Going to DR 1st time .. Advice ?

OttawaSenators · #1 01-14-2004, 12:36 PM

Hi Everyone,

My wife and I are going to the RIU Merengue resort in Feburary and I have some questions.

I have read or scanned all the topics and still am confused. What is Sousa ? I keep seeing this and it seems like a good place to go.

My questions are:

1. Should we go into Puerto Plata for a day trip? If so, how do we get there? and what should be looking to do there? Is it a city where we can see some culture?

2. How is this resort if anyone has visited it before? what type of food is there? What type of beer do they have..

3. Where else should we go?

4. Is there Mopeds we can rent for the day? If so, is it worth it? could we actually get anywhere? from what I hear, our resort is out of the way in the midle of nowhere.

Sorry for all the questions, I guess I am getting excited.

Thanks

marliejaneca · #2 01-14-2004, 01:06 PM

Okay I will try this one !

Sosua, not Sousa is a town west of Puerto Plata. You will find a lot of information on it by doing a search or by going to the DR1 homepage and under Directories you will find listings for restaurants etc.

As far as the Merengue, it is located in Maimon which is about 10k east of Puerto Plata. If you read through the many resort reviews, you will find all the information you will need, if you can't find the Merengue there is ample info on the other Riu hotels.

There is also some very good posts on what to do in and around Puerto Plata under the travel section, just keep going back pages and pages, also FireGuy has many suggestions. You could search using his name and his posts will come up or just pm him for more info.

As far as renting mopeds, I can't help you on that one but if you are weak hearted or given to road rage - I wouldn't suggest it. There are plenty of reputable taxi services that you could hire.

I hope that some of these suggestions will help you. These questions have been asked numerous times so the information is here - just do some more homework.

Enjoy your trip
Marlie

ricktoronto · #3 01-14-2004, 01:07 PM

Are you going to either Sosua or Puerto Plata?

It is not clear where RIU Merengue is located. For example if it is in Punta Cana then the side trips are too far.

If it is in Puerto Plata (which I think it is) then by all means get out of the resort and see the town, and Sosua as well as it is a low cost taxi ride between the 2 towns.

One of the worst things you can do is to only stay inside the resort and miss the actual city where the day to day people live (and also tourists who are not in all inclusive resorts shop and entertain themselves).

OttawaSenators · #4 01-14-2004, 01:09 PM

Thanks for the quick replies.

I am still trying to search all the messages for all the information.

Any others wish to add comments, I would really like that.

Thanks Again.

XanaduRanch · #5 01-14-2004, 01:40 PM

Youmight have already found this page, but from your posts I got the impression you had not.

http://dr1.com/travel/puertoplata/

Start there. It has all you need to know about driving, taxis, sidetrips, etc. Also on that page are links to everything from pages on other nearby cities like Sosua, and Cabarete, to addresses and telephone numbers for most hotels, bars, and restaurants.

Tom (aka XR)

P.S.
You can get there anytime just by clicking on the big green 'Travel' tab at the top of the page. The other tab headers up there also have good information, seperate and distinct from the member posts in the forums.

FireGuy · #6 01-14-2004, 02:32 PM

Greetings from Nova Scotia.

Marlie gave you some good info (but Marlie I think you may be directionally challenged - check your east and west references).

Rick, Riu Merengue is near POP.

Ottawa, listen to XR, he lives on the North Coast.

As far as info, check out Rusty's "Unofficial Riu Website at http://www.riubambu.com and it's associated discussion board at http://www.riubambu.com/cgi-bin/disc....cgi?pg=topics

Other than that:

1) You should definately see Puerto Plata, Sosua and Cabarete, not necessarily in that order.

2) I have been to Riu Mambo and Riu Bachata in the same complex and the food is high quality, well prepared and lots of varierty for all. Beer in the room fridge is Quisqueya in bottles and in the bars and restaurants is Presidente on tap.

3) Santiago is a pleasant change, the falls near Imbert are nice, a catamaran or jungle safari trip are enjoyable or my favourite is to hire a local driver (my favourite is Martin Espinal) and just go for the day.

4) Hire a car & driver - they drive NUTS.

Enjoy.

More questions post or e-mail here or at Rusty's (I'm the moderator of the discussion board there.

Gregg

Hillbilly · #7 01-14-2004, 05:04 PM

Riu is WEST of POP and Sosua is EAST of POP!

RIU is about 10 km West of POP. Sosua is about 15 km East. Okey?

Otherwise the advice you have received is good.

Now, you can get a car and driver for a few dollars a day, no, I am NOT kidding.

A lot of people here on the board recommend Wilson, who speaks English and is very punctual and knowledgeable.

His phone is 571 1545. His Sister-in-Law Marta answers the phone sometimes..

Please do not rent mo-peds. We are killing between 10 and 12 people a day on motorcycles, all over the country, so leave the driving to someone else...Pretty please...

You should have a blast. Hey! Read "Sliverghost"'s Trip Reports, he writes under two names but they are great reading...

HB
Coral Marien Review

this is from Gray Ghost-who is the same person-
Trip Report-Day # 4 includes photo link

Now I am into overkill:
Trip report - Day # 3

Almost done:
Trip reoprt- Part 2

Hillbilly · #8 01-14-2004, 05:21 PM

to paste all the links

he is Sliverghost on page 4 of the Trip Reports. He tells of all his side trips and how he did...]

HB

XanaduRanch · #9 01-14-2004, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Hillbilly
Please do not rent mo-peds. We are killing between 10 and 12 people a day on motorcycles, all over the country, so leave the driving to someone else.

I rented one once the first week I was here to go from Cabarete to Sosua. One trip was enough to cure me of THAT idea forever.

But be honest here, HB. Sure, 10-12 people a day. OK. But it should be pointed out that at least half of those every day are being run over by our own CrisColon in Santo Domingo with those humongous defensas, and that bad attitude of his. Otherwise the country is relatively safe.

Tom (aka XR)

P.S.
Sorry Tom! Couldn't resist!

maryanne · #10 01-14-2004, 07:20 PM

The stretch of road that runs between the RIU hotels and POP is not the safest road! There are great big holes in the road and most cars and trucks swerve around them, hence leaving much less room on the road for mopeds (let alone cars).

And at night, it's way too dark to be out there on a tiny moped.

I've been driving in the DR for over 2 years now, and when I venture out to Santiago, I make sure that I'm back in Costambar by nightfall. The lights from the oncoming cars blind me because people do not turn off their high beams! It wouldn't take much to swerve a little and knock anything that was close to the edge of the road!

You're on vacation.....let the taxi drivers take you where ever you want to go. Listen to their stories....ask them about their country....and please wear your seatbelts!

Have a wonderful time!
Maryanne