As I mentioned in a previous post, I had the amazing opportunity of being invited to speak on a panel about social media with one of the locations being Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. The DR was a country I had on my to-visit list for a few years now. I had even planned a couple of trips but for different reasons, they fell through which is why this time around I was very excited for the trip. Because I had such a fun time, I wanted to share with you this part of the trip. Another post will be up soon about our trip to Punta Cana, so stay tuned!

Once we arrived in Santo Domingo, we were escorted by the Tourism Board of the Dominican Republic to Customs. Cool part was that since we were escorted by them, we didn’t have to wait in line 😉 which was a long one by the way! Once past Customs, and having picked up our luggage, we were shuttled to our hotel in the Historic District of the city known as Zona Colonial. The hotel we were to spend the first few days at was in the heart of la Zona Colonial and was full of Old World charm. Hodelpa Nicolás de Ovando is the name of the hotel which dates back to 1502 and is named after the town’s founder, Governor Nicolás de Ovando. It is located on the famous street Las Damas, which is the first paved road of the New World, and is made up of 3 houses and their gorgeous patios which belonged to his original home.

That afternoon we met at the Dos Mundos Restaurant at the hotel for some drinks and light bites before heading to dinner in la Zona Colonial later that night. At the Dos Mundos Restaurant we were personally hosted by renowned Chef Martin Omar and had the chance to chat with him as well as taste some of his creations.

Later that night, we walked from our hotel which as mentioned before is conveniently located in the Zona Colonial to a typical Dominican restaurant called Jalao and had dinner there.

The next day, my friend Ana Maria and I decided to walk around the Zona Colonial and get to know a little bit more of this historic city. We shopped but also learned a little more of its history by visiting a couple of the museums there.

Later that day and after resting a bit, we headed now with the whole group to Kah Kow, which is a chocolate museum taken to a whole different level. Besides learning about what this organic Dominican chocolate is and how it is made, you get to sample some of the different chocolate types, but the best and most fun part about it is getting to make your own chocolate bar! It really is an awesome experience and one I highly recommend when visiting Santo Domingo! I loved it!

 

Later that afternoon we had our journalism and social media panel which you can read more about here. The next day we toured the Museo Alcázar de Diego Colón before heading on the shuttle to Punta Cana!

I had such a great time enjoying with friends a new city that was pretty much new for almost all of us. We had such a fun trip to Santo Domingo that we couldn’t wait to spend some time in Punta Cana as well! It was a very short trip to this Colonial city but one I’ll always remember. A BIG THANK YOU to Hispanic Media Productions for organizing the panel that gave me the opportunity to visit, and to the Tourism Board of the Dominican Republic for hosting us! If you find yourself visiting this city and only have a couple of days, this itinerary is pretty much a very good option!

Stay tuned for the next post on Punta Cana!