General Chit Chat

There is an Airport in Puerto Plata.  Best beaches are in Sosua and Cabarete. Rooms will run from $35 a night to $300 a night.  Yes there are lots of working girls around.

Bob K

Yes there is an airport 20 minutes from Puerto Plata.  Lots of resorts nearby but your "friend" may not be welcome you will need to ask and pay for her to go in.

How much money??? What do you plan to do? Stay on resort? Go out every night? Stay off resort?

just to be there for 1 week max.. to see the so called friend if she do not meet never mind.. like to spend time on beaches..just to have fun over and hook up

i am planning to visit Puerto Plata for 4-5 days max.. can you recommend any heap hotels or rooms and how much they will be costing?

looking around nice beaches and as alone so would need girl . is it easy to pick up them or illegal?

Ok my last post on this subject.  As "hookups" is not what this board is all about.  But you want to stay in Sosua where you will have no problem finding working women.  Here is a list of guest friendly hotels
Sosua guest friendly hotels:
Hotel Sea Breeze http://www.hotelseabreezesosua.com/resto.html
Hotel D'Piero www.hotelpierososua.com/htmlenglish.html
Hotel Casa Valeria www.hotelcasavaleria.com/en/homepage.html
Hotel Casa Cayena http://www.hotelcasacayena.com/
Hotel Orchidee http://www.hotelorchidee.ch/cms/index.php

As to costs you get what  you pay for.

Great beach and lot of bars and clubs for the night.


Bob K

Thanks Bob!!!! Great advice.

there is another great little hotel that has not been mentioned.  Don Andres, not expensive, good food, pool, active bar, very friendly, accepts overnight guests at no additional charge, ( just 1 night) if girl stays w/you more than that a charge will be applied)  good location, rosen & martinez, top of hill from Spankys. 3minute walk to beaches. I.ve stayed there many times before I moved to Sosua, english speaking staff, dutch run, great place to meet knowledgeable ex-pats.  check out Spankys, 50 yards down the hill. it's an ex-pat bar. has studios for rent too. $350-$00 a month. rent by the day also. say hello to Bertico at Don Andres & Larry at Spankys for me. I'm Tamas ( TOE-Mash) hope this helps. .  Sosua is the town for you  for what you are looking for. 4 miles from the Puerta Plata airport.  enjoy yourself, you will be visiting Sosua often.

Yes that is another very good hotel. I go to the BBQ on Friday often

Bob K

RAIN, RAIN we finally have rain here on the north coast and lots of it.  Heavy showers for about 3 hours and I would guess by 9PM we have had about 3 inches or more rain. The gardens are dancing

BObK

We just had heavy heavy downpours here as well in La Romana, started about  11 and went till 1:30. Yup I am up......very very early.

Wow I thought 5am was an early time to get up,  but 1AM???

Bob K

I crashed at  9 last night, so  1 am made it 4 hours.............  once I get 4 hours my brain does not want to turn off. Back to bed at 4 am and up at 7.  I will survive...........LOL

For me 5 hours if I get up then that is it. Never more than 6 hours a night with 5 my usual

Bob K

Total rain last night was just shy of 6 inches.  Wonderful. Had an infinity pool this morning.

Bob K

My mother and I are moving to Puerto Plata in December.  I am wondering if anyone can recommend a good rental agency or realtor in the area. We are also going to be buying a car so if anyone knows of a good place to get a used car please let me know.  Also any advice for new ex pats would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.

any special reason for puerta plata?  have you been there before?   buying a used car can be tricky at best.  contact Gary at Spankys bar in Soaua.  he usually has a vehicle or 2 for sale. if not, he can take you to places he has dealt with before. I've bought motorcycles & cars from him. (2 of each). check out other spots on the north shore also. more laid back than puerta plata.  prettier too.  read the different threads on this site, they are full of excellent info & advice.  good luck & welcome to the D.R.   if you do contact Gary, tell him I sent you.  spankys is an ex-pat bar, many people to meet who have been in-country for many years.

Yes are you looking in Puerto Plata itself or some of the areas outside of Puerto Plata?

You might check the local bulletin boards for used cars being sold by expats leaving.

Bob K

And welcome to the forum.  But do tell us a bit more about you and what you are looking for.

Bob k

planner wrote:

This is a new thread for us to capture the "chit chat".  This is just to ramble, to engage in how are you's,  to chat so that we don't get our other threads too far off topic!!!!!

And would work for a base of referrals,  recommendations or silly questions as well................

Hello all, I've been down to the DR twice in the last few months. I've been doing a lot of reading and doing my best to keep the ship upright. I may get into my personal life a bit more later but things are going ok for now. I have maybe an odd question and it's to do with surviving the heat and the bugs that bite the living crap outta me at night in Santiago. I planned to stay three weeks but tapped out after a week.

I'm a quiet person and I live in the country by myself in Canada and rarely even play music at home. Santiago was quite an experience. Humidity and heat is one thing. The bugs another. People playing music at midnight with speakers as big as your fridge is another. The dogs starting their conversation at about 2 in the morning just when it's cool enough to get a few winks is another. Trying to understand DR culture and the local insistence that if you are even PERCEIVED as the one who invited anyone anywhere, you're responsible for the entire bill for the night. Yah I love it there but I may have to choke a few people out soon lol.

Seriously though bug bites? So bad some of them got infected when I got home and are only really healing up after a week or two.

Thanks all,
MFO

Yes the bugs like fresh  meat!!!!  Insect repellent - go buy the stuff in Canada with Deet at least 22% then use it here......

First welcome to the forum.  We look forward to your contributions.  Lots of good folks here.

DEET is the Way to go.  AC at night with closed windows also will help.

Why  did you pick Santiago to visit for 3 weeks.  For me 1 day in this busy, congested city is enough and that is usually just for shopping.

If you were the gringo in the crowd when invited out... Yes the bill is yours usually. Especially if going out with a "lady friend" and her family and friends.

Keep the questions and experiences coming.

Bob K

I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations or experience with personal assistants in Santiago. I may need someone to do some errands for me and investigate potential business opportunities for me. I would need someone who can get around inexpensively with a motorcycle or public transit, speaks decent english and is technical enough to send photos with a smart phone. Loyalty and trustworthiness are my number one attributes for this person.

Any help is greatly appreciated!!

You wont find that easily. It requires time to build trust like that. And frankly an inexpensive errand person to investigate opportunities???? Really???? You think they would be qualified????

I'm new here so please excuse me. I'm not looking to get into a flaming match with anyone. Please read carefully what I wrote. I asked that they be able to get around inexpensively. If I seem like an idiot I apologize. I'm pretty sure I know the value of the kind of help I am looking for.
Thanks.

NOt intended that way,  just trying to get a point across.

Not worried, just being precise with what I was referring to when the word 'inexpensive' was used. What I CAN use is your lawyer contact in the DR I won't use the word inexpensive and lawyer in the same sentence except this one lol

Your point was made rudely, condescending and mean! Not a great way to welcome newcomers and being positive.

Ignore Planners rude and condescending reply. Just put the word out and people will find you. Having an interview processtthe same way you would back home works. That's what we did and it worked out perfectly. Just trust your gut with everything and you will be fine.. :-)

Monkeyfo I ambglad you seem to understand my intent was NOT to offend you. We are good.

However bodykarate you seem to have an issue. Ive spent years on here helping others. IF you have an issue with that then take it up with me privately.  Whatever it is you did, glad it worked out for you.

Bodykarate sometimes lucky is better then good or intelligent.

Be careful who you poke a stick at.

Glad things worked for you but that would not be the norm

Bob K

Hello again Expat friends!
Havent been posting recently as life has got in the way.  We are down to 4 weeks till our trip to Sosua and getting more excited every day!
Bob, hope you are still up for a briainpicking free lunch! 

Sheri

You bet.  I will be out of the country from Dec 3 to Dec 9th.

Bob K

That is perfect as we don't arrive until the 15th!  27 days to go!!!

Actually I lied won't return till the 13th so still will work

Bob K

Hey again all,
Its our third day in Sosua and we are having a blast. We have already met a bunch of expats that own local businesses in town and everyone, especially the locals, always have a quick smile. We are doing a lot of walking so we are staying careful, not wearing anything expensive or carrying much money.
We have had a look at the grocery situation and were pleasantly surprised at both the selection and the prices at both major stores.
We spent the afternoon snorkeling with Northern Coast Dive and it was great. Admittedly, we have seen better but you can't control what lives in your part of the ocean. The dive shop and the guide were great and we are looking forward to a dive with them later in the week.
We are planning a day trip to Cabarete in the next little while, perhaps a trip to the monkey house and maybe off to see the 27 water falls or part of them. Its still up in the air as we are on vacation and trying to not overplan.
Hope everyone is having a great holiday season.
Sheri and Toby

Welcome guys.  Just replied to your PM

Bob K

Awesome sounds like you are having a great time....

Another hot day in Sosua ( I know it's winter to you expats..lol) yesterday we had a great lunch at Mio's and met a super nice guy (hey Bob!), overpaid for a hammock but we love it and spent the rest of the day close to home with the - we have been in a foreign country for a week and need to be close to our bathroom blues - that might be too much info but its a fact of life. 
Today we woke feeling great and are off to see Cabarete, we have heard it is beautiful and are looking quite forward to it!

Guys it was great having lunch with you.  Keep the plan going.

Bob K