Going to the DR

Unless you like hanging in a big noisy city, get onto a bus and get up to the North coast, Sosua or Cabarete.

As Rocky said Santo Domingo is a "big noisy city". However, I would not recommend a first timer (traveling alone speaking very little Spanish) to take a 4 1/2 hour bus ride to go to the North Coast.

There is plenty to do in The Capital and the immediate area. What exactly are you looking to do? Discos, bars, museums, beach, chicas, fine dinning? How long are you going to be in the DR?

For some event in the area you can also check the DR1 calendar.

I am now what is called an Appalachian-American...

I would say that if you have the least bit of courtesy, an easy smile and learn the magic words "POR FAVOR" you won't have any problem, whatsoever.

Like rellosk said: The big city is just that--a big (3 million +/-) honking, dirty, bustling city.

If you get a flight to STI --Santiago-- you can be in in the Northern Tourist Paradise in an hour and a half. Beaches, babes, beer, barties (parties) and so forth...Spanish not needed. Likewise, a flight to POP (Puerto Plata) will put you on the beach in 30 minutes. Just a question of cost effectiveness--chech the fares and take the best deal.

Let us know yur preferences and we will gently guide you to the best of vacations....

HB

"...but what is chicas"? Well there we have the truly innocent

One tip - do NOT hire or use a guide who is a male Dominican who will speak to you in English and will make it his only job for 4 days to fleece you for as much money as he can with very little if anything to show for it. There are enough bars in Sosua with management who are expats who speak English to offer you tips.

Since you are going to a country where they only speak Spanish you could make some effort to try to learn a few words, for example for "how much", "all night", "I want to put (name or part) in (name of other part)", etc. Plus hello and goodbye, numbers, and so on - you can learn quite a bit in a month.

The Capital is great, but I have to agree with the others here in terms of going to the north coast instead of the capital in that: A) you don?t speak Spanish, and B) this is your 1st time to the DR. As you?ll only be there for 4 days, I?d recommend that you fly directly into POP and stay at the hotel Europa in Sousa (English speaking and Chica (girl) friendly). You will find many black Americans there, many of whom are in the same situation as you are (make some friends). Don?t worry about the Spanish too much, as you should able to get by there ? I?ve seen others do it. However, having said that, take Ricktoronto?s advice and learn some basic Spanish before you go. Learning numbers $$$ would be a good start?

Cuanto? = How much?
Demasiado = Too much

Chicas = females, young and uncommonly available.

No, I do not think you need a guide at all. Especially in Cabarete and Sos?a..

Look at flights from Newark, La Guardia and JFK to STI...compare the prices for the flights to Puerto Plata.

It will cost you about $60-$70 to get to Sos?a or Cabarete by taxi from STI.

It will cost you about $15 to get from POP to you hotel either in Sos?a or Cabarete ($20) + tip.

HB , tryin'to be helpful

Just saw this thread : http://www.dr1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47261

So it seems that it is $20 to Sos?a and a bit more to Cabarete....

Take the advice of the above posters and if you didn't buy your ticket to santo domingo yet, buy your ticket to POP. Also here's some phrases off the Travel Section DR1 http://dr1.com/travel/prepare/phrases.shtml

Sup, I agree with some of the others regarding you going for the first time. Santiago might not be the best choice (especially since you don't speak any Spanish and by the way it could only help to learn a few everyday phrases, Hola for example).
I have been to Sosua many times and as already mentioned a lot of the locals speak some English. You might even want to check out some of the hotel/resort rates for 4 days you just may find a good deal. And if you do go to Sosua I would certainly check out all of your options before booking at Europa, there are tons of places to stay .

Having said that , if you really have your mind set on Santo Domingo, try to get to Sosua at least one day of your trip.

By the way chicas are girls in Spanish.

Before everyone give the OP advice on what part of the island he should go to, we should find out if he's already booked his flight to Santo Domingo.

Sup, have you already purchased your ticket?

If you fly into POP airport, even if it costs more initially, you won't regret it.

Sup said:

No I have not purchased my ticket yet. Kinda want to know for sure where I'm going. So I am wide open to suggestions/recommendations. Thanks for clearing up the "chicas" thing. (duh)

Click to expand...

Since you haven't yet made your reservations, my suggestion would be the North Coast; either Sosua (big party town, many chica infested discos), Puerto Plata (nice beaches, mostly all inclusive hotels, more touristy discos), or Cabarete (smaller, more laid-back, known as the windsurfing capital of the world). You would fly into the Puerto Plata Airport (POP) for any of those locations.

The other alternative would be the South Coast. You would fly into the Santo Domingo Airport (SDQ), and could either stay in Boca Chica (similar to Sosua, but a little smaller, and lately a little dead) or Juan Dolio. Both towns are on the beach. Staying on the South Coast would allow you to make a day trip into the city of Santo Domingo (you could possibly rent a car and driver for under $100 for the day, the driver could take you to all the good spots for a first time tourist).

As far as Santiago, parts of it is also a dirty crowded city, while other parts are very nice. Unfortunately, IMHO, it doesn't offer much for the first time tourist.

BTW, there are many, many other areas of the DR you could go to. But IMHO, I feel the ones mentioned are the best for a single first time traveler. Have fun!

So Sup have you decided where you are going yet? Some of my friends just came back from Santo Domingo last week. They stayed for four days. I don;t think they enjoyed themselves as much as they would have if they tried the North Coast first.