General Info

[QUOTE=The Pooh; 1140072]Does someone know an all inclusive hotel within or very close to a city?

Somewhere I can go for an afternoon walk and find a bar and some action?

I would also appreciate if I could get the norm as for pricing for services and rooms since I won't be able to bring them home. [/QUOTE]Pooh, read my recent posts on the Punta Cana board. This is a very common legit tourist area full of AIs. I also went with my girl and only had a few opportunities for action. I found it to be very overpriced. I would stay away from Punta Cana unless you can afford to get ripped off. If you do go there, a rule of thumb is to cut whatever their asking price is in half. Sometimes they will accept, or compromise on 75% of what they were asking. Do this for girls, cab drivers, trinket salesmen etc.

[QUOTE=Maxx; 1140748]This only goes out to Americans. I have very strong feelings about this report, but it may only apply to certain areas of the DR including Punta Cana where US dollars are accepted. ONLY BRING US DOLLARS! Do not exchange your money!

Bring what you expect to spend on girls in $20s and FOR EVERYTHING ELSE, BRING ONLY SINGLES! Seriously, bring like $400 in singles. What happens is that everyone you pay, like cab drivers, bartenders etc. Will say,"We don't have change." So you hand them a $20 for a $15 cab ride and you get nothing back or they give you some pesos, which doesn't amount to $5. My girl wanted to buy some $1 trinket made in China from some kid on the beach. Again I only had a $5 and of course, they have no change. Most Dominicans on resorts probably make like $2 an hour so $5 is like $20 or more to an American. How many times have you handed a cab driver a $20 as a tip in the US? Never! [/QUOTE][QUOTE=Maxx;1140748]........but it may only apply to certain areas of the DR including Punta Cana where US dollars are accepted. ONLY BRING US DOLLARS! Do not exchange your money!........[/QUOTE]That ONLY applies to Punta Cana. Anywhere else in the DR exchange your USD into DOP. I have no idea what someone would do with $400 USD in singles traveling to Sosua, PP, or SD.

[QUOTE=The Pooh;1140641]Thanks Frannie, you came through for me again, now all is left is to find the best choice in Playa Dorada.[/QUOTE]Well, you will have to research that depending on your budget. I think there is only one resort there that has a casino, but of course you can visit it from any of the hotels.

If you want to get out of Playa Dorada and get laid as quickly and efficiently as possible with minumum fuss, I would walk out and take a taxi to Sosua to La Passion Massage, have the taxi wait and take you back again. You could be out and back in no more than 1 1/4 hours without having to rush at all. There are possibilities too in Puerto Plata, but be aware that all the taxi drivers will be getting commissions from clubs, so you pay for the taxi, plus another 500-1000 pesos secret commission that the taxi driver gets for taking you to a club which gets added on to your cost for a girl. Also at La Passion the room is included in the price. With other options you may have to waste a lot of time window shopping and run into unexpected expenses for cabana, commissions, taxis.

I'm not on commission for La Passion or anything like that, but it really is the most convenient option for a guy who has limited time to sneak out and wants to be sure of a satisfactory experience at a reasonable price and not get ripped off. Not open in the mornings, but from 1:00 pm or 1:30 pm Good luck.

[QUOTE=Frannie; 1140836]Well, you will have to research that depending on your budget. I think there is only one resort there that has a casino, but of course you can visit it from any of the hotels.

If you want to get out of Playa Dorada and get laid as quickly and efficiently as possible with minumum fuss, I would walk out and take a taxi to Sosua to La Passion Massage, have the taxi wait and take you back again. You could be out and back in no more than 1 1/4 hours without having to rush at all. There are possibilities too in Puerto Plata, but be aware that all the taxi drivers will be getting commissions from clubs, so you pay for the taxi, plus another 500-1000 pesos secret commission that the taxi driver gets for taking you to a club which gets added on to your cost for a girl. Also at La Passion the room is included in the price. With other options you may have to waste a lot of time window shopping and run into unexpected expenses for cabana, commissions, taxis.

I'm not on commission for La Passion or anything like that, but it really is the most convenient option for a guy who has limited time to sneak out and wants to be sure of a satisfactory experience at a reasonable price and not get ripped off. Not open in the mornings, but from 1:00 pm or 1:30 pm Good luck. [/QUOTE]Excellent advise Frannie with one correction, La Passion opens at 11 a. M.

[QUOTE=The Pooh; 1140669]I forgot to ask.

I keep on reading how the US $$$ can be used directly and / or easy to exchange.

How does Canadian $$$ go over in the Dominican Republic?

At the moment Canadian currency is worth more than US. (About 1. 03$)

Would the Dominican's realize that or spit on other currency than US dollars or pesos?

Do I have to exchange Can$ to US$ and then to pesos?

I don't want to get hit twice with exchange fees. [/QUOTE]Any cambio will exchange $cdn for $dop directly but they probably will give a lower exchange than for the $US even if the current $US. $CDN favors Canada. Chances are unless you are exchanging a whole lot of cash it won't matter too much. It's about 37 for US, and you want to get as close to the US rate as possible. Shop around. There are lots of Canadians on the north coast and it's hardly an obscure currency.

No direct experience but I'd be surprised if people didn't take it the same as US dollars, Euros, UK pounds. In every case the exchange rate you get trying to pay with a foreign currency directly will be significantly worse than using a decent cambio.

[QUOTE=The Pooh;1140641]Thanks Frannie, you came through for me again, now all is left is to find the best choice in Playa Dorada.[/QUOTE]There really is no cheap pay for play venue located within walking distance of Playa Dorada complex. The closest venue to Playa Dorada complex is Crystals near the Malecon in Puerto Plata. Crystals is less than a 10 minute taxi ride from Playa Dorada complex. Crystal prices I have read $100US or more.

For all inclusive hotels within walking distance to pay for play venues with onsite rooms, would be in Boca Chica or Sosua.

Sosua all inclusive hotels include Casa Marina Beach / Reef, Sosua Bay Hotel / Victorian House. Sosua by the Sea Hotel may offer a meal package. If you stay at any of the all inclusive hotels in Sosua, you can easily walk to Passions Massage or CMP and get your rocks off.

Boca Chica has about three all inclusive hotels; Be Live Hamaca, BelleVue Dominican Bay (formerly Hotetur Hotel Dominican Bay) and Don Juan Beach Resort. There are a few massage / casas in Boca Chica, where you can visit and get your rocks off. Boca Chica is fairly small, massage / casas will be within a five minute moto ride from the hotels or a 10-15 minute walk.

[QUOTE=Bq Ribs;1140798]That ONLY applies to Punta Cana. Anywhere else in the DR exchange your USD into DOP. I have no idea what someone would do with $400 USD in singles traveling to Sosua, PP, or SD.[/QUOTE]Singles are for everything you might buy and everyone you might pay. For example: drinks for you and your girls, rides in a taxis, trinkets you might buy, tips you give anyone, etc. I actually thought about this prior to my trip and brought maybe $200 in five and tens, but that was not enough. I still did not receive proper change multiple times and I could just tell it was another scam.

This post was primarily directed at guys staying in AI resorts, but I guess I should have posted it in the Punta Cana thread.

By the way, has anyone seen that they now have dominican pesos made out of plastic? Its like clear cellophane film with holograms all over. I guess their counterfitting problem is serious. If anyone can hook me up with some counterfit pesos, I could squeeze another DR trip into my budget for the year!

[QUOTE=Frannie; 1140836]Well, you will have to research that depending on your budget. I think there is only one resort there that has a casino, but of course you can visit it from any of the hotels.

If you want to get out of Playa Dorada and get laid as quickly and efficiently as possible with minumum fuss, I would walk out and take a taxi to Sosua to La Passion Massage, have the taxi wait and take you back again. You could be out and back in no more than 1 1/4 hours without having to rush at all. There are possibilities too in Puerto Plata, but be aware that all the taxi drivers will be getting commissions from clubs, so you pay for the taxi, plus another 500-1000 pesos secret commission that the taxi driver gets for taking you to a club which gets added on to your cost for a girl. Also at La Passion the room is included in the price. With other options you may have to waste a lot of time window shopping and run into unexpected expenses for cabana, commissions, taxis.

I'm not on commission for La Passion or anything like that, but it really is the most convenient option for a guy who has limited time to sneak out and wants to be sure of a satisfactory experience at a reasonable price and not get ripped off. Not open in the mornings, but from 1:00 pm or 1:30 pm Good luck.[/QUOTE]Sosua is about 30 minutes from Playa Dorada complex. Round-trip would be about an hour. A private taxi would cost at least $20US (probably more) each way.

Sosua Bay Hotel / Victorian House nice all inclusive in Sosua owned by a scumbag Italian guy who probably had an American killed.

If the guy is willing to take a 30 minute taxi ride to get some tail, while staying at an all inclusive, he probably could go do that in Punta Cana / Bavaro. Many all inclusive hotels in Punta Cana / Bavaro in different price ranges and from what I saw, Bavaro Beach was much nicer than the beach at Playa Dorada.

[QUOTE=Maxx; 1140930]Singles are for everything you might buy and everyone you might pay. For example: drinks for you and your girls, rides in a taxis, trinkets you might buy, tips you give anyone, etc. I actually thought about this prior to my trip and brought maybe $200 in five and tens, but that was not enough. I still did not receive proper change multiple times and I could just tell it was another scam.

This post was primarily directed at guys staying in AI resorts, but I guess I should have posted it in the Punta Cana thread. [/QUOTE]I would imagine in Punta Cana at the AI the USD is widely accepted and you are also getting beat on the exchange rate using USD. Try going to a local colmado with USD and see what happens.

[QUOTE=Maxx;1140930].....By the way, has anyone seen that they now have dominican pesos made out of plastic? Its like clear cellophane film with holograms all over. I guess their counterfitting problem is serious. If anyone can hook me up with some counterfit pesos, I could squeeze another DR trip into my budget for the year![/QUOTE]The new 20 pesos bill has been in circulation for a little over a year now. Actually it had nothing to do with counterfitting. The 20 pesos bill gets a lot of wear and tear within the barrios and the government needed a bill that would withstand the constant abuse. Think of it, why try to counterfit a bill worth less than $1 USD?

[QUOTE=Sweeper239;1140525]What is the price in Puerta Plata for a pack of US cigaretts (Marboro if it matters).[/QUOTE]A small pack 10 cigaretts should be between 50-60pesos.

A regular pack 20 cigaretts should cost around 100 peses.

Asking for cigaretts.

The me una caja pequena (small) de marlboro por favor.

The me una caja grande (regular) de marlboro por favor.

Where I live in San Christobal you can also buy single cigaretts for 5 pesos each at all colmados.

[QUOTE=Riky Rapido;1140742]The fees are negligible, but only use your card at a bank ATM. There is always a guard with a shotgun for your protection. I use Scotia Bank, they are just about everywhere here in the DR. But, just about any ATM will give you a fair exchange at your home bank[/QUOTE]Good advice.

For Canadians, exept for a few small bills to get you to your hotel, get all your cash from an ATM in town. Preferably Scotiabank. Its a seemless way to get pesos without going thru the extra step of US conversion, and the bank rate is the best you will find.

Every day or so, short walk to the arm guarded ATM (during the daylight hours. Take a motoconcho at night) is also protection against losing your bundle.

And, since the Can $ is up about 25% over the last couple years, you'll be getting a lot more for your money if you pay for everything in Pesos.

An example, two years ago a 2000 peso chica cost you about $75 CAN. Now that same 2000 chica will cost you less than $60 CAN.

What a deal!

Thanks for the info. Arriving Tuesday staying until the 14th. Will provide some live on the ground reports.

[QUOTE=Berthold; 1140993]A small pack 10 cigaretts should be between 50-60pesos.

A regular pack 20 cigaretts should cost around 100 peses.

Asking for cigaretts.

The me una caja pequena (small) de marlboro por favor.

The me una caja grande (regular) de marlboro por favor.

Where I live in San Christobal you can also buy single cigaretts for 5 pesos each at all colmados. [/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Maxx; 1140930]Singles are for everything you might buy and everyone you might pay. For example: drinks for you and your girls, rides in a taxis, trinkets you might buy, tips you give anyone, etc. I actually thought about this prior to my trip and brought maybe $200 in five and tens, but that was not enough. I still did not receive proper change multiple times and I could just tell it was another scam.

This post was primarily directed at guys staying in AI resorts, but I guess I should have posted it in the Punta Cana thread. [/QUOTE]As for me, I deal almost exclusively in the DOP. While I do take $100 in singles when I travel, I only give those for baggage tips. When a taxi driver or another asks for $USD, I tell them--in Spanish--that I am not a tourist, I live here, and I do not have $USD. Also, I do not stay in AI resorts. That is for tourists and folks with money. I am a poor university English professor. (Stop laughing Mr. Pooter!)

[QUOTE=Bq Ribs; 1141255]Attached is the Master Card policy information for CDW. This document can easily be obtained for any type of card by calling your Credit Card Company, NOT the issuing bank.

I still say renting a car is NOT for 95% of the guys. If you must, do whatever you can to try to protect yourself.[/QUOTE]I had to laugh when I read under: "What is Not Covered": Damage sustained on any surface other than a bound surface, such as concrete or tarmac.

[QUOTE=Oakie; 1141008]Good advice.

For Canadians, exept for a few small bills to get you to your hotel, get all your cash from an ATM in town. Preferably Scotiabank. Its a seemless way to get pesos without going thru the extra step of US conversion, and the bank rate is the best you will find.

Every day or so, short walk to the arm guarded ATM (during the daylight hours. Take a motoconcho at night) is also protection against losing your bundle.

And, since the Can $ is up about 25% over the last couple years, you'll be getting a lot more for your money if you pay for everything in Pesos.

An example, two years ago a 2000 peso chica cost you about $75 CAN. Now that same 2000 chica will cost you less than $60 CAN.

What a deal![/QUOTE]If a guy has a Scotia Bank account and uses his ATM card at Scotia Bank ATMs, then there will be no fee. I have a Chase ATM card and when I withdraw money at ATMs in DR, the fees per transaction are about $10US. Dominican banks charge $5US per transaction (some Dominican ATMs only allow you to withdraw a max of 2000 pesos per transaction) and Chase hits me for a $5US international service fee per transaction.

Some guys go with Charles Schwab ATM cards or Paypal ATM cards to save on the fees. Guys in the US could open a Bank of America account and use the Bank of America ATM card at Scotia Bank ATMs in the DR to save on fees.