What excursions or what to do in Santo Domingo.

[Louise Fournier]

This will be our first time at port in Santo Domingo in January. Any suggestions on excursions? Is the cruise port close enough to venture out on our own?

[oskidunker]

The most dirty, smelly stop on our 2 week cruise.Horrible traffic, very hot. Constant harassment by vendors selling rosary beads.Everyone I spoke to on The Grand agrees with me. You have been warned

[Hlitner]

The most dirty, smelly stop on our 2 week cruise.Horrible traffic, very hot. Constant harassment by vendors selling rosary beads.Everyone I spoke to on The Grand agrees with me. You have been warned

 

Ok, guess we have to be a contrarian (we were also on the Grand) because we loved our time in Santa Domingo. Sitting at an outdoor cafe at the Columbus Plaza and people-watching reminded us of many cities we have visited in Europe. Sure, there were some dirty areas but one must remember this city is over 500 years old. Most of the complaints we heard on-board came from folks who took excursions. We had a terrific time walking around parts of the town and actually went out of the main tourist area where we stumbled on a great indoor market with tons of independent vendors. There is also a nice pedestrian street in the old town lined with lots of shops, restaurants, etc. As to pushy vendors, we are used to that since we spend a lot of time in Mexico, and a simply "no gracias" or "no thank you" was all that was required to deal with the situation. This port is different then the typical Caribbean port which, for us, made it a lot fun. The best part where the prices. We had two large beers at a great outdoor cafe for a total cost of less than $5. Because it was a pretty hot day we grabbed a taxi from the ship terminal for only a few dollars but we could have walked over the bridge into town in about 20 min. When we were ready to return to the ship we simply grabbed another taxi in town who brought us back for $10.

 

We would recommend that most folks simply spend their time in the old town area where there are seveal museums, an interesting church, fortress, etc. All this is within a relatively compact area so that anyone willing to walk a mile (or less) could easily see the best part of this neighborhood which is relatively close to the port (its on the other side of the river which makes the walk a little over a mile).

 

Hank

[Hlitner]

I should have added a couple of other related facts regarding that Grand Princess cruise. This was the first time the Grand went into Santo Domingo and it is the largest ship to ever enter that harbor. The ship barely cleared the shallow waters at the entrance and the Captain even drained the rear pool on the ship to slightly raise the stern. This increased the clearance to only a couple of feet (the Captain said there were more than a few holding their breath on the bridge). Apparently the Princess folks expect to increase port calls here since it adds more variety to the Caribbean cruises and its forcasted that many other cruise lines will being to call here as well since there is high demand for new ports in the Caribbean.

 

Hank

[2552phxcrzr]

Any thoughts on the Lighthouse ...

[Hlitner]

Any thoughts on the Lighthouse ...

 

Guess its fine if you like lighthouses :)

[jandjfun]

The Miracle stops in La Romana, but here is a tour company you might want to try. http://www.caribbeandreamto.net/santo_domingo.html

 

This company is giving us a private tour for 45.00 and it includes all this.

 

1. Pick up at the ship

2. Altos DeChavon River View

3. Altos De Chavon

4. Amphitheater

5. La Basilica de Higuey Monument

6. Higuey driving tour

7. La Romana City tour

8. Cigar Stop

9. Return to the ship

 

I have been talking back and forth with Garry and I always get an answer within 24 hours. Usually faster.

[2552phxcrzr]

Thanks for the recommendation ... we were planning to do our own thing in Santa Domingo, but it sure would be nice to have someone tells us a bit about what we're seeing.

[DerrickM]

Thanks for the carribbean dream link, contacted the site and look forward to receiving information on a city tour in Santo Domingo including price. The site dosen't provide detail information or prices for tours, just general overview. I was having difficult trying to find information on tours in this city, now looking forward to learning the interesting history.

[DerrickM]

Following up on the Carribbean Dream Link, received a response from Jeff within 24 hours with detail itinerary and price of $74 for 6 hours touring including lunch.

[2552phxcrzr]

Following up on the Carribbean Dream Link, received a response from Jeff within 24 hours with detail itinerary and price of $74 for 6 hours touring including lunch.

 

Would you be able to provide the detail itinerary for the tour you arranged?

[DerrickM]

Carribbean Dream Tour details and contact information:

Jeff Joseph

info@caribbeandreamto.net

Santo Domingo City tour.

Los Tres Ojos National Park is a unique natural combination of three open-air limestone caves home across from the Parque Mirador del Este. Many tour buses will take you to Los Tres Ojos where you will encounter three of the most unique caves in the area. Lost Tres Ojos in Santo Domingo has several visitors each year that make their way down the long deep steep staircase in order to view the beauty that is found underground.

As you journey downward into the first cave, you will stand in awe at the Los Tres Ojos surroundings. The forest is more like what you might imagine as a terrarium type environment with various points that allow you to view the first cave. As you go farther down into Los Tres Ojos National Park, you will view the beauty of the lagoons on just off the central plateau area.

The staircase at Los Tres Ojos in Santo Domingo takes you toward the southern side of the park where you see the entrance to the second cave. Walking through the second cave the beauty is overhead with stalactites dangling overhead; at the end of this point make sure to get a good view of the next cave. This is one of the best views at Los Tres Ojos.

You will be pulled across the cave while sitting in a small raft type boat. The beauty of this secluded area of Los Tres Ojos is one that you will remember for a long time to come and maybe even wish you could escape here often.

Faro a Colon this multi-million-dollar lighthouse was built in 1992 to celebrate the 400 year anniversary of Columbus's landing in the Americas and is the site of the explorer's bones. The Columbus Memorial Lighthouse, a cross-shaped monument in reinforced concrete, 680 feet long from east to west and 195 feet north to south, has become the most visited monument in the Dominican Republic and probably in the Caribbean Area. It is an impressive night spectacle, when the vertical sheets of light rising from the 157 beams on its canyons reflect the great cross on the sky that can be seen miles around. The multiple colors of the flags waving together in its facade symbolize the fraternity of nations and the union of the different cultures, races and beliefs that inhabit the earth.

Another awesome Santo Domingo attraction is the Zona Colonial. The Zona Colonial is the historic part of town and is home to historic buildings that mark the earliest of Caribbean history. The entire area offers museums along with beautiful architectural designs of the history of the entire Caribbean.

Santo Domingo is home to all kinds of attractions from Los Tres Ojos to historical museums to beaches. A trip here will be well worth it during your stay in the Dominican Republic.

Inclusions:

- Meeting on the dock by our guide which will have a sign with your NAME and the company LOGO

- Pick up from the dock at 9:30

- Informative guide

- Visit to most popular sites

- Lunch

- Shopping (optional)

- Drop off 3:00

- Price $74.00 Per Person

PS: We are well equipped with 2008 and up minivan By Toyota or Hyundai. You will pay through paypal for this trip, if the ship dosen't dock in SD due to itinerary change, your payment will be refunded to your paypal account.

[Johanna7]

The most dirty, smelly stop on our 2 week cruise.Horrible traffic, very hot. Constant harassment by vendors selling rosary beads.Everyone I spoke to on The Grand agrees with me. You have been warned

 

We were also on the Grand. The shuttle into the old town of Santo Domingo was $5 each return.

 

Yes, you are constantly accosted by street vendors. As you walk away their prices get cheaper but not by much. Still, they are a good deal. Yes, I gave in and bought a few trinkets and also an envelope of 10 postcards for $5 which isn't that bad compared to other places we have been to. Many charge a dollar a piece.

 

Walking along the shop, trying to find a post office, we did stop some of the tourist police they have to watch that tourist do not get assaulted by the locals. None spoke English. None could tell us where the post office is.

 

We went into a store and decided to buy 2 more cards and 2 stamps. They insisted we pay $10 US for this!!! We walked out the store, they followed us, dropping the price from $10 to $8 to $6 and we just kept on walking.

 

Took the shuttle back to the ship. Wrote a card, went to the front desk purser and asked to buy a stamp. 76 cents. Mailed card.

 

Next time we have a stop in Santo Domingo, we will stay on the ship.

 

Oh, in the terminal they did sell cards (no prices on them) but no postage stamps.

 

I would say they are not quite ready for prime time.

[Waynetor]

We were on the Grand for B2B2B cruises this fall. The first time we tried to get a taxi to take us to the Botanical garden. We got a map for the info booth in the port and asked for a taxi. With map in hand we could not find a taxi driver that knew where it was despite a sign saying the fee to it would be $25. The taxi drivers barely spoke any English. On our 2nd cruise we missed the port due to a storm. On the 3rd cruise we went on a very good tour organized through the roll call. It included a tour to the east of the port including a garden around a sink hole, a tour of the new area, a tour of a museum and a walking tour of the old section. The guide spoke good English. He tried to guide us to some stores but we all said no.

[2552phxcrzr]

Had a GREAT time in Santo Domingo. Took the $5 shuttle from Sansouci into the city (in hindsight, should have walked into town as the shuttle left 30 minutes late; they wait to fill it). Each shuttle is accompanied by a Tourism Bureau guide who offers a 1-1.5 hour tour of the Colonial City for addl $5/person for those who want to go with him. Our guide happened to get on our nerves, so we opted to go out on our own, which is what we had planned from the beginning. Most on our shuttle did go with him, but I don't know how the tour turned out for them ... probably a good overview.

 

Shuttle drops/picks up at the San Diego Gate. Downloaded a map (http://www.colonialzone-dr.com/CZ_Map.html) and accompanying notes before we left and used that to guide ourselves. Really enjoyed the self-guided walk. Though it was hot, it wasn't very humid and with frequent stops inside buildings, we were comfortable. Felt safe wandering around on our own, even walking to the far end of the Conde and going to Independence Square where we were the only tourists. Yes, vendors did approach us, but a simple no, gracias, and they left. We were not overcharged for anything ... knew the exchange rate and paid accordingly for entrance fees, sodas and piping hot empanadas from a vendor outside the tourist area.

 

Finished up by taking a taxi to the other side to visit the Columbus Lighthouse. (Funny story ... not many cabs outside the San Diego Gate; three of the tourist police banded together to call another policeman who is a taxi driver by day to help us out, stopped traffic so we could cross the street to get in the cab. They were very helpful even though we spoke limited Spanish, and they spoke limited English.) This is NOT just a lighthouse. It is a huge, cross-shaped building with what they claim to be Columbus's remains interred in a monument. There are small rooms the length of the building with all kinds of interesting stuff gifted by different countries from around the world.

 

Didn't have nearly the time to either the Colonial City or the lighthouse justice, but we had a great time and got a good overview. Not a port to stay on the ship IMHO.

[RoRothman]

we were on the Grand.. and had a great tour .. it left at 9;30 and we didn't get back til 3:30.. included a good lunch.. we drive around for a bit on a bus. in the new city. and then walked around the old city.. it is easy to navigate.. but we felt better with a guide... who was very informative.. and helpful.. he even manged to deal with a "non-walking" passenger on the very long walking part of the tour.. by getting his friends to look out for the straggler of the tour.. we had a great day in spite of this and booked through Princess.. ( luckily.. since this straggler made us late getting back to the ship.. and they had to hold it for us!)