Info on San Francisco de Macoris

tknewengland · Sep 25, 2005

Hello
Which airport is most convenient to San Francisco de Macoris? And aprox how much time should we allow to travel from the airport? I have only located one hotel, can you advise about which hotels are the nicer ones in the area? I understand it is aprox 1 hour from the beach.... can you enlighten us as to what are some interesting things to see and do while here.

Thank you for help.

laurapasinifan · Sep 25, 2005

I would bet the santiago airport is about the same distance to San fransisco de macoris as the samana airport..but i doubt near as many flights fly into the samana airport. The road between santiago and sf,de macoris is brutal.. and would yeild slower times even is less distance than the samana airport. I bought my girlfriend a blow dryer at the La siena store in S, F de Macoris.. does tha count at possible advice?. I am guessing you already have housing worked out in S f de M..other wise why would you be staying so far from the beaches AND the airport!!.........bob

Ken · Sep 25, 2005

The Samana airport is not yet in business. Whether it will be when you are ready to come remains to be seen.

Puerto Plata airport is a possibility, but it would require taking a taxi all the way to SFdeM. Santo Domingo should be considered. Many flights to and from, and excellent bus service from Santo Domingo to SFdeM. Both Caribe Tours and Metro have buses going there. More with Caribe Tours than Metro. About 3 hours, I think,from bus terminal to SFdeM on a comfortable, airconditioned bus.

My guess is that the beaches that are 1 hour away are in Nagua. There are beaches, but this is not a beach resort area.

Look here and see if you see any hotels that look interesting. http://www.google.com.do/search?q=H...ient=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official

Golfer · Sep 25, 2005

SMF info

The closest airport to SFM is Santiago (STI). The roads from the airport to SFM are excellent and it should take less than 1.5 hours driving time. Once in SFM the only reasonable road to the North Coast beaches is the road from SFM to Nagua. Nagua has some beaches that are real gems and traveling an additional 30 minutes west on the North Coast highway will take you to the Playa Grande beach and to Rio San Juan which has two excellent beaches. Los Cohobas Hotel and Casino is head and shoulders above all other hotels in SFM. The Twins and Indians use these facilities for developing and training baseball talent.
As far as interesting things to do the city is not oriented for tourists. In season they have a winter league baseball team with a nice stadium with lots of local support. SFM also has one of the Islands largest and livliest produce markets. Produce and livestock arrive daily from the surrounding "Campo" and are sold to brokers before being trucked to the larger Dominican cities. Quite a sight, something like the Chicago Mercantile Exchange without the technology. A well maintained central park is a daily gathering place and is fronted by an excellent bar/restaurant called Buffalo. SFM is also famous for it's many beautiful churches.
SFM has been hit pretty hard by the slumping Dominican economy. Crime and violence are up and a lot of Franciscians are just staying in their houses. Hope you find this clean, temporate, and truely Dominican city to your liking, it's like no other in the DR.

Hillbilly · Sep 25, 2005

Macor?a also happens to be

One of the cities in the world that has more Mercedes than any other!.. It is the home town of some major figures in the New York drug trade--not the pharmaceuticals..

Probably half of the city lives on remittances.

It has some very nice people, however, and chief among them are the Javiers..the Faxas, the Benoits and a guy that used to be the Chief of the Police......So, in reality it is a Janus face city--good and bad....

And it is only about 45 minutes from the Santiago airport.

If you need a pick up at the airport you might use Rocio: palomalinda0890@hotmail.com

Her reputation is growing by the week..

Oh yes, there is a good restaurant there too...on the way into town on the left side...sort of Spanish, if memory serves..near the Metro Station.

HB

tknewengland · Sep 26, 2005

Thank you for all the info. Our son will be playing winter ball there, and we thought we might visit. I'm sure the team will make his living arrangements, but we were curious about the area, especially since it is a bit away from the beaches... and we have read about how some roads can be challenging. The trip from Santa Domingo seems long however I have seen that there are more airlines flying in there. Finding hotels online for San Francisco de Macoris has been difficult, can you suggest any? I had heard there were some demonstrations over frustration with some of the roads that were damaged by a hurricane... is this still an issue?

Thanks again for all your input, this forum has been very helpful.

sweetdbt · Sep 26, 2005

Las Caobas

is I believe the correct spelling of the hotel Golfer referred to in SFM. I would also recommend the place highly, and their rates are reasonable. Their phone number is 809-290-5858.

Tom F. · Sep 26, 2005

hiking

If you enjoy hiking. Take the day trip to Quita Espuela. It is a cloud forest at around 2000-3000ft above sea level if I remember correctly. The office to arrange a guide is on Libertad not far from the baseball/softball field as you enter SFM from Tenares.

Hillbilly, 50% of the residents rely on remittances? Is this an educated guess or can this be documented?

Tom F.

suarezn · Sep 26, 2005

As some people have already mentioned your best bet is to fly into Santiago (about 1 hour away). The road from Santiago is decent, but there is an area (around Rincon) where the road was washed out by rains and it hasn't been fixed yet, so it's quite rough. After you pass this town the road, becomes smooth again.

San Francisco is the seat of Duarte Province and the largest town in that part of the country (It used to be the third largest town in The DR). The economy around there is mostly agricultural, but its one of the most prosperous towns in The DR and there's actually quite a bit of money around (some of it from the drug trade and most from legal means). There are quite a few urbanizaciones (sub-divisions) with very nice houses. You can find a few of the american fast food chains over there (Pizza Hut, KFC, Burger King, etc).

Tourism is basically non-existent. The nearest beaches are in Nagua (another hour away). There are also a few mountains nearby where you can visit on your own as kind of eco-tourism, but as far as I know there aren't any organized trips. There are a couple of hotels in town as well as many nice cabanas (motels). Your best bet for hotels is Las Cahobas. Not sure whether they speak any English over there, but here's its phone number: (809) 290-5858.

To shop for almost anything, your best bet is to go to La Sirena (large department store a la walmart). The road to get there has been all tore up lately, apparently with the intent to repave it. Not sure why, because it was fine before. Right before La Sirena store is where you will find the baseball stadium.

Here are a couple of websites I found. They are in Spanish.

Macorisano Presente

Francomacorisanos.com

El Jaya Newspaper

Hope this helps.

Hillbilly · Sep 26, 2005

I'll go one at a time

Tom F Tom, that is an educated guess based on my travels in the area. For example in Tenares I was amazed to see the patio of the local high school absolutely filled with morotcycles and scooters of all shapes and sizes. Nowhere else had I seen this. THEN I found out that there are over 40 exchange houses in Tenares.

Macoris has an absolutely huge population in NYC, Lawrence, MA and Providence, RI, as well as Paterson, NJ....... And I have yet to calculate how many exchange offices there are in SFM, BUT, one of the first branches of Santa Cruz was in Macoris, not Santo Domingo...plus the fact that there are no major industries there, yet the town is alive with activity....

To the original poster
You will have to book your flight to STI -- Santiago -- and take a taxi from there. As I said it is nearby and the roads are good. Do use the people I recommended, they do a fine job.

If your son will be playing winter ball, perhaps you might like to follow the team for a day or two? If you can schedule it right, you could come to Santiago, spend a night and then go down to SantO Domingo, catch a game and then fly out of there. Might take some doing.

OR are you interested in beaches? If so, you could stay in Santiago and travel to Macoris for a game and then come back here for the following night's game ....Beaches are closer and easier to reach from Santiago, although there is a beautiful ride over the hills from Tenares to GAspar Hern?ndez to get to Cabarete....

And one last thing. My good friend Stanley Javier is the GM of the Giants and he is quality people. His dad, Julian, and I used to play a lot of golf together.. His grandfather was a famous school teacher. I am sure that they will take good care of your boy.

Let us know when you are coming down...we'll have a baseball party for you!!

HB

THE GAME · Sep 26, 2005

Hillbilly said:
One of the cities in the world that has more Mercedes than any other!.. It is the home town of some major figures in the New York drug trade--not the pharmaceuticals..

i have heard same thing.. that san fran maco. has
the most drug traders in DR...(and most come from
nyc, or MA)..... i was told of someone who is from SFM whom the police is looking for him to kill him b/c he's such a menace to societ. This person had to move to another city in DR but then decided to return to SFM.. dont' know
if police caught him.

tknewengland · Sep 26, 2005

info on San Francisco de Macoris

THE GAME said:
i have heard same thing.. that san fran maco. has
the most drug traders in DR...(and most come from
nyc, or MA)..... i was told of someone who is from SFM whom the police is looking for him to kill him b/c he's such a menace to societ. This person had to move to another city in DR but then decided to return to SFM.. dont' know
if police caught him.

Sounds a bit like the "Wild West" ??

tknewengland · Sep 26, 2005

Hillbilly said:
Tom F Tom, that is an educated guess based on my travels in the area. For example in Tenares I was amazed to see the patio of the local high school absolutely filled with morotcycles and scooters of all shapes and sizes. Nowhere else had I seen this. THEN I found out that there are over 40 exchange houses in Tenares.

Macoris has an absolutely huge population in NYC, Lawrence, MA and Providence, RI, as well as Paterson, NJ....... And I have yet to calculate how many exchange offices there are in SFM, BUT, one of the first branches of Santa Cruz was in Macoris, not Santo Domingo...plus the fact that there are no major industries there, yet the town is alive with activity....

To the original poster
You will have to book your flight to STI -- Santiago -- and take a taxi from there. As I said it is nearby and the roads are good. Do use the people I recommended, they do a fine job.

If your son will be playing winter ball, perhaps you might like to follow the team for a day or two? If you can schedule it right, you could come to Santiago, spend a night and then go down to SantO Domingo, catch a game and then fly out of there. Might take some doing.

OR are you interested in beaches? If so, you could stay in Santiago and travel to Macoris for a game and then come back here for the following night's game ....Beaches are closer and easier to reach from Santiago, although there is a beautiful ride over the hills from Tenares to GAspar Hern?ndez to get to Cabarete....

Let us know when you are coming down...we'll have a party for you!!

HB

Thank you, you are very kind.

m65swede · Sep 27, 2005

OK, here is the real deal

tknewengland, you have been given quite a mix of info and mis-info about my favorite town in the DR. I lived there for 2 years many years ago and return for a visit each time I'm in the DR to visit my nieces, nephews, and in-laws.

The best place to stay in SFM is the Hotel Las Caobas as someone mentioned earlier. Phone is (809) 290-5858, fax is 290-5859. Many of the staff speak at least some English because the hotel is where most of the ballplayers/coaches/scouts stay when in the SFM area. I have stayed there on numerous occasions and plan to do so again during my upcoming trip in November. Rates were about $US 50 per day in June but have probably gone up a bit by now.

The grounds of the hotel are the site of the baseball youth academies of the Atlanta Braves and the Seattle Mariners. There are 4 full-size baseball diamonds on the grounds.

Santiago airport is the closest but the Santo Domingo airport offers more flights. Best choice is the one with best schedule from your departure city. I always fly to SDQ then drive to San Francisco, but a first-time visitor would be best to take a taxi or bus.

There are virtually no tourist attractions in the city but everyone I've taken there has had a good time. Not at all a wild west town in my opinion.

It is difficult to find info on the hotel above because they have no internet! They recently installed internet access for their clients but not themselves. If you need any further info about the hotel or SFM in general, just PM or email me; I'd be glad to help. I have tons of pictures if you're interested. I'll be in SFM about Nov. 11th - I'll buy you a beer or fresh juice at the hotel cafe.

Swede

tknewengland · Sep 28, 2005

Thank you to everyone

I must say we are impressed with all the information, all of you have been very helpful.

It is nice to know that there are so many of you willing to help..... At this time we don't know for sure if we will be able to visit, but if the opportunity arises we will take it. It is very comforting hearing from all of you, and if you are a representation of what the DR is like, then it sounds like a very welcoming place. And we would look forward to meeting all of you. In the meantime, it is nice to know that if we have questions we know where to get the answers... Thank you!

tknewengland · Sep 28, 2005

This was exactly what we were looking for!

m65swede said:
tknewengland, you have been given quite a mix of info and mis-info about my favorite town in the DR. I lived there for 2 years many years ago and return for a visit each time I'm in the DR to visit my nieces, nephews, and in-laws.

The best place to stay in SFM is the Hotel Las Caobas as someone mentioned earlier. Phone is (809) 290-5858, fax is 290-5859. Many of the staff speak at least some English because the hotel is where most of the ballplayers/coaches/scouts stay when in the SFM area. I have stayed there on numerous occasions and plan to do so again during my upcoming trip in November. Rates were about $US 50 per day in June but have probably gone up a bit by now.

The grounds of the hotel are the site of the baseball youth academies of the Atlanta Braves and the Seattle Mariners. There are 4 full-size baseball diamonds on the grounds.

Santiago airport is the closest but the Santo Domingo airport offers more flights. Best choice is the one with best schedule from your departure city. I always fly to SDQ then drive to San Francisco, but a first-time visitor would be best to take a taxi or bus.

There are virtually no tourist attractions in the city but everyone I've taken there has had a good time. Not at all a wild west town in my opinion.

It is difficult to find info on the hotel above because they have no internet! They recently installed internet access for their clients but not themselves. If you need any further info about the hotel or SFM in general, just PM or email me; I'd be glad to help. I have tons of pictures if you're interested. I'll be in SFM about Nov. 11th - I'll buy you a beer or fresh juice at the hotel cafe.

Swede

Thank you Swede.... this info is very helpful!

superdave83 · Oct 11, 2005

If you need any more specific info (other than the great info already posted) PM me and let me know. I lived in San Fran for about 7 months and have been back to visit twice (with another trip planned in December) to see my girlfriend who lives there. Anything else you need to know I'd be more than happy to help you out!

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