newbie help

[rugby.1]

i'm making my first trip. want to spend a week north and a week south. my question, how safe is the bus trip from one to the other going to be??? will i be the rich gringo holding my suitcase and worrying??? i'm really torn on this, should i just stay in one place for the first time????-rugby1

[catcherintherye]

If you are concerned it might be a good idea to hire a driver, who could take you from hotel to hotel directly.

On the other hand, one week isn't really enough time to see either side of the island. Only you can decide your priorities, but spending two weeks in either location, rather than spend a day traveling each way, might be a good idea.

[Bob K]

The question is how safe is the bus trip.

It ia perfectly safe to take Caribe Tours or the Metro bus from Sosua or Pureto plata to Santo domingo. It is a modern very airconditioned (read can be freezing cold in the bus) coach and a comfortable ride. It will be full of locals and gringos and everyone will have bags, some small motorcycles, boxes, crates etc. Don't worry and leave the driving to them.

Bob K

[rugby.1]

thanks for the info- if it's a safe trip i think i'll spend a week in la romana and a week in sosua. i know i won't see everything, that's impossible. it just looks to me like the diving is different north to south.-rugby.1

[anng3]

Agree it's perfectly safe to take the bus. I like Metro because they stop in Sosua. The seats are comfortable and it's a wonderful way to see the country. Overhead suitcases can fit above your seat, larger can go underneath the bus. We took 4 large suitcases from Sosua to Santo Domingo on the bus with no problem. Suitcases are loaded on one side and removed from the other at stops in Santiago, Puerto Plata and Sosua. They wait til everyone is off to take them out.