Going to iberostar costa dorada dom republic in oct any tips?

Question

Going to iberostar costa dorada dom republic in oct any tips?

Answer 1

havent been to that resort/hotel but when i went to dom rep i found it very helpful to look it up on tripadviser.com

look for the member comments and try and find one written from someone of your own nationality. sounds daft but you will find it easier to relate to somone who can tell you what to expect in comparison to your home country.

For example legal things, food ect...

Make sure you make up your own mind and dont listen too much to personal moans, one mans bad experiance could be another mans good one. just concentrate on the facilities, customer service, attractions ect.....

Hope this helps, i am glad i knew the things i found on there before i went.

Just Two BIG pieces of advice.

First.

When you get there, meet your rep at the airport and they will show you your transfer bus. Some guy's will see you coming and take your luggage and pack it nicely in the bus. they then ask for a 5-10 dollar tip and say its customary to thank the staff. you give them the tip thinking they are porters working for your tour operator and you feel nice that you have done a nice thing.

They are not!!! they are freelance airport porters and are nothing to do with your tour operator!! You do not have to let them take your luggage and you do not have to tip them. they will not ask you they will just take it then expect the tip afterwards. Be aware of this, they may be doing a favour but as they dont work for your tour operator if they steal or damage your bag or contents the tour operator will not be responsible for it!!! Not saying they will but this could be your expensive digital camera.

Secondly

There is a 10 dollar arrival tax when you get there, payable to customs before you get through passport control, make sure you have it, we had ours so no problem but we saw the hastle poeple had with customs who didnt have it - and after a 10 hour flight you just want to get through the airport with no hassle.

There is also 20 dollar departure tax payable at the airport. make sure whatever you do you have the 20 dollars before you leave the resort, plus some cash for drinks and food if your plane is delayed.

We got stung really bad for weight allowance and had to spend out 40 dollars (20 each) on the 2 kilo's overweight luggage (yes they really sting you bad for it - thats another thing to be careful of). so we didnt have the departure tax money.

Then found out that the ONE cashpoint they had (which our rep assured us we could use) was out of order.

The exchange bureu would not take our master cards, only cash, which they told us we had to get from the cash point. we told them it was out of order so they advised us of the following -

And here is the big CON!

Go to one of the cigarette vendors, they are like market stalls just outside the building. they will give you cashback on a purchase, great we thought, BUT we had to spend 100 dollars on goods and pay 40 dollars credit card charge (to cover their visa charges - yeah right) JUST to get a 40 dollar cash back!!! If we wanted more cashback we had to buy more goods and pay more card charge.

So i decided to use this as a last resort and check out other options.

Tour operators said the following options -

1. take a taxi to the nearest cashpoint - to some small town miles away that is not in a secured resort area so higher chance of getting  robbed OR missing the flight, check with the driver and guess how much that costs? you guessed it 50 dollars, 10 dollars more than the vendor.

2. ask someone on the flight if they could lend you the money - problem is they only have enough for a coffee and donut at the extortionately priced cafe.

3. the vendor. - who was now trying to get us to spend 120 dollars on goods to get the cashback - we had to take this option because of time, its a good job we needed to buy cigarettes.

Perhaps i am slightly paranoid but i got the impression it was a bit setup so you HAVE to go to the vendor, i mean what exchange bureu doesnt take mastercard?? why was the taxi fare just slightly more than the vendor when taxis are desperate for business out there, and i did try to negotiate with the driver to save cost on the vendor option.

Dom rep is a free trade country and i bet poeple turn up without the departure tax everyday - i do get the feeling they saw me coming.

So make sure you have your departure tax when you leave!!!

Sorry to give you some bad news but it is good advice - dom rep by the way is fantastic!! if you get chance go on a snorkal safari, the fish are beutiful!!!

Answer 2

Yes tips - Dont buy from hotel/complex shops.

So expensive and charge 3x normal price.

- Excursions - Don't book with tour operator as once again, very expensive. Perhaps you should look around once you arrive we found lots of local, genuine, excursion sellers in our hotel lobby selling the excursions for half the price and doing great deals for couples/groups.

- Taxis are very expensive, Take the bus. We did and were safe, we worried at first but everything was fine. Aslong as its during the day and light - its good to ask the reception staff if its safe to go out where you're staying first though as they'll give you an honest answer.

We took a $25 taxi journey (which we foolishly paid at the beginning of the holiday) for $8. The staff will give you directions to bus stops etc and also we found that if you get a little lost on the way back not only are locals always willing to help but also for a little tip the bus driver will drop you off right outside hotel complex. Always good to know.

- If you can (I don't know what you're excursion are like at the hotel you are staying at or where you are close to) I highly recommend Rancho Lorilar in Puerto Plata. Highlight of our holiday.

You can see reviews on tripadvisor online and honestly its fantastic, probably cheaper to book directly through them but worth every penny!! A great real way to see Dominican lifestyle.

Puerto plata is a great place if you get chance to visit. The cable cars are good, seeing where drasic park was filmed and so on.

I love the dominican republic and I'm such you will too. Have a great time I wish it was me going back!!

Also, make sure visa money and departure tax (total of $30 per person) is taken in dollars as they don't accept any other currency. Quite a few people made this mistake on our flight, assuming they would be able to pay the equivalent in english pounds etc. You can't. So have those dollars!

I advise also, if you smoke, buying cigerettes before you board the plain. We found this cheaper. Then buying more when leaving the country at the duty free sections of both airports.

Cigerettes were quite expensive at our hotel shop and from what we saw in local shops.

Some little tips:

- People will pester you to go in shops a firm no and carry on walking will do the job because once in the shop the chances are they'l expect you to buy something and their 'great deals' are actually not that great.

They start the price at about 4x the original worth.

- Maleria tablets are needed

- Tipping maids a couple of dollars every couple of days helps them loads. We always did and kept all of our change and gave it to them at the end of the holiday. Along with all our unused suncreams, shampoos, and even some clothes we knew we wouldn't wear again. This helps and I think its great to show them you're appreciation. They work very hard and long hours, they deserve treats.

- Alcohol - If you drink alcohol there won't be many brands. I only drink Malibu so regardless of going all inclusive had to go to the supermarket in town which was extremely expensive for what I wanted. Even though its 'caribbean rum' hmm.

I can't think of anything else right now. Remember cameras, flat/comfortable shoes aswell 'cos theres so much to do and see in the Dominican Republic.

Also, a couple of books for the flight/beach whilst sunbathing comes in use. :)