sosua and nightlife

[norwegianguy]

Hello,
I have been reading this forum for a couple of weeks now and find it really exciting. Me and my girlfriend is heading for Sosua and Casa Marina Reef on march 30, and we are both looking forward to this! We are both 27 years old, and would apreciate it if we could get some tips about the nightlife in Sosua; places to go, prices etc.

ps.
if anyone else is going there in the same period (from march 30 to april 14) we would love to hear from you, and maybe meet up for a beer.

 

[Tor]

Wish it was me, but i have alredy been there twice this winter. It's a small town, so I guess You find everything pretty easy. I like La roca and Bologna very good for eating. The bar Bologna is also very good, sweet girls, close to your hotel. Drop by the bar at "my" hotel Don Andres, on the way to Casa Marina. Most popular Disco is High. Sosua Beach is so much better than the beach at your hotel.
An advise from another Norwegian: Get out of the hotel at night, and use the local bars.

 

[Escott]

Hello,
I have been reading this forum for a couple of weeks now and find it really exciting. Me and my girlfriend is heading for Sosua and Casa Marina Reef on march 30, and we are both looking forward to this! We are both 27 years old, and would apreciate it if we could get some tips about the nightlife in Sosua; places to go, prices etc.

ps.
if anyone else is going there in the same period (from march 30 to april 14) we would love to hear from you, and maybe meet up for a beer.

I will be in Sosua from the 29th to the 8th of April.

I hang out at Rockys on Dr. Rosen Ave. If I am not there ask for Marco and tell him that Scott wants to buy you a drink. Ted and Ester are the evening bartenders. Marco owns the place and is a real friendly guy. He must have introduced me to a 150 people in Sosua. Just don't go to the Casino with him for you are certain to lose. He is a jinx.

There are also Discos in town to go to and a bunch of other bars.

Email me if you have specific questions, as I have been there 5x since Sept. 20th.

regards

 

[WhiteWave]

Ohhh, the nightlife. Well, some locals took me to a quaint little place called The Car Wash. It is indeed a car wash during the day and bar at night, although that is questionable. Locals love it but I wouldn't venture there alone as a tourist. I heard the High Carribean was good for tourists but I never did make it there myself. By the way, I just came back from Sosua last week, so this is all pretty fresh for me. Also, you are going to love it there. It is the cutest little town. As for dining out, the food is amazing in town. Every place I went was amazing. Marua Mai is great but a little expensive. Nice ambiance though if you are looking for something romantic. As well as Pier Giogio and The Waterfront. They are all within 2 blocks of each other so you won't have any trouble finding them. My favorite, however was La Carreta. I became very good friends with the waiters there. They are amazing. Mario, Abel and Elias. If you go there, tell them Jen says hi. They may ask you how you know me etc...and it could get confusing, so I will leave that up to you. Oh yeah, you have to make sure you get to Cabarete. It is 10 mins away. You can take a cab. But it is the coolest surf town with amazing restaurants on the beach. Check it out for sure. You won't regret it. Plus they also have a way better nightlife. You should venture there for a night. Just hit the beach and you will be sure to find something. Anyway, I am so jealous of you guys, but just so you know, I loved it so much that I am planning on moving there in 5 months.
Take care,
WW

 

[Hillbilly]

A question for White
Wave:

Are you thinking of making this move because of Abel? If so: Don't.

Otherwise, you are cool.

Look up my three rules for getting serious with a dominican...

HB

 

[norwegianguy]

Thanks

Thank you for these tips folks.
I'll come look you up at Rockys jazzcom!
And don't be afrain Tor, we don't intend to be stuck at night at the hotel, thats why I asked about the nightlife...

Anyone have any input on the price level for drinks etc?

 

[richard]

There are so many bars and things to do in Sosua. Some of them you might try are the Britannia Pub on the main street, a hang out for ex-pats of all nationalities, the Merengue Bar, and Tucan Disco also on the main drag. Eddy's sports bar is on the city hall street and is the place to be for international football matches, formula 1 racing etc. Rocky's just up the street from Harrisons Jewelry Store is another hang out for ex-pats with a good friendly staff. Mamajuana is a cool, inexpensive Swiss-owned restaurant on the main street. There is a small intimate air-conditioned bar behind it. LaRoca is an excellent restaurant with a great terrace for people watching. Waterfront Restaurant has such a great view you shouldn't miss it. For the most part you can eat out for under 200 pesos exclusive of taxes, booze and propina ( the extra for the waiter). Car washes are big deals in the DR and the one on the edge of town going to Cabarete is well known for Sunday afternoon parties but it can be a dangerous place. Unfortunately Sosua Beach is finished at day's end but if you go to Cabarete there are all kinds of pubs and good restaurants right on the beach which are hot spots at night. You can figure on paying about 25-30 pesos for a small Presidente in Batey the tourist area of Sosua but if you go to Charamicos, the less developed part on the West end of the beach you can find Dominican bars such as Michael's Pub overlooking the beach, charging 30 pesos for grandes, the big ones or offering Dominican service, a small bottle of rum, ice and coca cola for 80 pesos. You will find lots of info in the archives of DR1 or the Yahoo Sosua Club.


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sosuadominicanrepublic/


Enjoy yourselves. It's a great town.

Richard

 

[Malibook]

Just got back from a week in Puerto Plata.
Went for a drive one day to check out Sosua.
It was an absolute ghost town.
I thought PP was very quiet but Sosua was a disaster.
EVERY bar, restaurant, store, hotel, resort and taxi was hurting big time for business. I mean MUCHO GRANDE HUGE TIME!!!!
Many of the prices in Sosua are very high.
Perhaps justifiable when they are busy but right now it is a total buyers market, so the prices are outrageously high.
The price to take a cab from Sosua to Puerto plata and back, around 1 hour of driving, is over 1000 pesos.
In Puerto Plata, I rented a jeep with driver for the whole day and night for 1000 pesos. This guy was great. He took me to several amazing restaurants just outside of town which had great food and were much less expensive. Prices were around half what I would pay in PP and around a third of the price in Sosua.
Sosua was a total waste of time that day, and it was hard to imagine it being any better at night.
Went back to PP with no intention of ever returning to Sosua.

 

[richard]

You might remember Sosua is a tourist town and traditionally prices in tourist towns will always be higher. How did you enjoy the beach? Did you try any of the fine inexpensive restaurants where you can enjoy a delicious meal for under 200 pesos. How did it compare to the beach in Puerto Plata?
lol . How about Pedro Clisante? Did you wander around the streets taking in the houses and scenery in Batey and Charamicos? Yes right now it is a buyer's market in Sosua but every resort town goes through ups and downs. You can hardly give an informed opinion about night life or the town at all when you were only there during a part of one day. Try a vacation in Sosua for a couple of weeks, You may find yourself enjoying Sosua.

 

[Tor]

re Mailbook
Yes Sosua is emty at daytime, everybody is at the beach!

 

[Malibook]

Tor, they were not at the beach that day.
The whole town, including the beach, was an absolute dead zone.
Every business was virtually deserted.
I'm sure Sosua must be more lively than the day I was there, otherwise the town would go bankrupt.
Have you or Richard been there recently?
When is a happening time to go to Sosua?
Perhaps the week before March break is a particularly slow time.

 

[Tor]

I was in Sosua 2 weeks i january. Ok it was a bit slower than it has been, but nothing what you describe. I'm hopefully going back in november. The reason Sosua has slowed down a bit is probbably because of the 11/9 factor. Besides that i think the all inclusives like Casa Marina and others destroys a lot.

 

[richard]

Yes I was there for almost a month during the end of November and the first part of December. Again, I don't understand how one can comment on the night life when they aren't even there?

 

[Malibook]

Richard, when did I comment on the nightlife?
I'm sure the nightlife is great when there are people in town.
I said it is hard to imagine the night being any better when the day was an absolute dead zone. The whole town was barren and desolate. No business was even remotely busy. The beach was practically empty. Almost every bar, restaurant and store on the beach and in town had no customers, ZERO, NADA. The ones that did have some business had 2 or 3 people, and they were the vast minority.
I would assume Sosua is much livelier this week being March break.
Like I said, perhaps the week before March break is an exceptionally slow time there.
You are right that I should not be so quick to write the place off completely, but I need to know when it is worth going.

 

[Escott]

Many of the prices in Sosua are very high.
Perhaps justifiable when they are busy but right now it is a total buyers market, so the prices are outrageously high.
The price to take a cab from Sosua to Puerto plata and back, around 1 hour of driving, is over 1000 pesos.
In Puerto Plata, I rented a jeep with driver for the whole day and night for 1000 pesos. Prices were around half what I would pay in PP and around a third of the price in Sosua.
Sosua was a total waste of time that day, and it was hard to imagine it being any better at night.
Went back to PP with no intention of ever returning to Sosua.

Wow, Sosua is expensive? I thought it was/is the cheapest place in the world. Nothing seemed expensive there to me, it all seemed CHEAP. I rent a car when I am down so never take taxi's and cant comment about that. I found the prices in Puerto Plata to be simular to Sosua. There was a better exchange rate in PP for some reason for dollars/pesos.

Where do you come from where you find the prices in Sosua expensive?

Regards

 

[Malibook]

Hola Jazzcom.
I come from Toronto.
I am not comparing the prices in Sosua to Toronto.
I am speaking relatively compared to the places my driver was taking me.
I only had one meal in Sosua and it was easily double the price that I was used to paying.
Not double the price in Puerto Plata, but still considerably more expensive.
I was also paying for my girlfriend, driver, and an amigo so the difference was even more noticeable. I usually ordered extra food for the 3 of them to take home with them as well.
The money would be totally insignificant if I was just paying for myself.
My point is that I was looking for a lively, busy, partying atmosphere which requires people, many, many people, especially beautiful senoritas.

 

[Sandra]

Sousa Night Life

I just came back from Sousa - I go there every 3-4 months for business (travel agent) and Sousa has been slow due to people not traveling, but that is changing.

More tourists are starting to arrive there. In any case, there's the disco called High Carribean that you can go to and there's a Salsa and Merengue bar nearby as well that is nice (dont remember the name off hand - but its near Willey's disco)

As for Sousa being expensive, its not. Its actually cheaper than Puerto Plata, so those people who've paid alot of money for taxis and other things are being double charged.

If you need a taxi, I have a person that services my clients that is very reasonable take care of your local travel needs.

If you are interested in the taxi, tours or any other information, feel free to contact me at Funlocations@yahoo.com.

Sandi

 

[trina]

Sosua expensive compared to what?

Playa Dorada, where unfortunately, too many tourists go? Give me a break. Sosua is highly reasonable.

 

[richard]

Sosua was a total waste of time that day, and it was hard to imagine it being any better at night


Above is your quote concerning night life. Need I say more. I also agree withjazzcom. I certainly have no idea as to where you have travelled , nor do I care, but for an international tourist destination in the West Indies my personal opinion is Sosua is very inexpensive.

 

[Marc]

Sosua/Cab/PP

In response to original post, head to Cabarete if you are looking for an atmosphere similar to Banff/Canmore (laid back, surfer dudes, good parties at night, clean atmosphere). I recommend Tiki Bar which is owned by a girl from Edmonton. Party starts late and goes all night.

Sosua at night is great for me, but that is because I like to just head to the Britania/Rock?'s/La Roca for a few brews with some friends...not a real partier.

As for Sosua being quiet....I'll have Sosua beach to myself any day over a crowded one! A restaurant to myself? Shops that are empty (but open). Sounds like the dream vacation to me.

I think that you need to get a better driver in Sosua next time...you been had. Sosua is slow right now, to be sure, it is slow season. I like it slow, that's why I am here

marc