The Victorian, Cabarete...Countdown

[mobomofo]

Howdy people!
Great forum you have here.
My wife and I along with our teenage daughter and friend, only have 34 sleeps untill our two week vacation in Cabarete. We are very excited, seeing how this is our first trip abroad. Ocean World, snorkling at Sosua, boogie boarding, and horseback riding, are things we plan to do.

We are staying at the Victorian condos, east of town. Does anyone here have any comments about that place?

Also we where planning on bring some children's clothing and school supplies to give out. I wonder how the is best way to give that stuff out to the children?

By the way, we are from Hinton, Alberta, Canada.


Thanks in advance, for any and all replies on this post.

[Lambada]

Originally Posted by mobomofo

Also we where planning on bring some children's clothing and school supplies to give out. I wonder how the is best way to give that stuff out to the children?

Very nice of you, thank you. Maybe contact the Dream Project?
DREAM Project: Dominican Republic Education and Mentoring Project

Sorry can't help with your condo question - I live in Puerto Plata so never stay in condos in Cabarete, but someone will be along soon to answer that part of your question.

Welcome to DR1 & have a super holiday!

[CFA123]

I haven't been inside the Victorian, but from the outside it looks nice.
Essentially brand new (I'm not sure all the buildings are quite finished yet). Nice ocean view, but the surf can be rough out there... don't underestimate it. For safer swimming, head into town.

It's not too far from the center of town - 2 minutes or less(?) by car, and based upon all of your plans... you're not against travelling a little.

Lambada's suggestion of the Dream Project certainly works... you'll find their office in the center of town in Plaza El Patio, across from Friends Restaurant.

[MrRiley]

I live right next door to the Victorian. They look very nice from the outside. Never been inside though... It's about a 20min walk to downtown Cabarete. About a half hour+ drive time to ocean world in PP.
We own martini's beach bar located on the grounds of Cabarete East. Check out our website for our menu and we do Taco Tuesday every Tuesday evening starting at 7pm. For more info check out our website. I am not trying to push our restaurant it's just we are close and good if you don't want to travel to town or do your own cooking. We also do a pig roast on the last Sunday of each month.
The horse riding tours will pick you up directly on the beach for that, they come by daily so flag one of them down and negotiate your best price. But if you want a mountain tour you will have to talk to someone else, these guys only do beach rides as far as I know..

Hope this helps..

Peace
MrRiley

http://dr1.com/directories/restauran...martinis.shtml

[mobomofo]

Thanks one and all for your replies.
Mr. Riley;
We will definitely check out your eatery.
We do like tacos! The pig roast sounds good too. How much per person is the piggy roast?
Is there a service charge at your establishment? Maybe we could make reservations for the 29th of July?
I wonder about how much per person we could negotiate those horse rides for? (Just trying to do things on a budget.)
Ya I know....questions, questions, questions.
Peace out for now.

[MrRiley]

I sent you an email:

Hi,
I saw your note on DR1 but had a busy day yesterday. We are currently redoing our prices due to the increases in costs. The current rate for the piggy roast is 400rd. We will probably raise to 440 or so. We don't have any service charges and we have about 40 seats, but if you want to make a reservation, let me know what time and how many and I will let Pedro(our manager) know so it can be set up. With the busy season being in July it might just be a good idea.. Sometimes it so hard to tell. One Taco Tuesday will have 10 and the next over 40...
On the horse deal, I would just negotiate to what seems fair for you, heck I don't even know the starting price.. Go with the flow..

Hope this helps...

--
Peace,
Rob Riley
Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets;
Enjoy the people who treat you right and
forget about the ones who don't.
www.martinisbeachbar.com
When in Doubt, Go Riding!!

[Siggy]

Just returned from the DR on the 9th. Actually toured the Victorian condos as we are thinking of maybe purchasing. They are not complete at this time(3rd block)but I can say the ones we saw were finished to a high standard from the builder. The location is great and only about a 5-10 minute wlk along the beach to downtown.

As you said it is your first time traveling make sure that you DO NOT walk the beaches at night or walk into town.

Hope that helps.

[ctrob]

Originally Posted by Siggy

Just returned from the DR on the 9th.
As you said it is your first time traveling make sure that you DO NOT walk the beaches at night or walk into town.
.

Are you saying this because the Victorian is outside of town? Or are you talking about walking around "in" town at nite? Just trying to clarify.

I know very little about Cabarete. I only stay in Sosua, but would not walk the highway outside of town at nite for obvious reasons. But walking around town (Sosua) at nite, at any hour, has never been a concern or a problem.

[Siggy]

Around town at night is ok as long as you use your head and stay in the tourist areas.

Just do not walk too or from town at night, especially on the beach. This is true for most resort towns though. I do not want to make it sound like cabarete is different or worse but it it what it is.

[mike.n.amy]

If you live/stay here without a car as we do, The Victorian is definitely a hike from the center of Cabarete beach. It's easily a 10 minute walk at a fast pace (say 3.5-4 mph) walking the street side and much longer on the beach side, with high tide cutting off your route beachside.

Walking east from Cabarete center you essentially leave the touristy parts of Cabarete and are walking through some rundown local parts to get to The Victorian. Not a bad drive but not a great walk.

We looked at renting long-term in the Victorian but opted for Ocean Dream since it's right on the main beach strip and are definitely happy with our decision. We even walked to The Victorian a couple times on our beachwalks and talked about how far it is if you're walking back to Casanova, LAX, or any of the main spots on the beach.

Just our opinion, but hope it's informative!

Enjoy your stay!