Sosua Reports

[Cagep1967]

You are correct in a case in which a dual citizen does not have DR passport, my statement was based on the assumption that someone traveling out of the country would have obtained passports in both countries. If your family member were to have passports to both countries then he would in fact have to enter on his DR passport.

He has never had a passport before, he is an American citizen due to an American parent. He got his passport a few years ago and recently traveled to the US on his newly minted passport that states it was issued in DR and he was born in Santo Domingo. As for using the passport, if he had both an US and DR passport he could choose to fly on whichever one he wanted. As long as the flight manifest had the same passport he showed entering and exiting the countries. I had an issue recently with US CBP and my passport for some reason or another was not on the manifest and I had to wait while they cleared it up. Clerical error of some sort. In the DR, they really don't check that well and their systems do not have the checks that the US systems have. The strange thing about his passport was when he was leaving DR on an American passport that did not have an entry stamp, that confused the agents a bit.

[Oakie]

Thats why I said what I said to you. If you indeed believe and support what you said above Example : (you should expect comments, helpful suggestions on your posts) , then you should expect what I suggested. As far as PMing. I suppose folks will elect to PM, but mainly when they deem it necessary. Which incidently makes me wonder. Why didnt you PM me or the other guy instead of posting that comment here on the board? That would have made sense since that seems to be an soption you support? BTW, I freely accept all the other deviations I've observed in this forum, some I even enjoyed.

Thanks for your comment!

[Wrx2005]

If you are posting on a public forum you should expect comments (or helpful suggestions) on your posts,

Thats why I said what I said to you. If you indeed believe and support what you said above Example : (you should expect comments, helpful suggestions on your posts) , then you should expect what I suggested. As far as PMing. I suppose folks will elect to PM, but mainly when they deem it necessary. Which incidently makes me wonder. Why didnt you PM me or the other guy instead of posting that comment here on the board? That would have made sense since that seems to be an option you support? BTW, I freely accept all the other deviations I've observed in this forum, some I even enjoyed.

[Oakie]

I never said anything about having any serious hassles. I said squeaky clean pass. When talking to most Vet about the DR for the mongering sport. Most Vets giving newbies words of caution and can give many examples.

I don't think I've ever been to a place that had a squeaky clean pass, and that includes my hometown.

Without the info gleaned from this forum, I never would have discovered the monger paradise that is the DR and particularly Sosua, and for that I'll be eternally greatful.

But like all reviews you have to pick and choose advice that fits your own personal style.

I've stayed in some wonderful hotels, but reading the reviews, on say, Expedia, Trip Adviser, Travelocity etc. It's hard to believe they are talking about the same hotel.

Your mileage does indeed vary.

[Manizales911]

If you are born in the DR and have a US passport you do not pay for the 10 tourist Visa. I have a family member that was born in the DR has dual citizenship and no DR passport. He does not pay to enter only travels on his US passport.

You are correct in a case in which a dual citizen does not have DR passport, my statement was based on the assumption that someone traveling out of the country would have obtained passports in both countries. If your family member were to have passports to both countries then he would in fact have to enter on his DR passport.

[Oakie]

I am saying this with humor. I can make it simple. Let folks work things out in their own way. We don't need posting police here. Except for the moderator or owner. As long as you see trip reports every now and then, I don't see what the problem is with a little deviation. WARNING! These deviations may cause unnecessary stress and anxiety for some individuals. I recommend that people read these deviations at their own risk. And if they choose to read and have a problem with it, I would hope that they will take responsibility for reading something they arent interested in and not make an issue about it here.

If you are posting on a public forum you should expect comments (or helpful suggestions) on your posts, otherwise you should consider PM.

I agree we don't need posting police here!

[GrownMan1]

However you have shamed me into modifying my rather smartass and over-casual comments as above in bold.

Much respect Charles you are my Hero!

[GrownMan1]

It really is no state secret. One can follow what Charles Pooter or Frannie wrote only recently and avoid most of the pitfalls and I am not speaking of DR alone (although the Haitian women part would be relevant in the DR from Pooter's perspective, I guess).

Really? My complete comment was "When people know that you're a new in the area they take advantage of your politeness and lack of knowledge. Street hustlers the police and chicas can pinpoint newbies a mile away. If you're by yourself that makes you a bigger Target for their bullshit. I applaud any newbie that has been on this site for information prior to there trip" That's strange for you. Or. Just like you to make the above statement after saying "I also went around before there was Internet / forums like this and all by myself just the way I still do. Never had any problem that I can think of, anywhere, whether it was a business or a pleasure trip". I said that you were lucky or fortunate. You come back and say "It really is no state secret. One can follow what Charles Pooter or Frannie wrote only recently and avoid most of the pitfalls and I am not speaking of DR alone (although the Haitian women part would be relevant in the DR from Pooter's perspective, I guess). Charles and Frannie spend a lot of their valuable time advising people here on the INTERNET in this FORUM in which you are Here asking question, making comments, and giving advice. Then you go on the praise Phuquer for a job well done. Phuguer who (did a great job) obvious was a newbie to Sosua did homework here on the INTERNET in this FORUM and hooked up with Vets from this FORUM. I said before you don't see your own hypocrisy case close.

[Wrx2005]

To make it simple, and get back more on topic issues, why don't you guys agree that if you bring your shit, it is at your own risk, and if you get ripped off promise to not complain about it here?

I am saying this with humor. I can make it simple. Let folks work things out in their own way. We don't need posting police here. Except for the moderator or owner. As long as you see trip reports every now and then, I don't see what the problem is with a little deviation. WARNING! These deviations may cause unnecessary stress and anxiety for some individuals. I recommend that people read these deviations at their own risk. And if they choose to read and have a problem with it, I would hope that they will take responsibility for reading something they arent interested in and not make an issue about it here.

[GrownMan1]

Count me in as another who has made multiple trips without any serious hassle.

Sosua is like a mirror, smile and it smiles back at you. If you have a negative attitude it will inevitably throw more shit back at you.

That's the thing about Sosua, we all go down there with different attitudes and expectations.

I read this the other day, and I think it applies.

"Mommy, why do all the idiots come out when Daddy's driving?"

I never said anything about having any serious hassles. I said squeaky clean pass. When talking to most Vet about the DR for the mongering sport. Most Vets giving newbies words of caution and can give many examples.

[Tempoecorto]

Again, the tourist tax collecting agent himself told me I should have said I was born in the DR. I didn't invent the scheme. I just passed it on to my fellow mongers.

I am glad you enjoyed my post, as I enjoyed putting it together. I hope it can help someone who has never been there visualize what they will see and experience when they get to Sosua. It is definitely not all the gloom and doom that some report. If anyone is thinking of going there, stop thinking and just go. It is too easy to have a great time there.

This is an interesting and very well reasoned riposte. I thought your comments on tourist tax were kind of greenhorn but I see that there is a logical line that may induce some to try it out. Hopefully the faint of heart would not try it, which might be the reason why some are objecting. Personally, many times, I have tried a "carro de ruta" from the Santiago airport to get to where I go, instead of using the cab service. Not using the taxi mafia was one thought but trying out a different experience in the wee morning was another.

I particularly appreciated your thinking on tips. If you are a newbie in the DR, it is even more commendable 'cause evidently you looked at angles that for once, I did not, despite 5-6 trips so far. The fact that someone makes a paltry $7.50 for a 12hour work day makes you pause, even without getting into the potential positive transactional outcome of tipping. Thanks for that. As Oakie commented here, that attitude of empathy alone goes a big way to enable you to enjoy the people and place. I call it the law of good Karma.

In particular, I enjoy your writing style, clean, incisive, matter of fact and what draws my attention, no grammar or spelling errors; Makes reading a serious pleasure. Welcome to the board!

P. S. That Macau trip of yours made me think of my solo trip there. Long back. I do not enjoy casinos but did that once for the experience as well as the horse race in Hong Kong. This was when Macau was still a Portuguese territory.

[Oakie]

Remember that those of us who live in Gringoland have much more money than those in Sosua. The average waitress in a restaurant earns the equivalent of $7. 50USD per day for a 12 hour day. 6 days per week. One of my friends told me that the people in DR don't work to live, they work to survive.

You pay the chicas anywhere from $1000DOP to $2500DOP for between a half hour to two hours of work. It is not difficult to give a bartender or waiter or waitress $100DOP for their service.

Tip the security guard and maid at your hotel a couple of bucks.

Talk to the bouncers at the clubs. Make friends with them. Buy them a cold beer or bottle of water once in a while.

These gestures pay dividends.

I was in Sosua for only six days, but the bouncers all knew me. They approached me to shake my hand during the day while I walked around Sosua. The service staff at my hotel ironed my clothes at times without my asking.

If you treat the working people nicely in Sosua, greet them, spend a moment to talk to them, they will treat you nicely.

I'm not talking about approaching a motoconcho driver and asking how he's doing. Or approaching one of those cash changers who sit on the corner trying to get your attention (I know they are up to no good). I'm talking about befriending the regular service staff that you will normally meet over the course of your day while on vacation.

Well said!

I agree completely that's how to best operate in Sosua, and get the most pleasurable experience out of it.

With that attitude you probably have a good time wherever you go.

[Phuquer]

. But the bachata band guys play on both arrivals and departures. Mostly they collect on departures because people give them the small change pesos they got stuck with in the duty free shop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWdUTTOiFD0

They're playing Merengue (the national music of the Dominican Republic) , not Bachata.

[Phuquer]

Remember that those of us who live in Gringoland have much more money than those in Sosua. The average waitress in a restaurant earns the equivalent of $7. 50USD per day for a 12 hour day. 6 days per week. One of my friends told me that the people in DR don't work to live, they work to survive.

You pay the chicas anywhere from $1000DOP to $2500DOP for between a half hour to two hours of work. It is not difficult to give a bartender or waiter or waitress $100DOP for their service.

Tip the security guard and maid at your hotel a couple of bucks.

Talk to the bouncers at the clubs. Make friends with them. Buy them a cold beer or bottle of water once in a while.

These gestures pay dividends.

I was in Sosua for only six days, but the bouncers all knew me. They approached me to shake my hand during the day while I walked around Sosua. The service staff at my hotel ironed my clothes at times without my asking.

If you treat the working people nicely in Sosua, greet them, spend a moment to talk to them, they will treat you nicely.

I'm not talking about approaching a motoconcho driver and asking how he's doing. Or approaching one of those cash changers who sit on the corner trying to get your attention (I know they are up to no good). I'm talking about befriending the regular service staff that you will normally meet over the course of your day while on vacation.

[Phuquer]

Frannie, that's a lot of info on tourist taxes.

Yes, I understand how it's supposed to work. And I understand the concept of the tax. In theory, the immigration agent that stamps your passport should look at the receipt and if she doesn't see it she should send you back to the tax collector to pay your tourist tax. In practice, that's not how it seems to work, at least not for me in Puerto Plata. The agent that collects the tax told me that I should have said that I was born in DR and I wouldn't have had to pay the tax. He gave me the receipt when I paid and I put it in my pocket. The immigration agent that stamped my passport never saw the receipt.

Like I stated in my post, this is not for everybody to try. If you can speak decent Spanish, look Hispanic, or can pass for Hispanic, you might give it a try.

The hassle might not be worth it for some travelers. Then again, some enjoy the challenge of seeing what they can learn, what they can get away with, and trying something they might not normally try in their everyday lives.

It's not too different than the guys who recommend arriving travelers go upstairs to the departure hall to catch a taxi to avoid the taxi fee in Bangkok, or the guys who recommend trying to take the employee airport shuttle from the airport into the city. In Macau, I regularly take the casino shuttle from the ferry terminal to the casinos and store my luggage in the casino baggage check before I promptly walk out of the casino and straight to the nearest sauna for my good time. I don't spend a dime in the casino, yet I use their services. I do tip the agent at the baggage check, and the driver of the shuttle.

I see this as just another way of trying to save a penny here and a penny there. If anybody is in any way uncomfortable trying it, then I definitely recommend just paying the $10 and avoiding the stress.

Again, the tourist tax collecting agent himself told me I should have said I was born in the DR. I didn't invent the scheme. I just passed it on to my fellow mongers.

I am glad you enjoyed my post, as I enjoyed putting it together. I hope it can help someone who has never been there visualize what they will see and experience when they get to Sosua. It is definitely not all the gloom and doom that some report. If anyone is thinking of going there, stop thinking and just go. It is too easy to have a great time there.