Dominican Republic
Still with enough savings and in the midst of the pandemic, I found some momentum in my solo trips. My next solo trip came about a month after my trip to Guatemala. I ended up visiting the Caribbean country of Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola in early July 2021.
Why República Dominicana?
During the pandemic, I started doing a prison-style bodyweight workout called “Conbody” (not sponsored!) and stayed very consistent with it throughout the pandemic. The guy who created this workout – coincidentally while he was in prison – was from Dominican Republic. I watched his interview on Youtube and he seemed like an interesting person. Having some level of familiarity and respect for this person from DR helped me choose this country among the other reasons I have already laid out in other posts. As you will pick up in future posts, there was always some rationale for visiting a chosen country. Hence, this section appears in all my blogposts. 🙂
What did I do there?
This trip was split across three cities: 1) Santo Domingo 2) Las Terrenas 3) Santiago de los Caballeros (not to be mixed up with the capital of Chile). After the trip to Guatemala, I was more mentally prepared for the rawness of Santo Domingo. I stayed in a tourist friendly zone called Zona Colonial. It was a beautiful and relatively safe part of town. The broader city of Santo Domingo was quite well-developed and I was very impressed with Agora Mall when I visited. On the other hand, I noticed real poverty and shanty towns when I went for a cable car ride in the metro system. Las Terrenas was a beach town but I experienced some rainy days there. On one occasion, there was a complete power outage in Las Terrenas and there was a hurricane scare during my stay. While in Las Terrenas, I did a day trip to the waterfalls of El Limón but the river water was elevated and muddy (and thus not very Instagrammable :)). Lastly, Santiago felt calmer and had some nice parks and malls. When in Santiago, I did a day trip to Puerto Plata. My overall experience in Dominican Republic also involved curfews on transportation and opening hours of stores due to the pandemic. I don’t have any outtakes on the bar scene to share with you though I do recall enjoying a mamajuana (traditional rum drink in DR) or two when I visited.
Where did I stay?
Short answer: A combination of hostels and guesthouses.
In Santo Domingo, I stayed at Island Life Hostel – this one is quite popular. During my other travels, I have met other hostelers who picked this hostel for their stay in Santo Domingo. The owner was an Englishman with two dogs named after F1 drivers. It was a nice hostel with a patio and I met some cool people during my stay there. I remember meeting a girl from Boston who was a bartender and had a go-getter spirit. She, along with two other girls from the US, came with me on my trip to Las Terrenas.
In Las Terrenas, I stayed at a guest house called Manty’s Guesthouse. It was formerly Dan and Manty’s Guesthouse but they got divorced so it was just Manty and her family helping her out. Manty prepared some of the best slow-cooked traditional food I had in DR. Another fond memory from the visit is the complete power outage and hurricane scare on one of the days. After doing some research, we realized we were not in the path of the hurricane and that helped reestablish some harmony.
In Santiago de los Caballeros, I stayed at the W hostal. It was the only hostel in Santiago on Hostelworld so it was an easy choice. In Santiago, I remember drinking a Presidente beer in the afternoon at a bar while watching Roger Federer win his last pro tennis match at Wimbledon against Lorenzo Sonego. Due to the curfew on bar hours after a certain time (I believe it was 3 p.m.), I drank the rest of my beer from a styrofoam cup. I managed to hang on to the Presidente bottle and used it as a holder for the mosquito incense coil back at the hostel later that day.
How did I get around?
Uber cars and Uber Motorcycles (yes, this is a thing in Santo Domingo!). For regional travel, I used “Caribe Tours” (not sponsored!) buses and found them very comfortable and efficient. For shorter distances, I used shuttles and guaguas (more economic versions of shuttles for locals).
Tips for other solo travelers?
The usual. I would not recommend walking alone after dark. Also, don’t be flashy with any expensive watches or technology in places with higher rates of visible economic inequality. The host or staff of your accommodation will be an invaluable resource on safety. Finally, if you drink, don’t forget to try mamajuana – not to be mixed up with marijuana – in DR!!!
Would I go back to Dominican Republic?
This is not a high priority country for me to visit again. If I get a chance, I would be happy to visit again but I have other countries higher ahead of DR on my list.
See you in the next post. Thank you for reading if you made it to the end!