NORTH COAST discussion and questions...

As a resident of the north coast (Sosua/Cabarete) area I look forward to this thread.  Hopefully others that live or have experience here on the north coast will jump in and add their thoughts.

Bob K

glad to see the inception of this thread. looking forward to gaining knowledge & the possibility of contributing to it.

Thanks guys.

No problem and have a great day....Stay cool if you can. Here it is unbelievably hot.  Yesterday 97F and 36C at mid day.  By 4pm still 95 and 35.  WHERE is winter?????

Bob K

I too am waiting for temps to drop especially at night.  No relief yet....like last year Bob, heat continued almost to the end of November...

Bob, please don' t mention the word : winter :, lol. That' s what we all want to get away from.   :-)

is that peter3rd or perhaps petard?  joking of course.

Peter will do, lol...   Peterd3 is correct

I'm with you on that one ! don't want to hear the word Winter !

Ahhh but " winter" here is a different beast....its when tourists flock here, seasoned expats turn off the air conditioning, stay out of the pool and Dominicans can be seen in a coat and hat......

Planner is correct. Winter here just means more comfortable days and better sleeping weather. Also a break in electric as the locals will turn off the AC.  Tourists  and snow birds still need it.  It is all relative.

For me winter used to mean below zero F temps common at night and 350 or more inches of snow a year.  So waaayyyy different now.

Bob K

We are bringing our children and grandchildren to a rental villa in Casa Linda for a week long trial run before we commit to building a villa there.  we will be there from 28 Dec to 6 January. (A part of our vision is that the family will come to join us for a vacation there in the Canadian winters.)  Our grandsons are aged 7 and 10.

We are planning on spending a day at Monkey Jungle, and of course to visit the Sosua and Cabarete beaches.  What other family friendly adventures would you suggest?  We saw that there is a nature reserve just past Cabarete.  Is this an area that would be interesting to visit?

Thanks for starting the North Coast topic. We are planning to live there for at least a few months each year. This Expat.com is a great resource, and I feel much better prepared already for our next trip there - even if my preparation seems mostly to include an ever-increasing list of questions on things I had never thought about

Oh yeah.. I know I am going to love DR winters.. my cup of tea !!

Casey (neighbor as we are just a couple of miles up the hill from you) I am sure you will have a great time.  The kids will love Monkey Jungle as well as the beach in Sosua (usually extremely calm water with small fish near shore to see).

There is also a water park in Ocean village which is about 2 minutes from you. And a circus training center in Cabarete where they can learn to wire walk, trampoline and lot of other activities.

Bob K

Hey I want to go to the circus thing too!!!!

It's cooler over here Bob.    Noisier, but cooler!!!

Thanks Bob, all those sound like great suggestions.  Our son and daughter-in-law want to go to Kite Beach to try kite surfing, and I see the Circus School is right there also, so the two boys can have their own adventure at the same time.

HI Jim welcome.  It actually is cooler just up the road a piece

It will be so nice to sleep tonight with out the fans going....maybe


Bob K

Does anyone have an opinion on this site/realtor?  It is the one we keep coming back to and I wondering if it is a good representation of the homes for sale in the area.

http://www.juanperdomo.com/

He has  good company but they tend to push only the listings that they have and not other agency listings.  If you find a property on another site and show it to your agent a perdomo most likely you will get to see it.  Sometimes not.

Bob K

What areas are you looking at?

Bob K

Better come,  look around from here.  Many many properties are never advertised. Sometimes the best deals are found by word of mouth!

high end & agresive.

We are looking at the Cabarete/ towards Sosua area so far, will learn more after our visit in Dec.  We plan to rent when we eventually move so we can look while there like Planner suggested. I just mostly wanted to make sure that site was a fair representation of the prices and types of homes we could expect to find.

Thanks for the help

We will talk about it when we meet.

Bob K

Bob
Can you tell me about the Caribe Tour buses?
Where do they travel from/to?
Are they a tourist bus or anyone can use them?
Any idea how much they cost?
Thanks
Ange

Caribe Tours runs many routes, it is  for anyone.  For example they go every hour on the hour from Puerto Plata toSantiago, Santo Domingo.  Cost is  370 RD.  Buses are highway buses,  usually reasonably comfortable but COLD, they usually blast the air conditioning. They make 2 stops in Santiago and usually one in La Vega.  They continue on to Santo Domingo and their station is closer to the eastern end of the city

Metro Bus also runs many of the same routes. They have a bit different schedule from Puerto Plata to Santiago and continuing to Santo DOmingo. They are actually faster as they only stop once in Santiago, then continue straight to the station in Piantini in Santo Domingo. I prefer Metro and find them more comfortable and clean.

Thanks planner

We are travelling from Puerto  Plata  to Luperon

Neither Caribe nor Metro go there honey. You want to probably go by Javilla tours.  Once you get a taxi or public transportation from the airport, go to La Sirena for food. Then go to La Javilla and ask for the Luperon Bus.   

That is local transportation and will be a true experience for you!   Have fun!

Yes planner has it right.
\
Bob K

Ok North Coastians and those in the know, I need a little guidance.
1. What should I pay for a hammock from a beach vendor?
2. What should I pay for a taxi to the monkey house?
3. I paid 300 pesos for 2 chairs and an umbrella yesterday..was it too much? 
4. What about laundry? Where is the best place to get it done and what should I pay?

On a side note, does anyone else hate those coffee perculators? We just melted the handle into the stove, who make a meltable handle for something you put over a flame...lol I am definitely stocking up on bodums before moving!

OK
Hammock I have no idea
Cab to Monkey Jungle from sosua will cost about $20-25 each way.  Try to make a deal for RT fare and don't pay him till he comes back for you
Going rate for two chairs and umbrella should be about 200-250 pesos.
There is a place that will do you laundry just down the street from Bon Ice cream going to Alicia beach.  Not sure of the cost

Hope this helps

Bob K

When bartering,  start at 1/3 of whatever they are asking and then settle somewhere around 1/2......

Excellent, thanks you too. Bob, that sounds steep for a taxi only half way between here and Cabarete?  What does it cost to get to Cabarate?

I t is a lot of money.  But the road isn't paved, narrow, in some parts must pull off road for on-coming vehicles, plus no guarantee of someone wanting a ride back.  So in essence, it is 2 round trips the taxi must make.   A worst price is the taxi from the airport to Sosua.. $20 t0 $ if you have several bags.  And it is less than 4 miles!!   Try to find some others who want to go, & share the cost.  It is quite the unique place. It is basically a non-profit refruge for the animals.  If the owner ( a real nice guy) makes a few bucks who cares. He invested originally his own money & labor.  You won't regret the trip.  Good drinks & great burgers too.

I forgot to mention that the price is for the ride, not per person. If they say differently, get another cab.  You'll see the guy change his price.  Good luck & enjoy yourself.   Life ain;t a dress rehearsal!

Gypsy is correct it is per cab and it is a off the beaten track trip.

Also the owner takes NO profit from venue and all profits are used to help fund the free dental and medical clinic on site for the poor underserved locals (Dominicans and Haitians)

Bob K