09/2015 - FLIGHT BOOKED - Dominican Republic here we come!

[thunderstar]

Today we have just booked flights for the end of the month to the beautiful DR!

However - doing it different this time.

Landing in Punta Cana we will be looking to rent a car and drive to Boca Chica and possibly stay at the Garant.

So - just reading up on Boca

Anyone have any info on car hire at Punta Cana airport?
Obviously the big companies are there - but is it too much of a risk just rocking up and negotiating with the car hire stalls there?

[SeaWeed]

Today we have just booked flights for the end of the month to the beautiful DR!

However - doing it different this time.

Landing in Punta Cana we will be looking to rent a car and drive to Boca Chica and possibly stay at the Garant.

So - just reading up on Boca

Anyone have any info on car hire at Punta Cana airport?
Obviously the big companies are there - but is it too much of a risk just rocking up and negotiating with the car hire stalls there?

the bus system in the DR is so good......
I'd feel comfortable going from Punta Cana to Boca Chica in a bus versus going thru the excerise of hiring or renting a car........
I'd take the bus from Boca Chica to San Pedro or Santo Domingo all the time and it was a breeze without even speaking much Spanish

[thunderstar]

LOL - my friend - you have forgotten what it is like to be married!

Mrs Thunderstar has luggage - and there is no way after a 10 hour flight, a 3 hour check in at the air port and a 3 hour drive from my house to London airport - we can take a bus to Boca.

Its a car - and looking at the map - it looks like an easy drive.
google maps suggests around 1 hour 40 mins, lets say 2 hours - im cool with that.

Its just do we book with a large company - or hoof it at the airport to do the deal.

Just wondering if any guys here have done that at Punta Cana?

Ive PM'd Skynard as he put up a great looking apartment contact last year - but open to other options of places to stay for 2 weeks - or its the Garant!

[BigLongBeach]

I think that its a $120 one way from santiago to puerta plata (my buddy just went) I cant imagine it being more at punta cana. You can probably find a service cheaper.

Asked one of my girls and she said its more like 2-2.5hr driving. Are you planning to drive around boca chica? I think boca chica is small enough that you dont need a car.

I am clearly anti-driving RD now. If you plan to use the car often go for a rental but if your not why pay $50/night plus gasoline when the car will be parked 90% of the time. The over price of rental vs price of taxi are very close minus the price of gas, stress of driving, and Driving after a few cocktails. I think taxi's actually cheaper in the long term

[SeaWeed]

LOL - my friend - you have forgotten what it is like to be married!

Mrs Thunderstar has luggage - and there is no way after a 10 hour flight, a 3 hour check in at the air port and a 3 hour drive from my house to London airport - we can take a bus to Boca.

ha ha........yes mi forgotten dem days.......lol

[QueGuapo]

the bus system in the DR is so good......
I'd feel comfortable going from Punta Cana to Boca Chica in a bus versus going thru the excerise of hiring or renting a car........
I'd take the bus from Boca Chica to San Pedro or Santo Domingo all the time and it was a breeze without even speaking much Spanish

Not in this case.
i believe there is not bus from Bavaro to Santo Domingo. You need to take te Sitrabapu ( this is The name) from Bavaro to Higueii And then The Caribe Tours from there to Santo Domingo... Not practical. The whole thing becomes a 4/5 Hours pain in The ass with changing stations in Higuei And so on... Not worth it unless you are a chica going to get your paycheck...

[WickedWillie]

Not in this case.
i believe there is not bus from Bavaro to Santo Domingo. You need to take te Sitrabapu ( this is The name) from Bavaro to Higueii And then The Caribe Tours from there to Santo Domingo... Not practical. The whole thing becomes a 4/5 Hours pain in The ass with changing stations in Higuei And so on... Not worth it unless you are a chica going to get your paycheck...

Ummmm, 3 hours Bavaro - SD so maybe 2 hr 30m max to Boca Chica

http://www.expresobavaro.com/

[thunderstar]

All this talk of taking a bus - there is no way we are taking a bus!

A car - yes I know that 90% of the time it will sit there - but - it gives us options.
Car hire to taxi transfer from airport to boca appears to be around the same price.

So - having a car for just a little more gives us options to explore the area and maybe take a drive towards SD.

I see there is an area of cabanas in SD so we may explore that direction and San Marcos the other way etc - so its a couple of days out as I understand Boca is small.

As always - I dont need to bang girls 24/7 and if we do 7 girls out of the 14 days we are there im happy with that.

Any other options on half decent accommodation?

Skynard hasnt responded to the PM? Is he ok?

[weyland]

All you guys making rational arguments why Thunderstar should not hire a car are wasting your time. You do not realize he is a petrolhead. He is obsessed with driving. He once kindly gave me a lift in Sosua to save me walking about 30 yards which entailed a two-mile drive round the backstreets when he got lost in the one-way system.

He likes driving fast and recklessly and leaving the rental a smouldering heap. These days it is the only way he can get a hard on. His hobby back in England (and I admit he lives in a very remote area deprived of entertainment, with intermittent TV reception, no cinemas or cable, a couple of yokel-infested spit and sawdust pubs, and just one very dubious establishment that calls itself a "nightclub" and which is shunned by decent folk) is driving quad bikes up steep muddy slopes and trying to avoid capsizing (bonus points if you hit a tree).

No wonder he feels lost in a big city atmosphere like Sosua, with its bewildering one-way street system, and is heading for a one-horse town like Boca Chica (often called the "Woolhope Cockshoot" of the Caribbean).

[j_d66]

Skynard hasnt responded to the PM? Is he ok?

I think he may still be on a cruise for a few more days

[whynotme]

I think he may still be on a cruise for a few more days

happy wife happy life

[WickedWillie]

All this talk of taking a bus - there is no way we are taking a bus!

A car - yes I know that 90% of the time it will sit there - but - it gives us options.
Car hire to taxi transfer from airport to boca appears to be around the same price.

So - having a car for just a little more gives us options to explore the area and maybe take a drive towards SD.

I see there is an area of cabanas in SD so we may explore that direction and San Marcos the other way etc - so its a couple of days out as I understand Boca is small.

As always - I dont need to bang girls 24/7 and if we do 7 girls out of the 14 days we are there im happy with that.

Any other options on half decent accommodation?

Skynard hasnt responded to the PM? Is he ok?

Villa Florencia would be my choice if I was travelling with Mrs Thunderstar..........Greydread uses it a lot.

Check out Boca Chica hotels on www.booking.com .........you have a choice of over 40

[greydread]

I'd spend arrival night in Punta Cana, drive to BC the next morning just to get the jet lag under control. As mentioned, I highly recommend Villa Florencia, especially since your travel is accompanied. They have free parking in their indoor garage.

Just please don't drive to Santo Domingo if you have a hankering to go there (you will). Everybody is crazy, the traffic jams are atrocious and none of the streets go in a straight line once you get off the main thoroughfares. Take a taxi. I've had taxi drivers who have lived in Santo Domingo all their lives get lost looking for obscure private club addresses.

[thunderstar]

Have a look at this - 20 min drive to Boca and we can discover Juan Dolio and La Romana as well

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/1347350

Looks great to me!

Mr Happy - I will take your advice about driving around SD - I understand its a whole different ball game.

[thunderstar]

So - we are all set.

Done loads of reading up - Mrs T is packing our final bits as I type right now.

I have one night of work left, Monday day then we are off for an over night in London before our Tuesday flight.

I have one final question for the knowledgeable Santo Domingo guys :

Driving

Highway 3 - coming from Boca - leads straight into SD.
With this in mind - it looks like one simple left turn takes you onto another straight road that leads to the Malecon.

Now - I know I dont want to be driving around SD, but Highway 3, one left turn onto Francisco down to the beech - seems easy?

Am I missing something here?

Our plans :

We stay in a villa 20 mins drive from Boca - so we plan to explore Boca, Juan Dolio, San Pedro and SD.
Lots of new places to discover and of course take lots of photos of.

Thanks to those Ive been speaking privately to - you are the reason this board is great.

One shout out to MrHappy - fancy meeting up with an English couple for a day? Beers on me!

[BigLongBeach]

there are 3 main avenues going from east to west

george washington (el malecon)
27 feb (there were you go after going from boca chica to santo domingo)
expreso john kennedy (going to the other barrios north the center)

then there are 2 main avenues going south to north that lead to malls and restaurants) obvious there more but i want to keep it short and sweet

Lincoln and churchhill

basically get on ave 27 feb head west/east, turn and go south or north depending there you are going. BEWARE the traffic is beyond slow. Use the tunnels.

To be honest i would hate to be stuck in traffic on my vacation. I use to drive all the time, since i didnt know the side streets i would always be stuck in traffic. That is my main reason to take taxi's they know all the shortcuts.

I used print or screenshots of the directions of places i want to go. I still do that but i just show it to the taxi and they make it happen.

The monger map is still very accurate. https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/vi...gH90k&hl=en_US

[thunderstar]

Thanks BLB

Ive got an idea of booking the Jaragua for a 1 night stop over - just to experience it.

Im also going for a Slipnslide - 2300 pesos - i know its probably too much money - but its my vacation and I want to do that shit!

[BigLongBeach]

a couples slip and slide sounds pretty hot. I wonder if they offer that. Mr happy says its worth it..

The jaguara is super easy to get to unfortunally unless you know the shortcut you will get caught in traffic. Hoe row us walking distance.

Thanks BLB

Ive got an idea of booking the Jaragua for a 1 night stop over - just to experience it.

Im also going for a Slipnslide - 2300 pesos - i know its probably too much money - but its my vacation and I want to do that shit!

[Drjetman]

What's a slipslide?

[BigLongBeach]

What's a slipslide?

a nuru massage place in santo domingo


http://www.sliponme.com/