Questions about Santo Domingo

[007kwok]

I know there has been couple of threads on the board about SD, but I don't think my questions have been addressed.

 

1. From the Internet, I learned the crimes are rampant there. Will I be safe if I take pictures with my iPhone on the street while touring some places of attraction? (I assume no?)

 

2. Does anyone have masseurs to recommend? I am looking for real massages with some sensual elements. Is it best to do in-calls or out-calls? Given the safety concern, I'm kinda worried about out-calls (to my hotel room)...I saw Apollo Sauna offers massage service. Does anyone know if it is good?

 

3. Would it be a bad idea to hire a private tour guide/driver there? I am traveling alone. I am worried if I didn't hire the right person, I might become the target of the tour guide. Am I overreacting?

 

4. Is it okay to wear speedo on the beach? Or it has to be board shorts? How safe is it on the beach? I read some reports that people got robbed on beach as well.

 

5. Given my worries, will Punta Cana (instead of SD) be a better destination for me?

 

6. I don't speak Spanish at all. That's why I am so cautious in making plans. I am also thinking if I should go to another Caribbean country instead of DR. Do you have some recommendations?

 

Thanks a lot!

[joselowe]

I used to go to Santo Domingo all the time

 

1. I would avoid it, you will be putting an extra target on your back.

 

2. Santo Domingo isn’t really a masseur kind of country but I would recommend Juan Bin Bin (google Juan Bin Bin Santo Domingo), but it’s more of a brothel. I’ve met some great guys there, but before going to DR please expect to see mostly black guys who are a bit ghetto (an understatement) but very hung. Also please don’t expect this to be like Brazil, very different country.

 

3. Don’t know what to say here, the thing is that the Dominican Republic is full of hustlers do research here, people will try to get you anyways especially if you are white or an obvious foreigner. It’s a very poor country and everyone wants to make money. I suggest that you contact Adam suites hotel and see if the owner Gilber would be willing to do tours. He’s a Cuban American who owns the only gay property in the DR and he does tours for money for his guests. If you contact him he might be willing to do a tour for money even if you aren’t staying there.

 

4. Yes in the DR it’s okay to wear a speedo to the beach.

 

5. I think you should evaluate why you want to go. If you are going for purely sex I’d say stick with Santo Domingo if you are going for purely and to relax and have a good time in a resort I’d say yes to Punta Cana. Sadly the gay scene is non existent in Punta Cana unless you spark a deal with a hotel employee (which is rare) and if you stay in Santo Domingo you can kiss luxury goodbye lol

 

6. I barely speak Spanish and I’m always fine in Santo Domingo. But why the Caribbean? And you don’t have many other options other than Puerto Rico which is having issues now. The rest of the Caribbean are mainly homophobic countries and in some like Jamaica homosexual activity is illegal.

 

I’d suggest you try mexico in North America or anywhere in South America if you’re looking for Latinos in particular. The Caribbean is very religious and strict with gay laws with the exception of Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Haiti.

[007kwok]

Thanks a lot for your reply. It is very helpful!

[12is12]

Jose, could you please elaborate:

 

"mostly black guys who are a bit ghetto (an understatement)" - ?

 

"don’t expect this to be like Brazil, very different country." - in term sof working boys, what does that mean?

 

Thx

[Ichabod]

I spent a week in Santo Domingo a few years ago, and I loved it. I do not speak any Spanish, and that was a bit of a challenge sometimes; but mostly it was fine. Remember that lots of Dominicans travel back and forth to NY, so a fair number of people speak some English. I never felt unsafe walking around, but I am a fairly cautious person and probably avoided anything risky without even thinking about it. I went out to two gay bars while I was there, both fine, neither of them anything special. Dominican men are very handsome and sexy; I was in heaven just looking.

 

You have to leave town to go to the beach, I think. I spent a day at Boca Chica, which is not far from SD, not at all glamorous, and quite cheap - lots of budget hotels aimed at European travelers. Boca Chica is where I experienced the only really bad thing about the trip: endless hawkers walking the beach, constantly trying to sell you something. I got that a little bit in the city, with tour guides and vendors aggressively offering their goods and services. But at Boca Chica it was nonstop, including many prostitutes (only women, unfortunately). The only way to avoid that is to make arrangements to spend the day at a hotel with an enclosed beach - it does not fend off all the vendors, but cuts down on the traffic a bit.

 

I did not have sex while I was in Santo Domingo, although I was approached a couple of times on the street in SD by guys who were clearly available for the right price. I was staying in a place where it would have been awkward to bring someone back to my room. A week is probably too long to stay there, but I definitely recommend it if you're looking for something a bit more adventurous than the typical resort vacation. There are caves with cave paintings not far outside of town; I would love to get to see them sometime (and I would definitely hire a guide for something like that).

 

Ichabod

 

I know there has been couple of threads on the board about SD, but I don't think my questions have been addressed.

 

1. From the Internet, I learned the crimes are rampant there. Will I be safe if I take pictures with my iPhone on the street while touring some places of attraction? (I assume no?)

 

2. Does anyone have masseurs to recommend? I am looking for real massages with some sensual elements. Is it best to do in-calls or out-calls? Given the safety concern, I'm kinda worried about out-calls (to my hotel room)...I saw Apollo Sauna offers massage service. Does anyone know if it is good?

 

3. Would it be a bad idea to hire a private tour guide/driver there? I am traveling alone. I am worried if I didn't hire the right person, I might become the target of the tour guide. Am I overreacting?

 

4. Is it okay to wear speedo on the beach? Or it has to be board shorts? How safe is it on the beach? I read some reports that people got robbed on beach as well.

 

5. Given my worries, will Punta Cana (instead of SD) be a better destination for me?

 

6. I don't speak Spanish at all. That's why I am so cautious in making plans. I am also thinking if I should go to another Caribbean country instead of DR. Do you have some recommendations?

 

Thanks a lot!

[+ ITakeItDeep]

Hey 007kwok,

 

Did you wind up going to Santo Domingo? How was it? Anything to repor? I'm debating between Dominican Republic, Colombia and Mexico, so I'm curious.