General Info

[QUOTE=Crazy Jim Wood]Why'd he get booted? He used to be one of the most prolofic posters, especially for photos.

Jimbo[/QUOTE]He broke one of the rules, he promoted his own "travel guide" site on ISG.

-Helpmann :)

An interesting analysis of the economics of prostitution in the DR written in 1996. About 30 pages long. After cutting out the crap, this is what was left.

***All prices are from 1994***

Casa familials: The owner indirectly employs 10 to 20 prostitutes who live in the establishment. There is a bar in the front of the building where clients take their pick of these prostitutes. The client then pays the owner a casa fee (100 to 150 pesos) for use of the room … the women usually managed to negotiate between 300 and 400 pesos for themselves … it was rare for a woman to see more than one client per night. The second casa familial was cheaper with emphasis on volume. The women usually serviced two to three clients per night. The casa fee was lower, only 50 pesos, and the women charged between 200 and 300 pesos for short time. Short time means between five minutes and half an hour and clients are told to leave if they are too drunk or too slow. By working in a casa familial they can potentially earn between 300 and 900 pesos a night (they do not always realise this potential, but the promise is there).

Bar-brothels: Operates as a 'take away' system rather than providing rooms … owners make money through the sale of expensive drinks and by charging clients a bar fine. Bar-brothels in the Dominican Republic serve a wide range of customers. A beer costs more than twice what a beer costs in an ordinary tourist outlet and it is expected that clients will buy girls numerous drinks at 70 to 100 pesos a time while they 'chat' to them (a small percentage of this sum goes to the girl). The bar fines range from 300 to 500 pesos and prostitutes working from these bars aim to charge 1,000 pesos or more for short time. In other words, using such establishments, a client may find himself paying well over 2,000 pesos for sex.

Independents: independent prostitutes charge anything from 150 pesos to 1,000 pesos for short time but the 'going rate' is between 300 and 500 pesos (the client usually also pays 150 pesos for the rent of a room). However, prostitutes in the tourist areas consider themselves to be doing well if they manage to pick up three clients a week and, on average, the women and girls claimed to earn around 1,000 pesos a week from … one woman tries to negotiate 500 pesos for short time with a client and 1,000 pesos for a whole night but is often forced to drop her prices.
(original: ecpat_sex_tourism_dom_rebublic.pdf)

I just read a very interesting book entitled "The Search for the Perfect Wh0re". It is available on Amazon. com (ISBN 0-595-36348-2, $20.95).

The book was published in 2006, which of course means that, at best, the information in the book is from 2004-5.

It is a very amusing story all about how to find a girlfriend experience with minimal Spanish ability in Sosua, especially picking up "non-pros" on the street. There is also a lot of good information on everyday life of an American tourist who does not know much Spanish in Sosua and a few other places. The protagonist even buys a house, and several other characters open bars.

There is quite a bit of philosophical musings which can be conveniently skipped, and everyone winds up getting married in the end, but other than that it is a fun book to read for anyone planning a trip.

CJW

If you have any info on MRSA in the DR please contact me .

John JR

[QUOTE=Crazy Jim Wood]I was looking through my notes and saw that prepaid cell phones are available from Orange for about US$ 30.

I am not sure where I got this info, but this sounds like just about what I want.

Does anyone have experience with prepaid phones in the DR? In Sosua if it makes a difference?

Thanks,
Jimbo[/QUOTE]

Yes, you need to take an unlocked GSM phone with you, then you can buy the SIM card and time for not very much money, though the calls are expensive compared to the US on a cents-per-minute basis. You can also call the US for the SAME price per minute.

When you take your phone to the Orange shop you must take your passport for ID purposes.

You can rent a phone at the hotel Europa for less money. Talk to Diego if you are staying there.

[QUOTE=Frannie]Yes, you need to take an unlocked GSM phone with you, then you can buy the SIM card and time for not very much money, though the calls are expensive compared to the US on a cents-per-minute basis. You can also call the US for the SAME price per minute.

When you take your phone to the Orange shop you must take your passport for ID purposes.

You can rent a phone at the hotel Europa for less money. Talk to Diego if you are staying there.[/QUOTE]
Thanks. I will talk to Diego.
Jimbo

If I arrive in SDQ around 6-7 pm will I still be able to rent a car or catch a bus to Sosua?

Or, will hotels like Europa, New Garden, etc provide an airport pick-up?

Yes, I am emailng the hotels, but just thought I would ask here to see if anyone else experience on the receiving end of the pick up.

CJW

Pretty sure the last Caribe Tours bus from Santo Domingo to Sosua leaves before 8pm (and it's a 4-hour trip). By the time you go through customs, immigration, and take a cab to SD's El Centro, you won't make the 8pm departure. And given the distance and time involved, no Sosua hotel will do an SDQ pick-up.

About renting a car - there's NO WAY I'd rent a car and make the drive at night. If you really want to rent a car and make the 4-hour drive, consider renting the car upon arrival and driving it to Boca Chica (actually closer to SDQ than SD's center). After a night in BC, take a DAYTIME drive up to Sosua in the rental.

Didn't read any of your earlier posts to see if this is your first trip to DR. If so, I'd think twice about driving at all. I was on my 4th trip before I rented, and that was from STI to Sosua (about half the distance you're considering).

If I were you, I'd catch a cab (upon arrival) into Santo Domingo's center (where Caribe Tours station is), kill a night there, the grab a morning bus to Sosua.



[QUOTE=Crazy Jim Wood]If I arrive in SDQ around 6-7 pm will I still be able to rent a car or catch a bus to Sosua?

Or, will hotels like Europa, New Garden, etc provide an airport pick-up?

Yes, I am emailng the hotels, but just thought I would ask here to see if anyone else experience on the receiving end of the pick up.

CJW[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Macmasher]Pretty sure the last Caribe Tours bus from Santo Domingo to Sosua leaves before 8pm (and it's a 4-hour trip). By the time you go through customs, immigration, and take a cab to SD's El Centro, you won't make the 8pm departure. And given the distance and time involved, no Sosua hotel will do an SDQ pick-up.

About renting a car - there's NO WAY I'd rent a car and make the drive at night. If you really want to rent a car and make the 4-hour drive, consider renting the car upon arrival and driving it to Boca Chica (actually closer to SDQ than SD's center). After a night in BC, take a DAYTIME drive up to Sosua in the rental.

Didn't read any of your earlier posts to see if this is your first trip to DR. If so, I'd think twice about driving at all. I was on my 4th trip before I rented, and that was from STI to Sosua (about half the distance you're considering).

If I were you, I'd catch a cab (upon arrival) into Santo Domingo's center (where Caribe Tours station is), kill a night there, the grab a morning bus to Sosua.[/QUOTE]

Bus schedule is here:

[url]http://www.caribetours.com.do/santo%20domingo.htm[/url]

So the last bus leaves SD at 7. You can stay at the girl friendly Mercure hotel in SD quite cheaply if you book on Internet and prepay with credit card, then go on the next day.

Why fly into SD late at night if Sosua is your destination? This is not good travel planning. Maybe you are coming from West Coast and this is the only option?

[QUOTE=Frannie]Why fly into SD late at night if Sosua is your destination? This is not good travel planning. Maybe you are coming from West Coast and this is the only option?[/QUOTE]
The flight schedule arriving at 6:45 pm and going back home leaves at 10 am was only $340.

I can see now there are going to be logistical problems on both the first and the last day, no doubt necessitating stays on Boca Chica or Santo Domingo on those days.

I guess you live and learn.

But I did save $150 at least over flights arriving earlier and departing later!

It seems that Auto Europe has the best deals on cars ($25/day for an economy car). Is this company ok?

Jimbo

[QUOTE=Frannie]
[Why fly into SD late at night if Sosua is your destination? This is not good travel planning. Maybe you are coming from West Coast and this is the only option?[/QUOTE]
There really is nothing that says I absolutely have to stay in Sosua, but it did seem like the best place to start (and this is my first trip to DR).
Jimbo

[QUOTE=Crazy Jim Wood]There really is nothing that says I absolutely have to stay in Sosua, but it did seem like the best place to start (and this is my first trip to DR).
Jimbo[/QUOTE]

Yes, but Sosua is practically walking distance from Puerto Plata airport, but several hours by road from SDQ, so what you save on the air fare, you spend on the ground.

I don't know where you are flying from, but if saving on the air fare is high priority, you would still do better to fly into SDQ and fly out of POP, because that way you would pay the SDQ price. If saving on the air fare is high priority, though, you might want to give the casino a miss as the games are arranged so that the odds favor the house.

However you will probably have a perfectly enjoyable night in SDQ. Any taxi driver will take you to where girls are without you even asking. And the trip north to Sosua is interesting. I would really advise you not to rent a car, especially at Santo Domingo, until you are more familiar with the DR, but that is your decision. Caribe Tours bus only costs about $7 and you can relax and enjoy the scenery. If you still want to rent a car at Sosua, then do so.

Just write about your experiences here if you survive. You may wish to post some obituary notes now just in case.

Depending on the duration of your trip (and your personal preferences), you MAY just want to go to Boca Chica. If your trip is under a week, and you main goal is to just unwind, enjoy the beach, and have cheap sex - you may find BC just fine (inus the 2-way, coast to coast hassle)

[QUOTE=Crazy Jim Wood]There really is nothing that says I absolutely have to stay in Sosua, but it did seem like the best place to start (and this is my first trip to DR).
Jimbo[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the info.
[QUOTE=Macmasher]Depending on the duration of your trip (and your personal preferences), you MAY just want to go to Boca Chica. If your trip is under a week, and you main goal is to just unwind, enjoy the beach, and have cheap sex - you may find BC just fine (inus the 2-way, coast to coast hassle)[/QUOTE]
Well, those are my goals, and my trip is just over a week, but reading the BC forum here it seems like many people are not as happy there as they are at Sosua. I guess you think BC would be just as good?

[QUOTE=Frannie]...if saving on the air fare is high priority, you would still do better to fly into SDQ and fly out of POP, because that way you would pay the SDQ price. If saving on the air fare is high priority, though, you might want to give the casino a miss as the games are arranged so that the odds favor the house...[/QUOTE]
I already purchased tickets, but I probably would have been better off going through POP. I did check out prices going through POP and it would hace cost me $560.

I'm looking at the expenses taking a taxi from SDQ to Zona Colonial is $50 (US$ I assume?) and it seems like Santo Domingo is just over all more expensive than Sosua, so it looks like I will break even dollar wise ($200 I saved on airfare should cover additional expense of being in Santo Domingo) and being able to see another part of the DR is I guess worth a little hassle.

I don't see myself dropping much money at the tables, I just want to check out the scene, since one always hears about the casino there on the forum.

Jimbo

BC is more of a tourist destination for dominicans. Sosua is geared more for tourists from outside DR. There are definately many more options in POP/Sosua area.

[QUOTE=Crazy Jim Wood]Thanks for the info.

Well, those are my goals, and my trip is just over a week, but reading the BC forum here it seems like many people are not as happy there as they are at Sosua. I guess you think BC would be just as good?