

I just sent you a link via PM for a condo rental that looks veyr nice and I was going to rent the last time I was there and then ended up making other plans. Have you considered this option? Sosua is a very small little town that can be explored on foot and there are many restaurants to eat at so you would not have worry about finding a place to eat. This way, you will be within your budget, will get the variety of different restaurants and can relax in your own comfortable condo. Just stop by the local supermarket which is right on the main road and pick up a bottle of rum and champagne and you're all set!
 
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Special K

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Feb 6, 2005
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Restaurants at Gran Ventana

Make sure you try the restaurants at the Gran Ventana. We went to all three and they were great. The italian one was the best (try the tiramisu), and the one near the beach came in second (try the ribs).
 
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wolf782

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Mar 9, 2005
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Gran Ventana

Thanks for the advice. We are wonding what you thought of the resort as a whole and if you have any other advice as far as where in the resort to get the room and any thing else.
Thanks Again
Chris

Special K said:
Make sure you try the restaurants at the Gran Ventana. We went to all three and they were great. The italian one was the best (try the tiramisu), and the one near the beach came in second (try the ribs).
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Dominican Babe

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Dec 9, 2002
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I usually stay at the Gran Ventana on my trips to DR, it's a nice hotel though the rooms are beginning to look a bit jaded now, it could really do with being revamped.

The hotel is made up of 3 blocks, the Catalina and Saona buildings are either side of the main pool area, and facing the stage. So the rooms on the front can be noisy at night although only up to midnight or so. The rooms at the back are quieter, and not many of them actually have a sea view. The Beata building is seperate, across the road, and is built around the quiet pool, so if you want peace and quiet get a room in this building - but make sure it on the front of the building, facing the pool. The back of the building is next to the service road and opposite the Crazy Moon disco, so an hour or two after the noise from the disco has finished, people are arriving at work and making a racket!
 
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Special K

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Feb 6, 2005
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Gran Ventana

We loved it. We thought the buffet food was really good too. The pools are nice. If the animacion staff get too annoying, you can go to the quiet pool accross the road. The biggest thing it had going for it was how clean it was. As far as where to get a room, it depends on what you want. We were close to the excersize room, and it was a nice normal quiet room. We didn't run in to anyone that had a problem with thier room. Our favourite bar was the one beside the pool, there always seemed to be someone interesting there. We went on a Freestyle Catamaran snorkeling trip and really enjoyed it. My friend tried snorkelling in front of the hotel, but it was too cloudy. We spent time in Sosua and Cabarete and enjoyed Cabarete Beach the most. The waves are amazing, making boogie boarding a blast. Not sure how many activities you would be interested in seeing as how you are honeymooning.
 
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