Cofresi Trip!

[harrison]

Hello all!

Been having a read of these forums, as me and my gf are off to the Dominican Republic on the 9th of Oct!



Decided to stay at the EMI Sun Village in Cofresi, and we hope it lives up to our expectations...!

But a few queries for you guys...

We're wanting to go snorkling at some stage, and i think we will be taking a trip to paradise island to pull this off, but we could like to see other parts of the coast too.. Mainly Carabrette and Punta Cana. Would it be possible to make it to these places in a day (not both in one day), and how much would it cost to get there in a taxi/bus?

Also, i'm expecting some wind when were there, but just how windy is it? And what do you think the weather will be like when we get there?

We're both 20, and are hoping to see some nightlife when were there, but don't expect any in Cofresi, except for the in-resort stuff... Where can we go for a good night out on the town where we will be safe, and what are the closing times? AND, do taxi's run all night (ie. can we get in a taxi at kicking out time, and still make it safely back to the resort?)

And also, would anyone suggest things to do when were there in Cofresi and the nearby areas? We want to do the safari, and paradise island trip, ocean world, some sunbathing/swimming and maybe hire some bikes for the day (i'm guessing we do this in Peurto Plata?)

It's our 1st time to the Dominican Republic, and my girls 1st time to the carribian!

We are, as you can imagine, very excited!

:classic:

THANKYOU!

 

[Rocky]

Taxis are available all night, but there are fewer, of course.
Punta Cana is at the opposite end of the island and would take you the whole day to drive there, so you can scratch that off your list.
The other stuff/places sound good.

 

[CFA123]

Cabarete you can get to in about an hour by taxi. Not sure of cost, probably $45-50 each way? On a budget and a little more adventuresome? Catch a guagua - kind of a "bus in a van" concept. That would cost you probably less than $5 each, but probably take 1 1/2 hours.

If you want a good party night away from your hotel with people in your age range, book a cheap hotel room in Cabarete for a night. Come over on a Friday or Saturday, spend the day on the beach or around town, then enjoy the bars & clubs on the beach at night... when they close at 3a.m. head back to your hotel room in Cabarete then back to Cofresi in the morning.

You can also see the towns/beaches of Puerto Plata and Sosua as you're coming/going from Cabarete as they are along the route you'd take.

 

[Hlywud]

You should find a lot to do by visiting Ocean World, great spot for an all day adventure, and then you can do the evening shows and visit the casino as well.

 

[Conchman]

At Ocean World Casino (only 2 minute drive from Sun Village):

Bravissimo Show starts tonight after 2 week break for vacations. Every night at 9:00pm except Sundays and Mondays (new schedule), also Thursdays usually booked by a hotel.

Sun Village now includes Bravissimo Show for all guests, transportation provided Wednesdays and Saturdays 8:30pm.

Friday night is Absolut Fridays with DJ at LightHouse Lounge and Disco on top of the casino. Music and crowd is more sophisticated type, lounge, R+B, top 40, etc

This Saturday night (9.22.07) at LightHouse Lounge there will be high energy electronic music (house/techno) DJ's from Moca and Santiago which will have a younger crowd.

 

[harrison]

Thanks guys!



will check them all out, shame about punta cana tho

 

[nickiscorpio]

hi there we went there in july, was fab hotel

for a good night out try the a night on the town trip, google cafe cito for more infor on it , franklin and his crew real fun, they do promote in the hotel too. ocean world is close and chris and maddies restaurant, very nice food.

 

[sosua1]

If you get tired of resort food, I would go to teddy's Island BBq it's right on the beach near Sun Village and also Chris and Mady's.....you will enjoy this big time, I sure did last year . I was there from new years day for a week, and returning for sure. So enjoy it and take care.

 

[sues36]

I was in DR a few weeks ago. Make Ocean World a priority, although be aware that they are not as camera friendly as they make out on their website. There was 4 in my party and we booked to swim together (me, OH, Son and Daughter) we bought an underwater camera to use in the water with Dolphins and was told we could not. It woud have been better if we had swam seperately so pics could be taken.
The snorkelling is a small over fish pond approx 6 feet deep and you get to go around it once so make the most of it as you can only have one trip aound.
Feed the tigers, but again make sure you do it seperately so you can take pics although they do not really like you doing so as it means you can buy their pics from them at at least $10 each.
Like I said we swam with the Dolphins, however some people we met up with swam with Sea lions and said it was a much better experience. Personally I could not swim with them (too many whiskers!!) but it is something we will do next time.
Take plenty of $'s for pics and DVD / Video. Food is good value (if you have a pizza order one regular as this will feed 2 people!
Enjoy

 

[trabajadora]

Cofresi Trip

FYI to anybody interested. I was just over there yesterday on my way to Ocean World and noticed that Teddy's Island Bar-B-Que is no longer there. Don't know if the owners of the new place are the same or not (I would think not), but there's a totally different sign with a different name there now.
Can't remember the new name; if I'm there again in the next couple days I'll update you.

 

[sosua1]

That's too bad, I had fun there on New Years Eve and had great food....Ah Well there is still Chris and Mady's. Check it out And if you do say hello to Chris for me. My name is Dan from Canada and a friend of Noreen, he will know....Thanks

 

[Conchman]

Teddys is now called The Beach House, same menu basically. Not much changed except the sign.

 

[abe]

I have watched Trip Advisor--the online hotel review site--for its reviews of Sun Village. Miraculously the negative reviews have been replaced by a string of glowing reviews--it's like someone flipped a switch. Having been there, I would suspect that they now have their English-speaking staff file phony positive reviews on Trip Advisor. They have made the huge mistake of over-promising and under-delivering. The beach is second rate, the pools are great, the hillside location makes it a Junior Olympics for guests trying to get around, etc. etc. You will be pestered at every turn to make an "investment" in their operation. In the States and in Canada you are not allowed to buy timeshare as an investment because it's been proven that it is indeed not that. However at Sun Village they package their timeshare as an investment, throw in an offshore "debit" card that is obviously designed to entice you into a tax avoidance scheme, and, in general, do everything they can to separate you from large chunks of money. Be forewarned.

 

[Rocky]

In the States and in Canada you are not allowed to buy timeshare as an investment because it's been proven that it is indeed not that.

Would you mind elaborating a bit on that one?
I don't know much about it, but I would like to know a bit more.

 

[AmyH]

I have watched Trip Advisor--the online hotel review site--for its reviews of Sun Village. Miraculously the negative reviews have been replaced by a string of glowing reviews--it's like someone flipped a switch. Having been there, I would suspect that they now have their English-speaking staff file phony positive reviews on Trip Advisor. They have made the huge mistake of over-promising and under-delivering. The beach is second rate, the pools are great, the hillside location makes it a Junior Olympics for guests trying to get around, etc. etc. You will be pestered at every turn to make an "investment" in their operation. In the States and in Canada you are not allowed to buy timeshare as an investment because it's been proven that it is indeed not that. However at Sun Village they package their timeshare as an investment, throw in an offshore "debit" card that is obviously designed to entice you into a tax avoidance scheme, and, in general, do everything they can to separate you from large chunks of money. Be forewarned.

Actually Sun Village is not a timeshare. It is only a investment with the company and I am not sure what the rate is at now but sometimes you can get up to 10% interest a year with no taxes and you do make good money off it actually is a very good investments since the hotel is doing better and better every month they have changed the hotel a lot. If you have money and you are not planning on spending it in the next 5 years it is a good thing to do you only make money off of it.

 

[sosua1]

cofresi beach

Just to let you know that you will be having a great time, go with an open heart and just enjoy, I have just booked my hotel today at the Lifestyle tropical for my 8th time, if I didn't like it I would not go back. It is a cool place to be and so are the staff, I can't say nothing but good things about the Dominican's they are very warm and caring loveable people. So think about that and you will have the time of your life......Dano

 

[Conchman]

Sun Village has improved drastically over the last two years, compared to their first two year of operation. Food, Service, the Spa, etc.

Yes the hills are a pain, but heck at least you wont have to visit the exercise room to work off all the food.

The Maxim Bungalows they are building are a great product, the model I saw looks awesome and well worth the $400-500 per unit they are charging. With Maxim backing up the marketing they will have no problem filling it (14 million magazines per month circulation).

Apparently they have already sold more than half of the inventory at the Maxim Bungalows in their investment scheme. What you actually own though I don't know, I doubt you get an actual deed or share in the company. I'd be careful there but it's worth checking out, I'm sure.