Sosua Trip Report - Other activies

[shredder]

I had a short list of other things I wanted to do while I was in Sosua. One of those things was to visit Puerto Plata. I took a group taxi up there one day and walked the Malecon. It's really a nice stretch of beach with a walkway dividing the beach from the main street. Every 150 yards there's a structure with a snack bar. There are some nice looking apartments on that street facing the beach. Also, along that street there are some nice restaurants. There are a few hotels along the street. What confused me was that the Malecon is more or less at one end of town and doesn't seem to be well used. It is a million dollar setting with nothing going on. I expected to find it full of locals and tourists and there would be shops and such....not the case. It would be a nice place to live if you don't like crowds.

[shredder]

On the way to Puerto Plata there is a Go Kart park. I went there with a girl and her 9 year old. It's fun to go there with some people. The Karts are not exactly high tech. They have some that go maybe 35mph and then another track with some that go 25mph for smaller kids. The slower track has some two-seaters so an adult can take a kid.

[shredder]

One day I went to Playa Dorado to play golf. The course is more or less average in difficulty. It is well maintained. I enjoyed playing there. I used rental clubs, had a caddie (required) and a cart. It all came to about $70. It was fun but for half that I can play on better courses here at home so it's not something I'll do on my next trip. The Playa Dorada complex looks pretty impressive...condos, houses and an all-inclusive resort...is that correct?

[givengo440]

Shredder thanks for the intel. I for one don't like a whole trip to be about only about pussy.

[shredder]

One day I took a group taxi to Cabarette. It is about 7 miles east on the main highway from Sosua. I was really taken with the town. It is definitely a tourist town with a beautiful beach that attracts wind and kite surfers. The town has more of an outdoor activity culture to it. There are lots of nice shops and restaurants. The draw back to the town is that the main street of town is also the main highway so there is a constant level of traffic.

From the main street I walked down an alley to the beach. You can see that in the first picture. There are other pictures of the beach, beach front condos and restaurants on the beach. I ate lunch there at one of the beach front restaurants and the food was delicious. These beach restaurants are different from Sosua Beach in that they are in real buildings and not shacks. Many of them have an entrance on the main street and a deck on the beach.

I really like Cabarette. I could see staying there a few days on my next trip. One interesting thing was the noticeable lack of beautiful women there. Spend enough time in Sosua and one could think that the entire country of DR is made up of drop dead gorgeous women. Cabarette brought me back to the reality. I was there during the day. Maybe at night the lookers come out and troll for wealthy tourists but on my visit I saw average Dominicanas...actually one looker at an internet cafe.

[weyland]

What confused me was that the Malecon is more or less at one end of town and doesn't seem to be well used. It is a million dollar setting with nothing going on. I expected to find it full of locals and tourists and there would be shops and such ... not the case.

You're right and, if you think it is quiet now, it was even quieter before they opened the La Sirena supermarket. I once needed a motoconcho to get back to Billy's and walked for ten minutes without seeing one. Anywhere else in Puerto Plata or Sosúa you have to fight them off.

The Fortaleza end gets busy at the weekends as a meeting point for young middle-class Dominicans. They meet to compete with their carboot sound systems as to whose is loudest.

Not sure what you mean by "at one end of town" though. It runs the whole length of the town from Long Beach to the Fortaleza (25 minutes walk).

It would be a nice place to live if you didn't like crowds.

The sea view condos can be surprisingly reasonably priced. It's a great location but I am not sure about security. In an enclosed barrio strangers are more obvious. Here anyone could rob your house and make a quick getaway unnoticed. If I could be reassured on that point I would consider living there myself.

[shredder]

One day I went around with a realtor and looked at houses and condos. It was very interesting. I won't go into the state of the real estate market but it appeared to me that the collapse of real estate in the states is having a "trickle down" effect on vacation properties....not to mention the adverse effect it had on UK real estate as Weyland will attest to. I saw many casas and casitas in the hills/mountains above Sosua and also a condo that is maybe 4 miles east of Sosua. It had been purchased for $160K 2 years ago and the owner wants out for $120K...or maybe less next fall.

[bentwire]

if your gringo forget about getting a good price on a house, marry a chica and live with the family

[weyland]

On the way to Puerto Plata there is a Go Kart park. I went there with a girl and her 9 year old. It's fun to go there with some people. The Karts are not exactly high tech. They have some that go maybe 35mph and then another track with some that go 25mph for smaller kids. The slower track has some two-seaters so an adult can take a kid.

I was privileged to be at Fun City when this guy, Dale Weyhardt Jr, set the lap record which still stands:

[eldorob]

I was privileged to be at Fun City when this guy, Dale Weyhardt Jr, set the lap record which still stands:

Click to see pic

Yeah, but I heard he kept driving on the wrong side of the road.

[Young Hero]

I really like Cabarette. I could see staying there a few days on my next trip. One interesting thing was the noticeable lack of beautiful women there. Spend enough time in Sosua and one could think that the entire country of DR is made up of drop dead gorgeous women.
Cabarette brought me back to the reality. I was there during the day. Maybe at night the lookers come out and troll for wealthy tourists but on my visit I saw average Dominicanas...actually one looker at an internet cafe.


Some friends and I had a late dinner in Cabarette a few weeks ago. There were quite a few stunners walking up and down the beach. Unfortunately most of them were gringas. The tourists definitely out number the locals. All the local girls seemed to be huddled up at some small bar adjacent to one of the discos on the beach. I saw one or two local girls that caught my eye, however, we all brought sand to the beach. Maybe next time.

[Jimmydr]

Caberette is an excellant place to hang out. Its only 15 minutes from Sosua by Gwa Gwa.

[Kennilingus]

On the way to Puerto Plata there is a Go Kart park. I went there with a girl and her 9 year old. It's fun to go there with some people. The Karts are not exactly high tech. They have some that go maybe 35mph and then another track with some that go 25mph for smaller kids. The slower track has some two-seaters so an adult can take a kid.

For a small propina they will remove the speed governor ... with the governor removed you can lap the others at least once every 2 laps!

For me, that's putting the fun in Fun City!

[shredder]

I forgot to mention a good aside about the Fun City gokarts. The go Karts steering wheel is not round. It is butterfly shaped. The track is very turny and so you are constantly fighting the wheel. The day I was there I ran a few sessions and developed a blister on my left palm....

....I couldn't help but laugh at the irony that on a vacation to Sosua I came home with a blister on my left palm.

[Jimmydr]

Most people don't realize this, but there is more than enpugh things to keep a guy busy for months in this country.

[weyland]

I really like Cabarete. I could see staying there a few days on my next trip. One interesting thing was the noticeable lack of beautiful women there. Spend enough time in Sosua and one could think that the entire country of DR is made up of drop dead gorgeous women. Cabarete brought me back to the reality. I was there during the day.

The authorities in Cabarete are much keener on "cleaning" up the town so putas are less free to wander the streets. Also a greater proportion of tourists are female than in Sosúa so male tourists are less interested (or maybe less free) to go with whores.

[cervezalover]

The authorities in Cabarete are much keener on "cleaning" up the town so putas are less free to wander the streets. Also a greater proportion of tourists are female than in Sosúa so male tourists are less interested (or maybe less free) to go with whores.

I also think that Cabarete attracts a different kind of crowd due to all the surf activities (wind surfing...) and the last time i was i also thaught it attracted a young crowd in general. Also i think that the beaches are nicer in Cabarete than in Sosua.

[cervezalover]

I had a short list of other things I wanted to do while I was in Sosua. One of those things was to visit Puerto Plata. I took a group taxi up there one day and walked the Malecon. It's really a nice stretch of beach with a walkway dividing the beach from the main street. Every 150 yards there's a structure with a snack bar. There are some nice looking apartments on that street facing the beach. Also, along that street there are some nice restaurants. There are a few hotels along the street. What confused me was that the Malecon is more or less at one end of town and doesn't seem to be well used. It is a million dollar setting with nothing going on. I expected to find it full of locals and tourists and there would be shops and such....not the case. It would be a nice place to live if you don't like crowds.

You can also use a cablecar which is called Teleferico and it gets you up to a hill called Pico Isabel de Torres.
In Puerto Plata you can also visit the Amber museum in town and the Brugal rum factory.
Another site to see is the fortress in Puerto Plata (San Felipe) and if you want to you can also visit the first european settlement in the new world called La Isabelda.

[weyland]

... you can also visit the first European settlement in the New World called La Isabela.

Just to clarify, La Isabela is an hour or more's drive from Puerto Plata past Imbert.

[cervezalover]

Just to clarify, La Isabela is an hour or more's drive from Puerto Plata past Imbert.

Yup that is true round about 50 km.