going to DR for first time - cultural exploration trip

jare2003

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Mar 26, 2005
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Hey all!

I'm a new poster on DR1, and I found this board as I was planning a trip to the DR.

So here's the situation - my girlfriend and I (both college students in upstate NY) are going to the Dominican Republic in late May, early June for about two weeks. This is both our first times to the country. She is fluent in Spanish (she's from NYC, and is Dominican/Puerto Rican). I'm Chinese/German, and have had a few semesters of college Spanish, so i can get around if needed.

Our goal for this trip is to really explore DR. Neither of us is interested in really doing any sort of resort or beach vacationing with a bunch of tourists. We want to spend as much as possible with real Dominicans, away from European/American tourists and high prices.

half of the trip, we will spend with her extended family in Santo Domingo - so that part of the trip is covered. However, they are less familiar with other areas of DR, and we want to explore the rest of the island. What are major things that we should check out? Parks, historical sites, worthwhile cultural things, etc? Outside of SD, we had wanted to check out some of the more remote beaches, Barahona (where her father is from), some areas closer to the Haitian border, etc. But neither of us is familiar enough with the country to have a good idea of what else is worth checking out.

Also - we are planning to rent a car for a week, probably from Santo Domingo in order to explore the island as throughly as possible. Any advice on keeping it as cheap as possible? We are willing to stay anywhere - so is staying in cheap local accomdations in rural areas fine? There wont be a language barrier with her.

Thanks so much!
 

sweetdbt

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Sep 17, 2004
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The first thing you want to do

is get a good map of the DR. You can buy the Berndston & Berndston map at Amazon for about $8, and while you're there you may want to get a travel guide or 2.

Since you are going to Barahona, you will have plenty of opportunities to see remote (non-tourist) beaches. You should also definately pay a visit to Lago Enriquillo while you are out that way.

The only problem with doing this is that it takes you about as far as possible from many of the other places which you whould probably love to visit (including the entire North Coast, and especially the Samana peninsula.) It would take a full day of driving to get from Barahona to the North coast. Just how many other places you could see would depend on how long you spend in the Barahona area. You could probably spend a great week just visiting the places between SD and Barahona, including Azua, Bani, and San Cristobal.

If you can fit an SUV rental into your budget (about $250 more than an economy car for a week), you would have an interesting option. On the "way back" from Barahona to SD, you could turn north on the mountain road which goes through San Jose de Ochoa to Constanza and Jarabacoa. This is a trip which requires a 4 wheel drive vehicle, but you could see some of the most spectacular views in the country, visit several beautiful waterfalls, and see an entirely different aspect of the country. Jarabacoa is the adventure tourism center of the country if you enjoy hiking, horseback riding, whitewater rafting, etc. Then take the Autopista back to SD, and on the way you could stop in Bonao. You could do all this w/o the 4WD, it would just involve driving longer distances and backtracking to use the better highways.
 

jare2003

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Mar 26, 2005
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we're trying to do this really cheaply, so a SUV rental is out. although i wish it were possible. we're most likely going to go with the cheapest major brand name rental car i can find. i'm under 25 (i'm 24), so we have a surcharge on that already. any tips on how to get the cheapest price?

do you recommend a certain travel guide?

also, any thoughts or idea on how much staying in a cheap local motel/lodging would cost in a remote area? amenities dont matter at all to us.


sweetdbt said:
is get a good map of the DR. You can buy the Berndston & Berndston map at Amazon for about $8, and while you're there you may want to get a travel guide or 2.

Since you are going to Barahona, you will have plenty of opportunities to see remote (non-tourist) beaches. You should also definately pay a visit to Lago Enriquillo while you are out that way.
 

sweetdbt

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Sep 17, 2004
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jare2003 said:
we're trying to do this really cheaply, so a SUV rental is out. although i wish it were possible. we're most likely going to go with the cheapest major brand name rental car i can find. i'm under 25 (i'm 24), so we have a surcharge on that already. any tips on how to get the cheapest price?

do you recommend a certain travel guide?

also, any thoughts or idea on how much staying in a cheap local motel/lodging would cost in a remote area? amenities dont matter at all to us.

For someone traveling on a tight budget, I'd recommend the Rough Guide. They seem to list more of the lower end options for accomodations. I usually rent the least expensive car I can get also, and I check first on Travelocity to see who is offering the best rate from the airport, then make the actual reservation on the company's website. Right now you can get an economy car at SDQ for $196/week from Alamo. This includes taxes and fees, but not the underage surcharge or loss damage waiver insurance, which you will need unless your credit card covers it. That's at the airport, but you could probably do as well or better at one of the SD offices. You should probably budget at least $20 a night for accomodations. There are cheaper places, but they may be hard to find, and safety may be an issue. Once you decide where you want to go, you can probably get specific recommendations from DR1rs who have been there.
 

rellosk

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Mar 18, 2002
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jare2003 said:
this all has been really helpful. does anyone else have other suggestions?
Do not rent the car at the airport. There is a surcharge for renting at the SDQ airport (I think it's 7%). Most of the major rental companies offer pickup points in the Capitol.
 

sweetdbt

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Sep 17, 2004
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Rellosk made a good point about the airport fee, and from what you said it would probably be out of your way anyway. It is useful to do the initial search using the airport location for comparison purposes. You can then go to the company websites and look for other locations in SD.

My casual observation is that not many DR1 posters are from the areas West of SD in the South, but there are some. Try using the search feature, entering some of those locations, such as Bani, Azua, and San Christobal. There was a trip report on San Cristobal not long ago. Someone also posted recently about visiting the Larimar mines, which I believe are near Bani. You may want to send a PM to Mirador. I believe he/she lives in Azua.

You will no doubt be getting a very heavy dose of Dominican culture and city life in that first week with your girlfriend's family. Barahona will be a very different experience. Just a suggestion, but IMHO, the perfect place to finish off a really diverse trip would be Jarabacoa. In the mountains, less than 2 hours from SD, cooler and with very different vegetation (pine trees). It is the vacation choice of many Dominicans, but relatively few foreign tourists. It costs next to nothing to visit the waterfalls. Hotel Brisas del Yaque on Calle Luperon (574-4490) has nice rooms with most amenities at a reasonable price. I looked at an even cheaper hotel on the main street, but decided against it.
 

Dolores1

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May 3, 2000
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www.
Suggest you read through and even print out content of the DR1 Travel Pages. They give you a comprehensive overview of the main attractions of each of the tourist destinations. We soon will be adding Barahona/Pedernales and Jarabacoa/Constanza to the destinations.

http://dr1.com/travel/
 

mb2

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Mar 2, 2005
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Museums to See

If you like art at all, please do not miss the Modern Art Museum in Santo Domingo, in the Plaza De la Cultura in the Gazcue section of the city. The museum is a real treasure, containing an outstanding collection of modern Dominican art, along with special exhibitions from time to time. I believe admission last time I was there in October was less than $1, 50 cents or so so it fits in anyones budget! If you get the Rough Guide book, it has a very interesting section on the museum, including a description of some of the pieces in the collection. Last time I was there I was one of only 5 people in there, so please, if you are an art lover, go support them. The first time I went I was shocked at the high quality of the collection and the excellent design of the museum. The other museums in the Culture Plaza are very good too, but the Modern Art Museum is a real gem.
 

Chirimoya

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Dec 9, 2002
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More modern art can be found in the Casa de Teatro art gallery in the Colonial Zone: (C/ Meri?o casi esq Portes), and in the Casa Cultural de Espa?a further down the street.

There are also several commercial art galleries around the city.
 

jare2003

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Mar 26, 2005
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lodging

as per an early poster's thought: in rural DR, or out in out of the way places, at local lodging, i should still be expecting to pay $20 US for a place to spend the night? We really dont need any amenities at all, just a bed to crash in. thoughts on this would be great!
 

Chirimoya

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Dec 9, 2002
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jare2003 said:
as per an early poster's thought: in rural DR, or out in out of the way places, at local lodging, i should still be expecting to pay $20 US for a place to spend the night? We really dont need any amenities at all, just a bed to crash in. thoughts on this would be great!

Very basic local hotels in SW towns will be less than that, but more often than not it is a far from pleasant experience. Look through old threads on the subject: there are some exceptions here and there. I've stayed in a dire one in Polo (in the mountains above Barahona, past the famous Polo Magnetico) and in reasonable places in Jimani and Barahona. A friend recently stayed in a Swiss-owned hotel just outside Barahona which sounded good, but I have no more details. I also hear there are OK but basic ones in Pedernales (?), San Jose de Ocoa and La Descubierta.
 

Naufrago

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Sep 1, 2004
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Hi Jare, Welcome to the board. You're off to good start having family show you around SD. This a deceptively big country though, so don't be too ambitious about wanting to see it all the first time. Be careful about renting a car. Take the insurance and try to get a low deductable. I had a rough experience on my first trip here a few years back and ended up paying US$1,500 for the car repair. That was the lowest deductable I could get, so be careful. Consider taking the bus up to the North Shore, The beach at Cabarete is beautiful, but you will encounter alot of tourists there. A day trip to Bani is a nice car or bus trip, and Altos de Chavon, is another nice trip. If you can get to Jarabacoa or Samana that would be great from what I've heard. But, If you're spending a week in SD, 1 week for exploring is not a lot of time to cover so much ground. Be very careful driving and don't find yourself driving at night. I started off like you about five years ago, after 6 trips, and finally moving here 6 months ago, we still haven't seen all the places we want to see. Have fun and enjoy your vacation, a couple of leisurely outings will serve you much better than turning your vacation into a marathon road trip. And don't forget the sunblock. :cool:
 

sweetdbt

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Sep 17, 2004
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With cost being a big factor, you may want to consider scrapping the car rental altogether. You can certainly get to Barahona and points between cheaper by bus, or even cheaper by guagua. Possibly rent a car for 1 day in Barahona to go to Lago Enriquillo. I am not as negative about driving in the DR as some are, but it is different, and can be a bit intimidating at first.

As far as really low-cost rooms are concerned; each town will have some. The Rough Guide is somewhat geared to backpackers, and will probably give you some options, but most won't be listed. Since you will be traveling with a fluent Spanish speaker, you should be able to question the locals and find places they stay for less. Of course, you would want to have a "known quantity" as a back-up, even if it is a bit more expensive.

Naufrago makes a good point about the DR being a deceptively large country. For example, driving from Barahona to Samana (about as far away as 2 places in the country can be) would take every bit of 9 or 10 hours, and that's if you DON"T miss any turnoffs or otherwise get sidetracked. You would then have a 5 or 6 hour drive to get back to SD. I wouldn't try to cover that much ground if I only had a week. Save the North coast for a future trip. If you have a little time after visiting Barahona and points between, consider checking out some of the places inland, close to the Autopista Duarte (main North-South highway). Jarabacoa, Constanza, La Vega and Bonao would all be pretty close. Santiago isn't much farther. Cotui is a great little inland town, and there is an interesting thread here about it. All of those places are 3 hours or less drive time from SD, and can be reached by bus or guagua as well.