Help please

[becks7]

Hi guys My daughter is having a panic attack as she as been told her ipod charger. hair straighteners and hair drier will not work because of the low electricity can anyone let me know if that is correct
many thanks

[coppersun2001]

Hi Becks,

No that is not true atleast for the most part. any of the resorts we have stayed at can accomodate all the items that you have listed. Can you tell us where she will be staying?

We have stayed all over the island and so far we have been able to use all of our electrical appliances.

have fun!!

[becks7]

Hi and thanks she will be pleased and we are staying at the casa marina beach 4 weeks tomorrow thanks again

[coppersun2001]

Wonderful resort you will have a great time!!!! We stay there now and do a month in Feb. Always the best!

[becks7]

Hi Coppersun thanks for that its put my mind at rest .First time so its always a bit of a gamble what to expect.Only 3 weeks Tuesday (not that im counting) looking forward to it now (but not the flight) After reading these boards we were looking forward to meeting Colleen at the checkpoint to try the famous burgers but now we have had to switch to plan b and try the Britannia
Thanks again and bye for now ;D

[great]

Have a great time, we love the Mori Mau restaurant, located just on the corner across from the Ruby great meals and good prices.

[coppersun2001]

Hi Becks

We also enjoy the morimau, it is a wonderful restaurant, and has the best Lobster Thermador ever!!!! It is easy to find and is right beside Patricks Silversmity, so you can shop on the way down too.

There are lots of good restaurants in Sosua, we like, Britannia for snack food, La Roca, and of course the checkpoint, but we will not be going back there now.

Also when you are at the Casa make sure you try the Mexican and Italian restaurant! The have wonderful food. I wouldn't waste m;y time going to the seafood one, it sucks.

The two buffets are great and quite frankly on Chinese night it is the best chinese food we have had.

the resort itself is clean and well kept, the rooms are just rooms nothing fancy but who stayes in the rooms anyway, They are clean and that is what counts. I hope you get to stay in building 7, 8 or 9 as I think they are the best.

Jump in here anytime Mizz Piggy, as they have stayed there for about 10 years straight! She can confirm that it is a good resort, example this year we all felt like we were returning 'home' so that says something.

Have a great time and we look forward to hearing from you once you return. If this is your first time there, then you just have to remember to use your heads llike you would at home. Sosua is fairly safe but just remember don't do things that you wouldn't do at home and you will be fine.

take care! ;D

[becks7]

Hi Guys
Many Thanks to coppersun and great guest for taking the time to reply.The Morimau is on the list ;D

[coppersun2001]

Don't forget to walk the "guantlet - Sosua Beach Market" all the little shops on Sosua Beach" and make sure you barter. You can find some good deals, however this past year we found the little stores in Sosua had the best prices. There are two grocery stores in the village and their prices are very good. Its just fun to walk the beach, you will get tired of saying no thank you. But that is have the fun. there is also a great little bar called the "Treehouse" at the very end of the beach great prices. Also half way down by the bathrooms you can meet a man called Lucien. He will sell you a beach chair, for about 60 pesos he will look after your stuff and if you wish bring you drinks and meals on the beach. What a wonderful day to spend on Sosuo Beach. He is very trust worthy and its a great day!

Hope you have a blast. Now for tours at the hotel, you will be told not to buy in town, for many reasons, this is crap, Right beside the checkpoint bar is a little place called Mels Tours, the gals name is Linda -German lady. She can get you any tours you need and for about half the cost at the hotels. Same tours, has iinsurance and is wonderful. These tours will pick you up at the hotel just like the resort ones, and its LESS money. Use her, as she is great and can give you any iinformation you need. Tell her Kristine and Alf sent you or just tell her you saw her on this forum. Her boyfriend also has a jewellery shop just down the street from the resort called "Premium Jewellery" he has the best stuff and is very reasonable, also you know that the stuff he sells is hand made and the real thing. I highly recommend him. We bought lots of things from him and it is beautiful. You can't miss his shop! Again tell him you saw this on the forum.

Oh yah, make sure you go on the safari tour or outback tour, it is great!!

Just ask if there is anything else you wish to know.
Coppersun

[becks7]

Hi Coppersun
Cool and thanks Mel Tours and Linda was on me list i will tell her you sent me maybe i will get a discount (lol) and as for the Outback safari thats one of the reasons i picked the Dominican
I read about it in a mag. Do you know what sort of things they sell in the Liquidation store in Cabarete as ive been told to visit for bargains. I love a good barter probably the reason ive been to Turkey so many times
catch you later

[coppersun2001]

Hey Becks!

the liquadation store is full of the same stuff you will see in most of the little shops throughout the DR. We bought our little grandpeople clothing there at reasonable prices. Keep in mind that most of the trinkets, masks etc are now being imported from Indonesia. They will argue this fact and tell you that they make this stuff in the DR. This is not true as my sister is an importer and we found the same stuff that she imports in the DR. this was really upsetting as there are so many talented people in the DR. the one thing that is genuine is the pottery, It is the terra cotta looking stuff and it is made there. The budha's and masks etc are made in outside and brought in, probably because it is cheaper to do that then pay the Dominicans. Some of the paintings are mass produced in the DR and the only things that you will find carved in the DR are flat faced masks, usually made of mahogany. You will also find birds carved, quite pretty. Please watch out for the blue Larimar and amber that is brought to the Casa Marina as "real" stones. this is a cheap imitation and not the real stuff. You can find real stone at either Patricks or Premium Jewellry stores get them to tell you how to tell the difference. The little necklaces and beaded stuff is the same stuff found in Indonisia, Thailand etc. It is in my opinion that there are a couple of big "bosses" who are importing this and they dispersing it to the little shops. You will find lots of alabaster carvings again this is all imported and to make this look like larimar they color it. lol i got stung one year but oh well. In fact this past year I argued with a vendor that is was a budha brought in and when he said it wasn't I flipped it upside down and there is was "made in Indonisa" on the bottom. oh well they have to make a living. A good way to start bartering is cut their price by two thirds and work from there. The guys are very high push sales people and good at what they do. To me it was really disheartning to see all the imports. We bring back amber and larimar ( which by the way is only found in the DR) but you have to watch and get the real stuff. It is a beautiful stone. The outback is a really good day trip, lots of fun, and you get to see lots of the country back land.

Another really good trip is the day trip to Santa Domingo, very historic and interesting. Ask Linda about it, you will visit Christopher Columbas' castle, the three eye cave and lakes ( I loved that one) the musoleum ( lol I thought this was a museum, but no .... anyway was very interesting) and also you get to see the "shopping strip in Santa Domingo" also the architecture is unreal!!!!! totally worth a day. It is a long one but worth it and very reasonable. Long travelling but worth it. Next year we are going to spend a couple of days over there. We also have gone white water rafting in Jaracaboa, wonderful day trip, and it takes you up into the mountains (ok large hills) specially when you ski in the Rockies so their mountains are like our foothills. but very scenic and pretty. I just love the culture lessons you get on the bus and meeting the folks. If you wish to take stuff down for the kids on the outback, please do not take candy as we are finding that the kids are starting to have problems with their teeth and dentists are expensive, so we switched to pencils, crayons etc.

anyway I could write lots and hope that the others that write on this forum contribute their knowledge of the Dr with you.


ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHh I want to go back right NOW~!!!!!!!!

[becks7]

Hi Coppersun
Thanks a lot for all the info i will try and fit in as much as possible (Thats if i can drag the Mr's and daughter away from the sun-beds) Only 840 posts to go before i catch you up lol.
Have a nice weekend ;D

[Lois]

Hi Becks:

Definitely Coppersun was the one to ask about Casa Marina and Sosua. She is very knowledgeable about both.

In reference to the Liquidation Centre in Cabarete, it is only open certain days of the week, so it is a hit and miss. Also, in Cabarete, there is a restaurant/bar called Jose O'Shay's which might be a place to drop by for lunch or a Cerveza.

For the last four years we have been staying in the Sosua area and just love it. I also agree with Coppersun, that if you are planning on booking any tours, definitely book them throu Linda on Mel Tours. There are alot of other branch offices of Mel Tours in Sosua, but as Coppersun said, book throu Linda at the office right next to the Checkpoint. We took the Jeep Safari tour and had a fantastic guide by the name of Elvis. You get to see alot on this tour and also you get to climb up about 7 falls and come back down again. If you do not want to do the falls part (the rest of my family did, but I did not as I am not the best swimmer), it is still worth going on this tour as there is alot more to this tour then just the falls. If I remember correctly, it is not very expensive.

You will find a lot of people on the street asking if you want to exchange money, which we do not do. Right beside Mel Tours, there is a money exchange store. This is a very reputable place and will give you a better exchange rate to American or Pesos then the hotel will.
There is also a machine in the grocery store, but I think you can only take so much out at a time, Coppersun would know more about this.

Also, where we stay, they supply the hairdryers, so you might want to ask Coppersun about that instead of having to bring one.

I am sure you will have a great time and love it so much, you will want to go back. We have met a lot of fantastic people, including Coppersun and her husband, they are the best.

If you have any more questions, that any of us can answer, please feel free to post them as I know our Coppersun is always checking the forum.

Have a great trip.

[becks7]

Hi Lois
Hey thanks a lot for that reply when i think of anything else i will post them. Just one thing i noticed you have been to Varadero cuba could you let me know what it was like? As its top of the list for next year Thanks again

[Lois]

Hi Becks:

Sorry that I am just using your last name, but I do not know the first names, to address you directly.

We stayed in Quatro Palmas which was right in Varadero itself not on the outskirts where alot of resorts advertised are. Which means we were able to walk the town and see the sites. We also stayed in Tryp Cayo Coco, which is at the other end of Cuba, but it was an isolated resort and you had to take tours to leave the resort, although it was a beautiful resort.

Varadero is not a very big town and is not like Sousa at all. The stores/shops in Varadero itself sell more souvenirs then anything else, where as in Sousa you have more of a choice of what you want to buy.

We did not take a trip to Havana thou we have been told is worth the experience.

Having travelled to the Dominican and Cuba, the food in the Dominican is definitely better. The food in Cuba, you have to get used to, as they use spices in their food that we are not used to. I have been told that even at the five star resorts, it is the same thing.

We have been to Cuba twice, and the Dominican 6 times. We stayed at Breezes in 2004, Punta Goleta January 2005 (recommendation, do not stay there), and also in March 2005, February 2006 (my son got married here) , 2007, and 2008 we have stayed at the Victorian House in Sosua, so you can see our preference is the Dominican. We have already booked for February 2009 but have also found a quaint little town in Mexico that we visited this past March, and we are debating wether to spend our two weeks in the Dominican in February 2009 or Decameron Los Cocos in Rincon de Guayabitos. Once we retire it will make it a bit easier as we will have more time to spend on trips.

Please to not make your decision on what I have said about Cuba, as each person has their own opinions and experiences. It all depends on what you want in a vacation and what you are looking for.

Other people do prefer Cuba, so it is depends on people's individual tastes.

The thing is, that whenever you go on a vacation, you rest, relax and enjoy yourselves, no matter where you go. The only other thing I can say, is just remember whether in Cuba or the Dominican, you are in a third world country and a five star in the United States, England and Canada, is not the same there. You go with expectation that you are on vacation and there to enjoy the culture and experiences of other countries.

Hope this helped you out a bit.

As you can tell, we have enjoyed the Dominican very much, and if for some reason, we do not go back there in 2009, we will definitely be going back there for years to come.

Till later............