Traveling First Time to DR

[sashi101]

Hello All!

I'm traveling to the DR for the first time alone and don't know what to do. The tours I've seen seem so touristy and I want to see the real DR. Is there any guided tours or locals who do tours? I will go out alone but I don't want to miss a thing. Help! What to do as a solo traveler?

 

[texan]

Hello All!

I'm traveling to the DR for the first time alone and don't know what to do. The tours I've seen seem so touristy and I want to see the real DR. Is there any guided tours or locals who do tours? I will go out alone but I don't want to miss a thing. Help! What to do as a solo traveler?

where do you plan on going and for how long? are you flying in and out of the same airport?

 

[Lobo Tropical]

Tourist or Traveller?

Hello All!

I'm traveling to the DR for the first time alone and don't know what to do. The tours I've seen seem so touristy and I want to see the real DR. Is there any guided tours or locals who do tours? I will go out alone but I don't want to miss a thing. Help! What to do as a solo traveler?

Tours tend to be touristy as they are designed for tourists.
If you want to see the real DR rent a car, get on a bus and go out alone.
Enough info on the net.....search.

 

[keepcoming]

What are your interests? If coming to Santo Domingo go to the Zona Colonial. I always recommend that for those who are coming to Santo Domingo. When you say the "real DR" what is it that you want to see? Depending on where your going to be will determine a good portion of what you will/can see and experience.

 

[donP]

Hidden Highlights

I want to see the real DR.

Why spoil your holiday?

donP

 

[sashi101]

I will be there for 3 days coming in from SDQ and staying in a hosted apartment through Airbnb. The reason why I don't want to rent a car is because the internet says it's hard to drive there. When I said the "real DR" I meant seeing the country as it. I've been to other islands and most times end up meeting a local who takes me around not just to the hotel restaurant or expensive places catering to the tourists.

I want to go out alone but say for example at night I want to go to a club...as a solo female? that's tricky.

I have researched on the internet and have things I want to do compiled, I just wanted to get some insight as I think there are people who have lived or are living in DR now.

 

[donP]

3 Days Only

I will be there for 3 days coming in from SDQ and... When I said the "real DR" I meant seeing the country as it. I've been to other islands and most times end up meeting a local who takes me around not just to the hotel restaurant or expensive places catering to the tourists.

I want to go out alone but say for example at night I want to go to a club...as a solo female? that's tricky.

Well, 3 days are certainly not enough to the grasp 'the real DR'.
To get a limited insight off the beaten path would very much depend on the person 'taking you around'.
Unless you have a recommendation, you may end up with the wrong guy...

Good luck!

donP

 

[mofongoloco]

You will have fun. Fiirdst time out for three days. SDQ is very urban. You can easily spend an entire day just walking around the colonial zone. clearly you'll want to see the colombus mansion and that whole plaza area. Those restaurants surroundiong the plaza are arguablythe best. anyway, nice place for a tourist too et. the park wi.th the cathedral and staue of colon is likely to be pot you will return to and usse as a bae of reference.

Pre-arrange a taxii to taakee you on a driiving tour odf thee city. you decide how much u want to pay. 50bucks, hundred bucks. gettss you a really good driving tour alll around. however, traffic sucks in sdq.

walk up duarte into china town and the commercial cee]nter of old santo domingo. This is the REAL DR you are looking for. you'll be the only gringo around. very new yorky- just like washington heights for me.

near there is a park where the buses go to boca chica. Not the finest beach in the DR, for sure. but it is just fine aand on the weekends when it is full of dominicanos it is quite fun. easy and safe for your first trip.

yYpou can go to the bus station and take a 1-2 hour trip to any tytown, walk around and come baack. san cristobal. san pedro. bani. all enterrtaining. typical town center with a park and motoconchos everywhere. It's funn to see the school kiids in their uniforms. avoid trying to get lunch when they are around.

 

[chic]

maybe you could get a guide....ive hired,,, you pay for food and drinks... he they protect watch etc...an employees cousin or highschool kid... grad or university..

 

[Hlywud]

3 days, this must be a joke.....

 

[mountainannie]

you can go to the beach one day at Juan Dolio. If you have good Spanish, ask for directions to the gua gua. Avoid Boca Chica..

Night time at the Hard Rock Cafe now in Blue Mall will not land you in much trouble.

There are English guided tours for the Zona, do take one, that will help orient you. All the guides are trained and licensed and will ask for $40 but do a tour for $20. They will take you around the monuments, etc. And, of course, steer you into the shops where they will get a kick back.

You can go for dinner at Maison d'Bari.. and if you are here on a Sunday, to the old Cathedral for a Son concert at sunset.

Lots of little theaters and caberets in the Zona.

Three days.. you are going to miss a lot!

 

[Dolores1]

Three days is only enough to appreciate some of the sites of Santo Domingo. Suggest you use the DR1 Guide (see link below) to see the Colonial City (by day and by night). For night life, start off at Blue Mall (check out the Vertigo Bar) and then walk the Gustavo Mejia Ricart to choose where to have dinner. For nightlife, also check out Lulu's Tasting Bar (live shows on Mondays), Las Terrazas del Meson (on Tuesdays), Bonye at Ruinas San Francisco on Sunday, and Plaza de Espana (Friday and Saturday nights). For what's happening, check out DR1 Calendar (activities always being added).

We also suggest you take the Grayline city tour. The tour will take you through some of the Colonial City, includes the Plaza Espana and the Atarazana, the ruins of San Francisco, but they will also take you to see the Malecon, the Palacio of Fine Arts and the Universidad Autonoma of Santo Domingo (UASD), which was the first university in the New World, founded unofficially by a Papal bull in 1538, and officially by royal decree in 1558.
In addition, Blue Mall, the Botanical Garden, the Estadio Quisqueya, the Felix Sanchez Olympic Stadium, and the Plaza de la Cultura, which in itself is a unique experience including the National Theater, the National Library, the city's main museums, the Museum of Dominican Man, the Natural History Museum, the Museum of Modern Art and the Geography Museum.
It also includes the National Palace, Independence Park, the Model Market, the first Cathedral in the Americas, Chinatown, the El Conde pedestrian street and the Fortaleza Ozama. For more information, call Gray Line on Tel 809 466-1007.
http://www.graylinedr.com

http://dr1.com/travel/santodomingoguide.pdf
http://www.dr1.com/calendar/events/

 

[mountainannie]

Thanks Dolores, i did not know about the Grey Line. Wish I had.. http://www.graylinedr.com/

There are only so many times I can take visitors on a tour and it is exhausting sometimes when folks come and say "I want to see it ALL!" ...

 

[mofongoloco]

I would just like to say that my earlier post was not a case of drunk typing. Sadly i was entirely sober. Just a weird keyboard and I didn't read as I typed.

Anyway, Annie's advise is better. On all counts. Juan Dolio is only a little further down the road.

 

[ROLLOUT]

Tours tend to be touristy as they are designed for tourists.
If you want to see the real DR rent a car, get on a bus and go out alone.
Enough info on the net.....search.

\

Why on earth would you tell a first-timer to the DR, to rent a car? That would be certain suicide.

 

[LTSteve]

I will be there for 3 days coming in from SDQ and staying in a hosted apartment through Airbnb. The reason why I don't want to rent a car is because the internet says it's hard to drive there. When I said the "real DR" I meant seeing the country as it. I've been to other islands and most times end up meeting a local who takes me around not just to the hotel restaurant or expensive places catering to the tourists.

I want to go out alone but say for example at night I want to go to a club...as a solo female? that's tricky.

I have researched on the internet and have things I want to do compiled, I just wanted to get some insight as I think there are people who have lived or are living in DR now.

Perhaps you can arrange for a guide or "escort" through the place you are staying. I wouldn't go out looking for one on your own. There are many guys looking for a single women with no knowledge of her surroundings. Be careful and use common sense especially if you are out at night. Perhaps you can find another women to pal around with. There is plently to see in Santo Domingo. Just remember this is a big city like any other and you need to stay alert. I hope I am not scaring you but single women are a target. Do you speak any Spanish. Where are you coming from. Are you a person of color or will you stand out like any Gringa. That could also make a difference. Most other islands do not have a city of 3 million people. Please stay safe and have fun.

 

[Dolores1]

For people touring the DR on your own… let me share the same advice that was given to me when I went to study in NY in 1984… "always look like you know where you are going". That is the best advice a tourist can keep in mind. If you look disoriented, you become more easy prey to do no gooders. Do your best to not appear insecure… even if you are not sure where you are headed.

The extreme of this advice was when myself and a Dominican friend walked decisively into a dead end in a section of the NY subway. An onlooking Police officer couldn't figure us out!

A German friend once told me when walking leisurely in Frankfurt… if you walk like that you will soon know your price!

Also, keep to places where there are people moving. Dominicans are friendly and will set you right. But keep alert at all times to distinguish between those who are friendly and those who see you as a client/victim.

If you stay alert chances are high in your favor that you will have no problems.

 

[fluffyoblong]

Many visitors head directly for beachfront resorts, and there?s much at these vacation retreats to admire. The southeastern part of the country probably has the loveliest all-inclusive resort zones, B?varo and Punta Cana, both holding pristine coastline stretching for kilometres on end. Also dedicated to mass tourism is the mega-complex Playa Dorada on the north coast. Playa Dorada is set beside the city of Puerto Plata, a historic city worth examining for its wealth of Victorian architecture, and is also in easy proximity to wind- and kitesurfing capital Cabarete.

Of course, you don?t have to base yourself in a resort to visit the DR?s most popular sights, and there are plenty of opportunities for independent travellers to range further afield too. A quest for immaculate beaches may take you to the most remote corners of the southwest, where your efforts will be rewarded with the breathtaking sands of the Jaragua Peninsula. There are some beautiful, and far more accessible, beaches scattered about the Saman? Peninsula, however, poking out at the country?s extreme northeast. Its primary city, Saman?, serves as a base for checking out the humpback whales that migrate to the Bah?a de Saman? each winter, while Las Terrenas is the peninsula?s liveliest town. Its long, sandy seafront is lined with expat-owned hotels, tour operators, and popular restaurants and bars, while secluded paradise isn?t far away at the beaches of playas Bonita and Rinc?n.

On the southern coast the capital city, Santo Domingo, offers the most fulfilling urban experience, and should be on everyone?s itinerary and not just because it has the country?s largest airport ? historic forts, churches and the elegant homes of the Zona Colonial make it a fascinating destination in its own right.

If you?re seeking a bit more adventure and outdoor life, you needn?t look too hard. The Cordillera Central is the island?s largest mountain range and provides the stunning setting for multi-day treks through the wilderness to the top of Pico Duarte ? the tallest peak in the Antilles ? and trips to Jarabacoa, a resort town blessed with a cluster of four waterfalls in its immediate vicinity and featuring all manner of mountain sports.

 

[ROLLOUT]

Nice cut-an-paste job.