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!
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!