Santo Domingo

[QUOTE=Bq Ribs;1102046]BS, yes your post is BS. Where did you go to get ripped off like that?[/QUOTE]The guy did not read this forum before going, otherwise he would know where to find better prices for chicas and for food. Two chicas for 1500 pesos for US$41, will he find that in Medellin, Lima or Managua?

He can return to Lima, Managua or Medelin, if he does not read the forums before a trip, then he almost deserves to get ripped off. Very weird he knew about the forums to write a negative report but somehow couldn't be bothered to read the ISG Santo Domingo forum before his trip.

[QUOTE=Jchipper;1102024]Wow, this is my first and maybe my last trip to the Dominican Republic, prices thru the roof for Chicas, averages 100. 00 USA for a hustle type Chica, buy me a drink every 2 minutes, want a private dancemm etc, bad service in most places unless you are doing dinner for 2 at 200.00 USA. 26 percent tax, expensive taxis, and almost no Seafood in a coastal city, nah this place isn't for me, back to the basics in Managua, Medellin, Lima, Ecuador, Guatemala. Some one ruined this Gem for sure.[/QUOTE]Well this is my second trip to the DR and I having a blast and I will be coming back multiple times. I am not a veteran in the DR yet but the chicas I am running into are not like that at all.

[QUOTE=Jchipper;1102024]Wow, this is my first and maybe my last trip to the Dominican Republic, prices thru the roof for Chicas, averages 100. 00 USA for a hustle type Chica, buy me a drink every 2 minutes, want a private dancemm etc, bad service in most places unless you are doing dinner for 2 at 200.00 USA. 26 percent tax, expensive taxis, and almost no Seafood in a coastal city, nah this place isn't for me, back to the basics in Managua, Medellin, Lima, Ecuador, Guatemala. Some one ruined this Gem for sure.[/QUOTE]You do not have to pay those prices in DR. You can have the whole family for US$100. :) Leave the exclusive private clubs, and meet some girls as you walk.

This young sexy sultry voluptuous dark eyed beauty will travel to Santo Domingo on Wednesday, Dec. 15th for 3 days only.

[url]http://www.caribescort.com/tours.php?w_intour=16[/url]

Diana is real and all natural! But Diana is also a relaxed and nice girl, easy to speak too and a joy to be near and spend time with. All this is true, but I think you can see this sultry curvaceous models best asserts on her pictures. I do not know when or if Diana will return to Santo Domingo, so do not miss this opportunity to spend time with this world class VIP escort.

[quote=caribescort; 1102992]this young sexy sultry voluptuous dark eyed beauty will travel to santo domingo on wednesday, dec. 15th for 3 days only.

[url]http://www.caribescort.com/tours.php?w_intour=16[/url]

diana is real and all natural! But diana is also a relaxed and nice girl, easy to speak too and a joy to be near and spend time with. All this is true, but i think you can see this sultry curvaceous models best asserts on her pictures. I do not know when or if diana will return to santo domingo, so do not miss this opportunity to spend time with this world class vip escort. [/quote]spam

[QUOTE=Caribescort; 1102992]This young sexy sultry voluptuous dark eyed beauty will travel to Santo Domingo on Wednesday, Dec. 15th for 3 days only.

[url]http://www.caribescort.com/tours.php?w_intour=16[/url]

Diana is real and all natural! But Diana is also a relaxed and nice girl, easy to speak too and a joy to be near and spend time with. All this is true, but I think you can see this sultry curvaceous models best asserts on her pictures. I do not know when or if Diana will return to Santo Domingo, so do not miss this opportunity to spend time with this world class VIP escort. [/QUOTE][QUOTE=Geolopes;1103035]spam[/QUOTE]Geolopes and others, there is a triangle with an exclamation point on the bottom left hand corner of each post. Click this icon to report caribescort's post and any others as SPAM. If caribescort wants to advertise his business let him pay for a banner AD.

Well had a very nice time again and I am planing on coming back to SD late Jan or early or mid Feb and I ask some of the veterans how is that time of the year for a visit? This time was even better just knowing some things like finding the cheaper but same quality resturants to eat than I did the last time. I asked and saw where the locals were going a wow what a difference in price and the food was just as good.

I had a friend that arrived a day earlier and he was staying at the hotel palacio and it was a nice hotel well anyway we ran into another american who told us that he and friends were at the hotel europa and they were having a great time and had no problem with bringing chicas in. Now I did not remember that being on the mongering list was it or do Hotels sometimes change their policy?

Also I have some guys who are asking me about the Mecure hotel because I guess Expedia puts that hotel in some packages. Now I told them I know its chica friendly from the list but besides that I know nothing else about quality or anything else.

I got out a lot more this time did more walking and interacting with locals and other visitor to the city and my taxi driver from the first trip took me to his hood where I was going to pick up a chica from first visit. While we waited for her to arrive I must say the eye candy was very good and I did get a few smiles when I use my limited spanish on them and some not all were in play. So I did have my Taxi guy tell 2 of them what needed to be said for my next trip and he told me it was going to be in play.

Going there made me want to get my Spanish a lot better and my Taxi Driver told me that you did not have know Spanish in this city to get Chicas, but if you could talk a little more Spanish that just brings you a lot more chicas.

Mercure charges a guest fee, so if a guy stays there, he may have to pay an additional $16 each time he comes in with a chica. I have not stayed at Mercure, this information has been posted before.

I walked into the Hotel Europa my last trip, looks like a nice hotel, I did not see the rooms. Good to know it is chica friendly. 7 night Package deal on Orbitz using the $200 off coupon, the per night room rate at hotel europa was under $50.

[QUOTE=Mardonius; 1103082]Well had a very nice time again and I am planing on coming back to SD late Jan or early or mid Feb and I ask some of the veterans how is that time of the year for a visit? This time was even better just knowing some things like finding the cheaper but same quality resturants to eat than I did the last time. I asked and saw where the locals were going a wow what a difference in price and the food was just as good.

I had a friend that arrived a day earlier and he was staying at the hotel palacio and it was a nice hotel well anyway we ran into another american who told us that he and friends were at the hotel europa and they were having a great time and had no problem with bringing chicas in. Now I did not remember that being on the mongering list was it or do Hotels sometimes change their policy?

Also I have some guys who are asking me about the Mecure hotel because I guess Expedia puts that hotel in some packages. Now I told them I know its chica friendly from the list but besides that I know nothing else about quality or anything else. [/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Ponderosa; 1103097]I am flying into and out of SDQ on my next trip. I saved enough cash by going this route vs. Buying regular tickets to POP or STI that it pays for my rental car. I will get in early afternoon on Thursday and plan on driving to the north part of the island that day, After a few days at BBs, I plan on meeting up with the novia and staying at a local apartment and then finally leaving to go tp SD for a day or more. Neither of us have spent time there.

Is it worth trying to see the SD sights in one day and then leaving the next? What hotels would you recamend? I want a nice hotel, but not overpriced. Sould I stay close to the airport. On my last day I am planning on sending the novia off on a Caribe Bus and I turn in my rental car. Please pass along any ideas or input that would help a southcoast newbie like me.

Thanks,

P[/QUOTE]Since you will be having a chica with you and assuming you won't be bringing in another chica, you can stay at any hotel you want to in Santo Domingo. There are several good smaller chica friendly hotels in the price range $45-50. The larger hotels are generally not chica friendly, depending the day of the week you check in, prices range from $80 to over $200. On the weekends some larger hotels cut their rates almost in half (I. E. Hilton).

My very first trip to Santo Domingo I stayed at the renaissance jaragua hotel and casino (owned by Marriott) and booked online through expedia (orbitz and expedia have promo, coupon codes that can save you 5-10%). At the jaragua my first trip I was given a room on a high floor in the tower section with a nice view of the Sea. The Jaragua has a nice outdoor pool and is within walking distance of touristy stuff. Before you book online for the Jaragua you have to see what room they will give you, garden section rooms are not very nice and the rooms in the garden section have a view of a parking lot. No free wifi at jaragua.

Next door to the Jaragua is the hotel melia a large nice hotel and casino and one block from the melia is the Intercontinental V Centenario which is a large hotel with a casino. Melia and Jaragua rooms can sometimes be reserved for around $90-$110 per night. Intercontinental from $130 and up. Weekend rates are usually cheaper.

Nice thing about staying at a big hotel for a first trip to sdq, is that the big hotels are easily found when you are driving a rental car. If you get lost many people know where the bigger hotels are. Most of the bigger hotels are not chica friendly, but you will have a chica with you (you will have no problem checking in with your Dominican GF, tell her not to forget her cedula, I. D. Card).

Zona Colonial is nice to stay in, but as a first time driver in Santo Domingo, driving in zona colonial is like a maze. Some very narrow streets, a pedestrian only street, I would not recommend for a newbie to drive into zona colonial, unless that person has a lot of patience.

Staying near the airport? There is one fairly expensive hotel about ten minutes from the airport, price per night is $150 or more. There is nothing to see or do around that hotel, I would not recommend staying there.

If I were you, I would stay in Santo Domingo. You can do touristy stuff with your GF, there are several good museums in Zona Colonial. There are attractive old buildings and churches in zona colonial, it is nice for walking around. You can sit outside at cafes and drink beer and watch the people walk by (in front of conde de penalba hotel or hard rock cafe). Later in the evening you can take the GF to Coppa Disco (which is more like a medium sized bar, free to enter) and watch the eye candy there. I have taken my GF into Satin Dolls, one of the casas near the big three hotels. Satin Dolls is nice inside and next door is Sky High which is totally new inside and has a nice bar.

I will continue in another post about rental car info.

[QUOTE=Ponderosa; 1103097]I am flying into and out of SDQ on my next trip. I saved enough cash by going this route vs. Buying regular tickets to POP or STI that it pays for my rental car. I will get in early afternoon on Thursday and plan on driving to the north part of the island that day, After a few days at BBs, I plan on meeting up with the novia and staying at a local apartment and then finally leaving to go tp SD for a day or more. Neither of us have spent time there.

Is it worth trying to see the SD sights in one day and then leaving the next? What hotels would you recamend? I want a nice hotel, but not overpriced. Sould I stay close to the airport. On my last day I am planning on sending the novia off on a Caribe Bus and I turn in my rental car. Please pass along any ideas or input that would help a southcoast newbie like me.

Thanks,

P[/QUOTE]Since neither of you have spent time in Santo Domingo you should plan for at least two nights in SD. You would also be better off using taxis in SD versus a rental car. Taxis are 150 pesos and a lot less stressful than driving in SD.

What is your hotel budget? I will take a guess your chica is the typical barrio chica who has never seen much of the DR outside her own front yard. If so, she will be amazed with SD. Zona Colonial, shopping malls, malecon, movie theater, baseball game, Iguana Park, and the list goes on.

You have driven numerous times in DR so you know how it is. You have driven in Puerto Plata city and I would say for the most part, driving in Santo Domingo is easier than Puerto Plata. Santo Domingo does not have one million motorcycles zipping around you as you drive. There are many, many motorcycles in Puerto Plata.

The guaguas (small beat up piece of shit mini buses) will get you angry while driving in Santo Domingo. Those m_therf_ckers don't care, they will squeeze you, they will stop whenever and wherever they want.

You will be driving to Puerto Plata your first day from Santo Domingo Airport (las americas, sdq). It is an easy drive to Puerto Plata. There will be one 30 peso toll as you exit the north part of Santo Domingo, try to have change or a 100 peso or smaller bill.

There are about 6 ATM machines on the ground floor of the airport near where you exit, near the bon ice cream shop. I usually stop there and withdraw some pesos so that I have dominican money from the get go. Some machines keep your card till the transaction is complete, so try not to forget your card in the machine. You will probably have to choose Spanish as the language with the ATM machines. Seems the ATM machines in DR have been programmed not to give money when people choose English.

You have rented cars before in DR, so you have your rental company that you are comfortable with. I always rent from Alamo and choose third party liability insurance and glass / tire insurance.

Near the baggage carousel where you will wait for your luggage (try not to pack anything valuable in your checked luggage, or have anything in the outside pockets, occasionally stuff is stolen from checked luggage) , there is a duty free shop with good prices for booze and cigarettes. Here in the States you can't buy at duty free when exiting the airport, but in Santo Domingo you can. After you retrieve your checked luggage you will walk through customs and then through a hallway and you will see the rental car counters to your right.

Santo Domingo Airport is modern, granite tile floors, good lighting and air conditioning. Santo Domingo Airport has flights that arrive at all hours. Alamo rent a car is open 24/7 at SDQ. If you arrive at an odd hour, there will be no persons at the rental car counters inside the airport. You have to exit the airport and there is a building across the street from the exit near a parking lot, you would have to enter that building to do the paperwork for the rental (for odd hours).

During normal business hours there will be people at the rental car counters inside the airport. Most rental car companies will put a $1000 hold on your credit card. You will do the paperwork inside the airport at the counter, but you will not receive the car keys. You have to exit the airport, cross the street, walk towards the right and usually workers are waiting there with your car already started and the A / C on. If no one meets you outside near the parking lot, enter the building that faces the parking lot and you will see additional rental car counters (this is where you return the car and do the return paperwork).

You can stop at the ATM machines inside the airport before going to get your car or you can put your luggage in the car (the worker will do the inspection of the car for damage before you get the car, you know the routine). You can tell the worker that you need to get something inside the airport and they will tell you what space to put your car inside the lot.

On the second floor of SDQ airport there is a Claro shop (in case you need to buy a phone card or a new sim card) and there is a pharmacy. Price for Cialis is more expensive inside the airport pharmacy, but it may be convenient if you don't want to make a stop elsewhere.

Exiting the airport with the rental is easy, pleasant area with no traffic.

I will continue with another post, driving directions to Puerto Plata.

[QUOTE=Ponderosa; 1103097]I am flying into and out of SDQ on my next trip. I saved enough cash by going this route vs. Buying regular tickets to POP or STI that it pays for my rental car. I will get in early afternoon on Thursday and plan on driving to the north part of the island that day, After a few days at BBs, I plan on meeting up with the novia and staying at a local apartment and then finally leaving to go tp SD for a day or more. Neither of us have spent time there.

Is it worth trying to see the SD sights in one day and then leaving the next? What hotels would you recamend? I want a nice hotel, but not overpriced. Sould I stay close to the airport. On my last day I am planning on sending the novia off on a Caribe Bus and I turn in my rental car. Please pass along any ideas or input that would help a southcoast newbie like me.

Thanks,

P[/QUOTE]

Jao, BQ and others via pm / email,

Thank you for your quick responses and above all, good detailed info. I am overwhelmed at the quality of the info by all, and it is good to have "friends in high places". Thanks again.

In looking things over, I am leaning toward spending 2 nights in SD. It sounds like there is a lot in SD to at least try and see, and this gives me the opportunity to say I have been.

Yes, my novia could be described as the typical "bario chica" and this will be quite an experience for her to see the "big city" and another part of her country. I will get a kick out of showing it to her.

I am like many of you who have gotten spoiled by the affordability of the DR. With that in mind, hotels in the $50-70 USD range are my norm. If that figure is unreasonable, let me know. I have a pretty good map of the country, but if anyone wants to provide driving directions out of the airport to the main highway towards Santiago, I would appreciate that.

Thanks again, and anyone else who wants to chime in, please do.

[QUOTE=Ponderosa;1103356].......I am like many of you who have gotten spoiled by the affordability of the DR. With that in mind, hotels in the $50-70 USD range are my norm. If that figure is unreasonable, let me know........[/QUOTE]Now you talking my price range. Hotel Venezia or Hostal Riazor both in that price range. My choice would be Hotel Venezia. Hotel Venezia the rooms are small but comfortable with frig, A/C, secure parking, in room WiFi @1500 pesos a night. I have never stayed at Hostal Riazor but the hotel gets good reviews. Hotel Venezia is much closer to Zona Colonial which is a big plus.

[QUOTE=Ponderosa;1103356].......Yes, my novia could be described as the typical "bario chica" and this will be quite an experience for her to see the "big city" and another part of her country. I will get a kick out of showing it to her..........[/QUOTE]It won't take much to blow her mind away. I have been with chicas who have never been on an escalator in a mall. Do the "El Conde Walk", take a cab to the mall to window shop, hit the plaza on the malecon on the weekends at night or anytime on Sunday, take her to a baseball game, Iguana Park will be in town until the end of January, El Conuco Restaurante, Tres Ojos, Jaragua Hotel/Casino Lounge for live entertainment (free local talent) but pricey drinks, shop with the locals on Avenida Mella, Chinatown, Plaza Espana for romantic dining. Need more?

[url]http://www.residence-venezia.com/location.htm[/url]

[url]http://www.iguanapark.net/[/url]

[url]http://www.licey.com/[/url]

[QUOTE=Ponderosa;1103356]......................I have a pretty good map of the country, but if anyone wants to provide driving directions out of the airport to the main highway towards Santiago, I would appreciate that..........[/QUOTE]Leaving the airport will your final destination be Santiago or Puerto Plata? What time do you arrive? Actually it is easier and more of a direct route to get to Puerto Plata than Santiago coming from SDQ.