I recently returned from a six-day stay in Cabarete. First, I have to say everyone's advice on this board was so helpful while I was planning the trip- thanks so much!
My friend and I flew into Santiago very early in the morning and were picked up by JJ. He was a great driver, seemed to know the route very well. We stayed at Hotel Kaoba in one of the standard rooms, which was adequate. I don't think I would stay there again, however, because there was difficulty getting warm water in the shower. We asked at the front desk several times about the water and the response would always be "You have hot water now", which was really weird and confusing. It would have been fine at the end of a long day in the hot sun but unfortunately it rained quite a bit that week.
I have to say that the food was all very good! I had no idea chicken cordon bleu was so big there, but I'm glad it was! My friend and I walked along the restaurants on the beach and pretty much picked where to eat based on what we were craving. We ate at Blu, Jose O'Shays (loved the Coco Loco!), Cafe Pitu (2 for 1 pizza!), Mango Bar, another pizza place (because it smelled so good, and it was!), and at the restaurant at Hotel Kaoba. We tended to skip breakfast and lunch and just eat a granola bar as our appetites were different in the warmer climate, but one day we did have a good breakfast at a place on the street - Dick's I think it was called?
The weather kind of hindered some of our plans for activities but we did go on a Jeep Safari tour to the waterfalls for cascading. There was no jeep, just an open-air truck on the ride to the falls. The stop at the coffee place was so much fun, and the coffee was amazing! We also had a very delicious buffet lunch in town, complete with rum and coke. Unfortunately, due to all the rain, we could only go to the 3rd waterfall because it was virtually impossible to get past that point. Well, it gives a reason to go back! I want to get through all 27 waterfalls and hopefully see the water in the beautiful blue/green they described, instead of the gushing, muddy rainwater. The guides on the tour were great, they spoke English and French for us travelers whose Spanish skills are lacking
and they quickly bonded with everyone in the group, and made the whole excursion really fun.
The culture walking down the street in town was really cool. I liked that there was music going and I loved how relaxed everyone was. So different from at home. Everyone was also really nice, asked where we were from, how long we were staying, and were always curious as to whether it was our first time in the Dominican Republic. So friendly!
We had no problems leaving our things on the beach while swimming, just kept looking back to the beach now and then. Most places we were able to use travelers checks, US Dollars,a nd Pesos so that was very helpful.
I was shocked at the stray dog problem, I guess I should have prepared myself better. As a dog lover whose dogs have the luxuries of their own beds inside the house, I was sad to see skinny dogs walking the streets and picking trash, just hoping to find some food. Also, at the hotel a visitor had brought their dog and left her because she was pregnant so there are 5 adorable puppies (someone took the 6th one despite the fact that the pups are not yet 8 weeks old which is the age they can leave their mother) living on a pile of dirt
Overall though, we had a great time and hopefully when we visit again the weather will be better! As two blatantly American girls, we will probably bring a couple of guys with us next time, so hopefully there will be less weird attempts to get our attention - hissing and throwing sand...yes, a guy actually threw sand at me to get me to keep turning around! I also hope to learn more Spanish for next time. But the whole trip was fun and I definitely cannot wait to go back. I will probably think of more.. I wrote this pretty quickly
My friend and I flew into Santiago very early in the morning and were picked up by JJ. He was a great driver, seemed to know the route very well. We stayed at Hotel Kaoba in one of the standard rooms, which was adequate. I don't think I would stay there again, however, because there was difficulty getting warm water in the shower. We asked at the front desk several times about the water and the response would always be "You have hot water now", which was really weird and confusing. It would have been fine at the end of a long day in the hot sun but unfortunately it rained quite a bit that week.
I have to say that the food was all very good! I had no idea chicken cordon bleu was so big there, but I'm glad it was! My friend and I walked along the restaurants on the beach and pretty much picked where to eat based on what we were craving. We ate at Blu, Jose O'Shays (loved the Coco Loco!), Cafe Pitu (2 for 1 pizza!), Mango Bar, another pizza place (because it smelled so good, and it was!), and at the restaurant at Hotel Kaoba. We tended to skip breakfast and lunch and just eat a granola bar as our appetites were different in the warmer climate, but one day we did have a good breakfast at a place on the street - Dick's I think it was called?
The weather kind of hindered some of our plans for activities but we did go on a Jeep Safari tour to the waterfalls for cascading. There was no jeep, just an open-air truck on the ride to the falls. The stop at the coffee place was so much fun, and the coffee was amazing! We also had a very delicious buffet lunch in town, complete with rum and coke. Unfortunately, due to all the rain, we could only go to the 3rd waterfall because it was virtually impossible to get past that point. Well, it gives a reason to go back! I want to get through all 27 waterfalls and hopefully see the water in the beautiful blue/green they described, instead of the gushing, muddy rainwater. The guides on the tour were great, they spoke English and French for us travelers whose Spanish skills are lacking
and they quickly bonded with everyone in the group, and made the whole excursion really fun.The culture walking down the street in town was really cool. I liked that there was music going and I loved how relaxed everyone was. So different from at home. Everyone was also really nice, asked where we were from, how long we were staying, and were always curious as to whether it was our first time in the Dominican Republic. So friendly!
We had no problems leaving our things on the beach while swimming, just kept looking back to the beach now and then. Most places we were able to use travelers checks, US Dollars,a nd Pesos so that was very helpful.
I was shocked at the stray dog problem, I guess I should have prepared myself better. As a dog lover whose dogs have the luxuries of their own beds inside the house, I was sad to see skinny dogs walking the streets and picking trash, just hoping to find some food. Also, at the hotel a visitor had brought their dog and left her because she was pregnant so there are 5 adorable puppies (someone took the 6th one despite the fact that the pups are not yet 8 weeks old which is the age they can leave their mother) living on a pile of dirt
Overall though, we had a great time and hopefully when we visit again the weather will be better! As two blatantly American girls, we will probably bring a couple of guys with us next time, so hopefully there will be less weird attempts to get our attention - hissing and throwing sand...yes, a guy actually threw sand at me to get me to keep turning around! I also hope to learn more Spanish for next time. But the whole trip was fun and I definitely cannot wait to go back. I will probably think of more.. I wrote this pretty quickly