INTRODUCTION

I'm probably not the most qualified to write a guide on Sosua, but seeing that I've never seen one written, I thought putting a small one together would be helpful. I've been to the Dominican Republic five times since 2003, with stops in Sosua on two of those trips. I recently wrote a similar guide on Santiago, Dominican Republic.

ABOUT SOSUA

The two most popular hobbying destinations in the Dominican Republic are Sosua to the north and Santo Domingo to the south. Santo Domingo is a large city and has a much larger selection of venues and available ladies, but is also more expensive. Sosua is a small town with a nice beach and everything in walking distance, and is also the preferred destination for most dedicated DR hobbyists.

GETTING THERE

Being a small town, Sosua does not have it's own airport, but the airport in nearby Puerto Plata is only a 20 minute drive away. I haven't flown into POP in years, but my understanding is that like the rest of the country, you will either need to rent a car or take a taxi as hotel shuttles and other public transit options are not available at the airport. Rates into Sosua should be fairly standard at approximately $30 from what I could find, but you may be able to bargain down a little.

QUICK FACTS

PASSPORT/VISA: Passports must be valid for at least 6 months after date of departure. Tourist cards are issued for the US, Canada, Australia and most EU countries for 30 days for $10 USD. The card may be extended to 90 days by paying $20 USD on departure. I found at least one website online claiming US citizens do not need to buy tourist cards, but I can confirm that I was directed to purchase one. If you do not have the card with you when you reach the front of the immigration line, they will send you back to purchase it.

ELECTRICITY: 110 volts AC at 60 Hz with standard two-prong US-style outlets.

WEATHER: Rainy season runs from May to October, but may extend to December on the north coast. August and September constitute hurricane season. Temperatures are relatively consistent throughout the year from 81°F to 87°F for most of the country.

CURRENCY: Dominican Peso. As of this writing the exchange rate is $1 USD to 38.85 DOP. I usually check at http://www.xe.com. There are several banks on Pedro Clisante, a few grouped near the intersection of Ayuntamiento. There is also a larger Banco Popular near the intersection of Alejo Martinez and and Duarte where you are more likely to be able to draw out more money, the smaller banks usually have smaller tranaction or daily limits. If you bring US dollars, the exchange rates are usually fairly good in my opinion compared to other countries.

TRANSPORTATION: Everything in Sosua is in walking distance, but if you want to save time or energy you will see plenty of guys on mopeds offering rides for 50 DOP. If you want to take a bus to other cities such as Santiago or Santo Domingo, the Metro Bus station is at the corner of the main road (marked as "5" on the Google Map) and Dr. Rosen next to the Texaco. On the other side of the main road is a taxi station. You can grab a collective taxi to Puerto Plata here for 50 DOP if you want to avoid a $30 USD cab ride, it's cramped, but worth the price in my opinion,

LODGING

There are plenty of resorts and hotels to stay in, but you'll definitely want to make sure the one you choose is guest friendly, and from my understanding, quite a few aren't. I've listed a few that are guest-friendly and popular among the DR hobbyists. These four hotels are all on Dr. Rosen, the first three right next to each other and the fourth a few more buildings away.

New Garden (CH Link): http://www.hotelnewgarden.com/ - Rooms starting around $50 USD. The most popular choice for DR hobbyists and THE place to be if you want to meet other hobbyists. Mentioning you are staying here to others may confirm to them that you are a hobbyist.

Casa Valeria (CH Link): http://hotelcasavaleria.com/ - Rooms starting around $50 USD. Next door to New Garden, Casa Valeria is my personal preference, being more low key with nicer rooms for the price.

Terra Linda (CH Link): http://www.terralindaresort.com/ - Rooms starting around $70 USD. Next door to Casa Valeria, Terra Linda is the nicest of the four from what I have read, but I've never personally stayed there or been inside. Reports say that the Terra Linda is guest friendly and it also appears to have the nicest restaurant associated with it, Scotch 'n Sirloin. If I cared more about how nice the rooms were, I probably would have stayed here.

Rocky's Bar & Hotel (CH Link): http://www.rockysbar.com/ - Rooms starting around $25 USD. Prices here are the lowest, and it looks it. The restaurant is popular for it's ribs as well as other items, and I give it my own thumbs up. I wanted to stay here at first, at the very least to try it out, but after a bad mosquito attack at the restaurant and seeing a huge mosquito during a room tour, I decided not to as I'm slightly allergic to them and seem to attract them more than most people.

P4P ESTABLISHMENTS

Almost all of the action can be found along Pedro Clisante, although you may find a wandering freelancer or small venue on a side street nearby. You can view a map of these places at the following link: Dominican Republic - Sosua Map

Passion's (CH Link): Passion's was the top spot in my opinion on my most recent visit. They have a website with plenty of photos at http://passions-sosua.com/. The club is very nice and well lit and the rooms are all clean and excellently maintained. Prices and services are very clearly presented on menus at the bar.
Sample: Rihanna

Clasic Discotec (CH Link): While Passion's might be the best nightclub, I believe Clasic Discotec to be the top freelancer spot. I imagine there are many who prefer the atmosphere and flexibility of Classico, but for me it ranks number 2. The ladies here are freelancers, so prices, session duration, and session quality may vary greatly. There are no on-site rooms, so you must have a guest-friendly hotel if you are pulling ladies out of here.
Sample: Annie

Caribbean Men's Paradise (CH Link): Commonly known as CMP, Caribbean Men's Paradise is a smaller and less "luxurious" version of Passion's. CMP has a website at http://www.cmpvipclub.com. They recently updated their website and have replaced their mostly outdated but accurate photos with professionally done shots of fewer of their ladies. The prices here are equivalent to Passion's, but the quality of the ladies is lower on average.
Sample: Gata

Latinos Disco (CH Link): Latinos Disco is a freelancer discoteque at the back of an open-air bar near Classico. I only went in once out of curiousity since there was no cover at the time. Classico talent was clearly better, but Latinos did have some viable options. I will try to pull from here on my next trip to Sosua.

Sosua has a large number of smaller, open-air bars where a large number of ladies work as freelancers, but I personally found the talent at these places lower than the places I listed above. Many people love them, so I don't know if it's a difference in standards or just my timing, but I can't say much about them.

PUERTO PLATA P4P: CRISTAL

Although a bit of a hassle to get there, Puerto Plata has a nice nightclub named Cristal (CH Link) that I would rank up with Passion's, but with a disclaimer, the ladies there are very aggressive to the point of annoying for some people. Personally, I don't mind as much because I considered their average talent better than any of the venues in Sosua.

To get to Cristal, you'll need to pay $30 USD for a cab ride door-to-door, or take a collective taxi to the station followed by a moto taxi to the club, and vice-versa on the way back. With stops and waiting time for the collective, you're probably looking at 45-60 minutes each way.

You can visit the place next door to see some of the talent from the club working in the daytime. I didn't on my most recent visit so I can't comment on the selection, but I understand it's a fraction of what's available at night.

Sample: Estrella

There are more P4P places in Puerto Plata, but with the closure of El Bohen (CH Link), I don't have any information about them. The tidbits I have heard weren't very promising.

CONCLUSION

When hobbyists talk about visiting the Dominican Republic, they are usually referring to Sosua. The scene is relaxed and plentiful, everything is close, the streets seem safer than Santo Domingo and Santiago, and a beautiful beach is a short walk away. General tourist attractions can be found in nearby Cabarete and additional P4P can be found in Puerto Plata. Travel to Santiago and Santo Domingo with even more P4P options is also easy from the nearby Metro Bus Station.

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Vladimir
vladrasputin@hotmail.com

Vlad, is that lineup at Passion legit? That is a high quality lineup. The blue clothes girl on page 4 looks like a Karla Model girl I spent about 8 sessions with one trip, Tabita.

Yes, the photos are accurate. That's one of the best things about Passion's, everything there is straight-forward and accurate, including their website.

Bluelight -

Passions has some very good talent. I'm a huge Rio fan, but Passions's talent is IMO similar to most of the Rio Termas. What Passions doesn't have is girls walking around in Bikinis grabbing your crotch and letting you grope them like in a Terma.
Unfortunately, the rule at Passions is the girls have to stay behind the Bar and they follow this rule most of the time.

IMO Sosua is an underrated destination on this site. Of course, if you don't like Mulattas and you need to be in a big city, it's probably not for you.