Playa Dorada, White Beaches

[ryfool]

Hi going for my first visit to DR, Stayin at the playa dorada complex. Ive heard good and bad things...the main im concerned about is tavelling out of the complex, i hear they try to get u to stay inside the complex but i guess this is for our safety!?!
Anyway I booked this thinkin it was caribbean seas but im wrong!! Im sure the beach is lovely but is there a beach nearby..with the typical White Sand and Clear Blue Seas i can visit for a day wihtout spending too much?!
Thanks for your help!

 

[Hlywud]

ryfool

Have you got a suprise coming, if you are looking for the the typical White Sand and Clear Blue Seas. It is at least 8 hours away, not near Playa Dorada

 

[Escott]

Sosua has a real nice beach 35 minutes away
Cabarete has a real nice beach with windsurfers and Kite surfers 45 minutes away. Both are east of Playa Dorada. Both have a lot of things to do. Sosua is less expensive to eat and drink at the beach.

Both are safe. If you book tours outside of Playa Dorada it is a lot cheaper along with most stuff you can spend money on there.

Scott

 

[ryfool]

Dam

DAM! Long journey then! But is there not one a little similar?!?! Oh well i suppose ill have to put up with it or cancel!?!
Thanks for the reply!

 

[ryfool]

Sosua

Sosua: That sounds like a quik cheap alternative Is it nicer than the playa Dorada option?
Im gonna have a great time whatever just wanted to experinece a litttle of the picture postcard options! But if its too far away im sure the resort im in will be fine

 

[Escott]

You will enjoy the trip to Sosua. Real nice beach that half is protected by a reef so it is less of a stir. The beach is lined with casetas and restaurants/bars. Beach chair is under a buck for the day which also comes with a boy to bring your drinks and food for tip.

Don't forget to bargain and bargain hard with the vendors in the Casetas for anything you buy. Up the road from the beach on the second floor halfway up is a great massage parlor. You will need to make a reservation when you first get there for later in the day. Cost is about 350 pesos but I get it for 300 pesos which is under 10 bux for an hour massage. If you want to walk through town a good place to have lunch is Rockys. On the side street where Harrisons Jewelers are. Have a great time.

 

[ryfool]

Sounds Good!

Thanks for that!

Sounds appealing! I can just get a taxi or bus from my resort in playa dorada right?! Could do with a relaxing day out and the massage sounds good!
Thanks for your help...
only a month to go!

 

[Escott]

Have a great time. You can take a taxi about 25$ US or take a Publico (small bus) for under a buck. I would ride with the herd in the Publico for the sensation! Change a few dollars into pesos before you leave Playa Dorada.

Let me know how it went.

 

[ryfool]

All So Helpful!

Will Do!
Every1 here is very helpful thanks! Just a few more things?! !!!
What is the current rate of DR currency? I here they perfer US$? And that We cannot it untill over there?!
Thanks

 

[Escott]

They do NOT prefer US dollars. They only know Pesos. If dealing in US dollars you will get ripped.

Cash 50 bux at Playa Dorada and then what ever else you will need at Western Union in Sosua for a better rate. Current rate last I heard was about 31.50 to 32.50 but this changes daily. Western Union in Sosua will give you close to the best rate available.

If you take a cab even bargain with them. When you go to the massage parlor tell them that Marco Polo sent you and told you the rate is 300 pesos.

Scott

 

[ryfool]

Thanks

Thanks for that! Sounds Good!
Just another thing some1 in another post said its cheaper to book excursions at the plaza rather than the rep is this ok to do ?!
Im interested in the cattarmaran and the paradise island..(aparntly a flight to a luxurious island for the day! But i read in a brouchure thats ?150! I cud get another holiday for that lol!

 

[Escott]

cheaper anywhere but at the rep.

Not familiar with the trip. sorry maybe someone else is.

 

[XanaduRanch]

Welcome to DR1!

Escott, there's also a Western Union in the little mall there in Playa Dorada. I always found the rate there the same as in Sosua. Ryfool, you can also use your bank ATM cards with no problems. There is an ATM about 1/2 way up from the beach to the massage parlor. :: smile ::

You'll like both beaches. Sosua's is always more active and crowded. For me it's a bit too much to be really relaxing. Cabarete is a beautiful beach, more laid back, less pressure from vendors. If you like to really be alone Playa Boca de Yasica can be reached from Sabeneta, about 10 minutes east of Cabarete on the main road. It's not a calm reef lined beach though, it's always empty, sand for miles and miles, and big waves to go swimming in. The nicest, calmest, closest, Caribbean style beach I've seen is just west of Luperon at La Rucia, maybe 1 hour west by car. Right near by are the ruins of La Isabella a site founded by Columbus, open for tours for a small fee and well worth the time too. My wife never liked the beaches much at Playa Dorado. Said they smell bad! I always kind of thought so too. Too many growing green thingies in the water.

Oh, and for a nice very Dominican, non touristy experience right nearby Playa Dorada with fresh cooked fish right at the beach, yum, you could try Playa Bergantin. It's actually on the east side of the bay that is Playa Dorada. The entrance road is immediately east of the Playa Dorada complex. Wonderful calm waters, boats tied up, etc. Neat. But go only if you're not in need of pampering because it's a place for the locals.

Tom (aka XR)

 

[ryfool]

Sounds like im spoilt for choice now!
My GF doesnt want to venture TOO far out of the complex but i wanna visit differnt places! Off to buy a underwater camera so hope that sea is nice and clear for me!
Ill have to visit it all and i assume using my cash cards/credit cards will have a hefty charge from the machine?!
Really need to find that trip called the island Saona!
Anyway thanks guys n girls!

 

[Hillbilly]

Paradise

It is a long bus ride to a boat that takes you to a sand spit with thatched huts and lots of beer. Snorkeling at some reefs-do not know if they observe ecoolgy rules. Then back to main house. Banana boat rides available...

Tell your girl friend that there are lots of ladies here that would accompany you wherever you want to go and not to be such a damn scardiy cat!!


HB

 

[Escott]

Sounds like im spoilt for choice now!
My GF doesnt want to venture TOO far out of the complex but i wanna visit differnt places! Off to buy a underwater camera so hope that sea is nice and clear for me!
Ill have to visit it all and i assume using my cash cards/credit cards will have a hefty charge from the machine?!
Really need to find that trip called the island Saona!
Anyway thanks guys n girls!

That Island is way too far away for a week trip. Stay closer.

 

[Keith R]

Tom, the place you're talking about is not called La Rucia, it's Punta Rucia, and it is absolutely lovely -- I visited it in July with friends. Largely unspoiled beaches, water so clear... Not easy to get to, though. I hear, though, that there are day trips you can schedule through tour groups in Puerto Plata -- just don't know which ones.
Regards,
Keith

 

[XanaduRanch]

Thanks Keith!

I visited there while looking at some property nearby a year or so ago with my wife and her lawyer uncle amd I never thought to ask what the name was. I just knew how to drive there if I ever wanted to go back. So as I was responding I remembered the place and how taken I was with it's beauty and had to look at a map for a name. That was the nearest place I found and figured that must be it. I have to take the kids up there sometime. They are afraid of all the big waves on the Atlantic beaches and I remember thinking how much they'd love this beach. Calm enough for the 16 month old with no problems. Nice to know they have tours to there, too. Good info!

Tom (aka XR)

 

[ryfool]

choice

Oh stop it im spoilt for choice!
I now wanna do it all! But can only do the one really I think ill take the punta rucia sounds really really nice! Do they also have a cheap Massage place?!!!!
Thanks for all the help

 

[XanaduRanch]

You have time ...

Punta Rucia's pretty isolated, you won't get a massage unless your SO agrees to either give you one or bring the massage girl along with you. Go there to relax. But, it's not a big trip to Sosua, and Cabarete. You can be there from Playa Dorad in 15 minutes and you definitely don't want to visit the north coast without experiencing Sosua, and for sure Cabarete Beach.