Beach Walker and Boat Taxi's

CanadianCutie23 · #1 11-01-2008, 08:57 PM

Hello Friendly DR1er's!

The time has come again for me to return to the wonderful Republica Dominicana. This will be my first visit to the east coast and as such I've been busy researching everything and anything bavaro related.

I'll be staying at the Riu Taino and I've been trying to get an understanding of distances between hotels, plazas, etc. Thus far, this search has been somewhat unsuccessful in that I've just found very generalized information (i.e. 40 kilometres of beautiful white sand beaches).

Would anyone know how long (kilometres or hours) it would take to walk from the Rius north to the furthest hotel (i.e. Sivory/Agua/Excellence area)? What about south to Bavaro Plaza/Occidental Grand region? Onwards to the most southern hotel area (i.e. Catalonia/Club Med) from either the Rius or central Occidental Grand region?

Also, is it possible to walk end to end along the beach or are there areas which are not passable?

I've also heard rumours about the possibility of boat taxi's that operate in the region. Are there specific pick up spots? How much do they usually cost?

Thanks in advance for your help!
D.

MikeFisher · #2 11-01-2008, 10:52 PM

hi D.,
to the walks you mentioned:
from the Rui Taino to occidental grand flamenco, 1hr one way,
up to the uvero alto hotels north of the riu resort, too far for a walk.
yes, the beaches are all walkable in that area, no restrictions on that. boat taxis can be arranged at your hotel's watersports centers, rates depend on distances and number of persons in your group.
a water taxi will always be more expensive than a landbased cabby.
the mentioned plaza bavaro is not accessible from the beach side, you would need to cross the property of one of the hotels there, they will not allow you to enter/walk throu, so to visit the plazas i would recommend to take a cabby.
have fun
Mike

CanadianCutie23 · #3 11-07-2008, 09:02 PM

Thanks for the advice, Mike! I love hiking the Bruce here in Ontario but haven't been able to find any information on hiking in the PUJ area so I guess the miles of white sand will have to do!

Cheers,
D

CanadianCutie23 · #4 11-07-2008, 09:13 PM

Of course.. one more question has popped into my head..

Are there gua-guas and/or motoconchos that could be used for transport to the plazas?

Any advice on catching a gua-gua to Higuey?

Cheers,
D.

MikeFisher · #5 11-08-2008, 10:30 AM

yes D.,
from the main entrance of the Riu Resort you can catch the guagua.
that one brings you up to the Parada Friusa, just a 10 minutes from the Riu resort, at the Parada you can take the short 10 minutes ride on the next guagua to the plaza bavaro, also at the same parada you can catch the bus to higuey, around a 50 minutes ride. way back to the Riu is no problem neither, at the bus stop for bavaro in higuey you take the Guagua to BAVARO(not to Punta Cana, that would be the route which brings you to the airport, ha ha), that bust will drop you off right at the entrance of the Riu Resort, so one bus less needed on the way back from higuey.
have fun
Mike

rubio_higuey · #6 11-10-2008, 04:33 PM

You can walk all the way past Flamenco and Fiesta Palladium to Cortecito. The beach has free access to/from Cortecito area as it is a commercial street. There, you can take a Motoconcho to take you to Plaza Bavaro. About 50 pesos. From plaza Bavaro a motoconcho can take you to Riu, don't pay more than 100 pesos.

Maybe MikeFisher can advise on actual rates.

rubio_higuey · #7 11-10-2008, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeFisher

from the main entrance of the Riu Resort you can catch the guagua.
that one brings you up to the Parada Friusa, just a 10 minutes from the Riu resort, at the Parada you can take the short 10 minutes ride on the next guagua to the plaza bavaro, also at the same parada you can catch the bus to higuey, around a 50 minutes ride.

hehe if you want a "natural experience" take the guagua the employees ride to Higuey, in front of Riu. Give the driver 100 pesos and you will be all set to go. He might even take you for free... the guagua will go directly to Higuey... but be prepared for lots of people squeezed in, and no A/C. (The express bus from Friusa to Higuey is very comfortable and has A/C, runs on the hour).

CanadianCutie23 · #8 11-11-2008, 07:41 PM

Thanks Mike and Rubio... and some followup questions..

The "bus" to Higuey (mentioned by Mike) is an actual bus and not a gua gua? How much would this cost? Is this bus also available to go back to the Riu or is only gua gua possible?

What would a gua gua look like? How much should a gua gua cost from the Riu to the parada?

Any advice on things to do in Higuey (tourist attractions, shopping, etc.)?

MikeFisher · #9 11-12-2008, 10:41 AM

those public buses are all Guaguas.
from the mainstation at Friusa towards higuey and afterwards back from higuey to the Riu you can choose between the "guagua caliente", running without AC and starting around every 30 minutes, and the "Expreso"(much more comfortable and running AC) starting every full hour both ways.
the by Rubio mentioned Emoloyee transportation buses are something different, yes, they would also bring you, no fix shedule.
yes Rubio, your mentioned motoconcho rates 50 pesos from el cortecito to the plaza bavaro and 100 pesos from the plaza to the Riu are accurate per person rates.
due to dominican motor taxi driving style i would not recommend such to people who are a bit 'scary' or such,
it is DIFFERENT to home, ha ha.
they are available all day long at all spots where people walk.
Mike

rubio_higuey · #10 11-13-2008, 02:58 PM

so what is "guagua"

Guagua can be a pickup truck
Guagua can be a jeepata (suv)
Guagua can be a small 10 passanger minivan
Guagua can be a 25 passanger minibus
Guagua can be a large comfortable airconditioned 50+ passanger bus

Guagua is everything that moves, has 4 wheels, is used for transport, can accomodate several passangers apart from the driver, and is not a "camion" (truck) or a passanger car.