Santiago de los Caballeros

Santiago de los Caballeros is a city in the Dominican Republic. The buildings are old and classic Caribbean Spanish style.

Get in

By plane

• 1 Cibao International Airport (STI  ^IATA Aeropuerto Internacional del Cibao). There are nonstop flights from New York (JFK ^IATA) by Delta Air, Jet Blue and American Airlines. From Miami (Fort Lauderdale) by Spirit Air and American Airlines from (MIA ^IATA). Also if you are in south America there is a nonstop flight from Panama (PTY ^IATA) by Copa Airlines. Air Turks & Caicos have a nonstop flight from Providenciales (PLS ^IATA) and connection to Nassau (NAS ^IATA), Bahamas.  

By bus

There are plentiful of buses from the capital Santo Domingo, journey time is about 3 hours.

Get around

• To get from the Airport to the city cheaply, here is Suggestion #1.
• Suggestion #2 for getting from the Airport to the City cheaply. Get to the road Las Palomas which runs through Licey, either by walking (a bit over 5km, or 1 hour at a moderate pace with baggage) or bargaining with some mototaxi or taxi at the airport (as per the first suggestion, go a little out of the airport to get cheaper taxis). From Licey there are regular gua-guas westbound to Santiago, which shouldn't cost you more than 25 pesos.
• Transfers.do by TravelService ' . You can book online on their automated site.

There are many Bus Lines that can take you to different cities in Dominican Republic:

• Metro Bus & Metro Pack which travels from Santiago To Santo Domingo and Puerto Plata also delivers packages.
• Caribe Tours travels to Dajabon, Montecristi, Sosua, Puerto Plata and Santo Domingo.
• Expresso: those are the cheapest transportation to another city but this one stops everywhere during the trip to leave people so it will be slower and smaller than others..

AetraBus Transporte Espinal

• Taxis/Cab: most of them are expensive depending where you want to get but actually they cost RD$ 150.00 approx. US$ 4.00
• Coches: this one is pulled by horses it just take you around the city, it is fun and romantic, you can find them at the Monument.
• Conchos: those are the cheapest public transportation for going around the city with many routes it cost actually RD$ 15.00 approx. US$ 0.40
• MotoConchos: this motorbikes can take you anywhere around the city it's fast and dangerous for just RD$ 20.00 US$ 0.55

See

• Centro Leon (Centro Leon Santiago), Av. 27 de Febrero No. 146 (Santiago de los Caballeros, DR), ☏ +1 809 582-2315. 8-6. This is the modern center of Santiago, offering art galleries, audiovisual presentations, cinemacafe every week, a library and multimedia services. Local and international expos are present all around the year. 
• 1 Monument of Santiago (Monumento a los Héroes de la Restauración), Avenida Circunvalacion. Firstly built in 1944 during the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. It was later renamed Monument to the Heroes of the Restoration to honor figures from the Dominican Restoration War (1863-65), in which the Dominican Republic defeated Spain. The monument is located at the highest hill in the city and inside there's a museum and library. Conveniently, almost all the nightlife in Santiago is located around this area and live concerts are arrenged within the premises. (updated Aug 2019)

Do

• Calle El Sol (Calle El Sol Santiago), Calle El Sol (Santiago). This is the shopping street of Santiago de los Caballeros, here you will be close to museum, local attractions, giftshops, places to eat and drink and important monuments. 

Museums/Culture: Monumentos a los Heroes de la Restauracion, Centro León, La 37 por las tablas, Teatro Nacional del Cibao...

Buy

There are 3 big shopping Centres in Santiago.

• Plaza Internacional. Av Juan Pablo Duarte. Where you can find brand stores like Oscar D La Renta, Bossini, Addidas, Levi's, Benetton, Nautica and others.
• Bella Terra Mall. Av Juan Pablo Duarte. This one is the newest and the biggest in Santiago with many stores like iFix from Apple Inc. And many clothing stores.
• Colinas Mall. Las Colinas. This one is recognized by a huge supermarket called Jumbo and for having lots of accessories stores.

But if you like more cheap things you should go to the city centre specially to Calle del Sol and all streets around.

If you are willing to buy more sophisticated stuff you could visit: Charo, La Rosé, Kakey, Eternia....

Eat

Santiago has many places to eat and a variety of dishes. There are many cultural places in Santiago due to globalization, such as american food (TGI Fridays, Burger King, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Domino's, Papa John's, Taco Bell and others.

• Asian (Chinese & Japanese): Super Rico Restaurant, Expresso Jade, Sushi Ya!, Belcaire Niguri...
• International: Satay, Paparazzo, Vivres, Front Door, Kaafa, Tete Club...
• Seafood: Marisco Centro, Pedro's, Puerto Madero...
• Steak's & Grill: Camp David Ranch, Rancho Steack House, Cukara Makara, Boceto, La Parrillita, Montezuma, Nano's....
• Italian: Piccola/La Locanda, Il Toscano, Il Pasticcio, Pizzarelli.
• Mexican: Algo Mexicano, Zókalo....
• Bakery/ Sweets/Ice Cream: La campaña, Benny Postres, Qcakes, Helados Bon/Yoguen Früz, Haagen Das....
• Ambulant food or Street food: Strong Burger, Empanadas Lalín, Empanadas Monumental, Oche a tu gusto...

Drink

Santiago has many Bars where you can drink anything you want.

Sleep

• Lodging/Hotels If you are just stopping by or must wait for another flight you can stay at the Hodelpa Courtyard at less than 20 mins from the airport.

If you are going to be around the city, one possibility is Hodelpa Gran Almirante, which has a convention centre, a casino, and TGI Fridays. In the city centre there is the Hodelpa Centro Plaza & Casino just in the right middle of the city, and if you want something near to the beautiful monument you can stay at Hotel Matum & Casino.

• Hotel Aloha Sol, Calle del Sol #50, ☏ +1 809-583-0090. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 1PM. The hotel is on Calle Del Sol in the center of the city. The hotel has 103 rooms available. One can reach the Monumento by foot in about 10 minutes. $83. 
• Hotel Colonial, Calle Salvador Cucurullo, Nos.: 109, 113, 115., ☏ +1 809-247-3122. This is a simple but comfortable hotel. The kitchen prepares delicious local dishes, and there is wifi access in the local and dining area. $14 (RD$ 560). 
• Hotel Los Jardines, Av. Texas esq. Calle10, ☏ +1 809-276-8222. Hotel Los Jardines is located right next to the Gran Almirante. The hotel has 65 rooms available. $48. 

Stay safe

The Centro Historico clears out after dark and it is not smart to be there. The western half (La Joya, Gurabito, Cienfuegos, etc.) of the city is generally poorer and rougher than the eastern half, but it is unlikely that any travelers would end up there.