Zona colonial

A walk through Santo Domingo’s Zona Colonial

One of the reasons why I decided to travel to Dominican republic a few years ago, were the amazing, picture - perfect tropical beaches, so I did not plan to spend much time in the capital, Santo Domingo. But since I was flying to and from there, and there were no buses to my first beach destination the following day after I arrived to Dominican republic, I had no choice but to stay there for a day and a half.

When I was looking for the best area to stay at, numerous resources suggested the so - called Zona colonial (or Colonial zone), which is supposedly the oldest settlement of the Europeans in all the Americas. After looking at some pictures of Zona Colonial, I immediately decided that the place looks cool enough to stay there for a few nights.

What can you see there?

One of many buildings from the colonial era in the Santo Domingo's Zona colonial.

Zona Colonial is filled with friendly people and awesome architecture. If you like history and architecture, then you will love strolling around the area and discovering all its hidden gems. There is no best way to see Zona colonial. You can either use a map and have a self - guided tour, or just aimlessly stroll around. I guarantee you that you will enjoy whichever option you will choose. And what are some of the most interesting sights that I loved in Zona colonial?

I would advise you to start your journey through the Zona colonial at Parque Independencia and work your way up the calle el Conde, which is the main street that goes through the area. Do not be afraid to explore the countless side streets with colourful houses and hidden surprises.

Calle el Conde is filled with different shops (you will even find some American shops here, including the Payless shoe source!), street performers and artists, and restaurants. If you have the opportunity, check out the Amber museum, which will be on your left.

After what feels like a five mile long walk, you will reach Parque de Colon (Colon Square) with two very important sights on each side of it. Parque de Colon is basically just a busy square, good for people watching, although there is usually more pigeons than people on that square.

A part of calle el Conde.

Catedral Primada de America is situated on the right side of the Parque de Colon, and it is the oldest cathedral in the Americas. Yes, Zona Colonial is a proud bearer of quite a few oldest buildings. I told you that you will love it! The Catedral Primada de America is a majestic structure, and if you are lucky, it will be open and you can peek inside. As unbelievable as it sounds, the interior is even more beautiful than the exterior!

It is impossible not to get at least a few cool photographs when walking through the Zona Colonial.

On the left side of the Parque de Colon, you will find a street, called calle de Las Damas, and this is supposedly the first paved street. Another cool street to explore is calle Mercedes, and it has nothing to do with the popular car brand.

Soon, you will reach Alcazar de Colon, which is a beautiful colonial house that somehow reminds me of houses on sugar cane plantations. Alcazar de Colon is basically just a palace, surrounded by a few palm trees, and you can tell that this is also a very old building just by a quick look at it. In the past, it served as a residence, and nowadays, it hosts an exhibition inside.

This was my favourite and most 'photogenic' building in Zona Colonial.

Fortaleza Ozama was built to serve as an entrance into the Zona colonial, and just by looking at it you can tell that it does the job pretty well. The building looks equally cool and intimidating, and for a small fee, you can even visit the interior of it.

From the back side of the Fortaleza Ozama, you will have a nice view of the Ozama river and some big ships, cruising by. This is a great place just to sit down, relax and listen to the sounds of the city, and then head back to where you came from.

Maybe choose a street that is parallel to calle el Conde, which will be a completely different (and much quieter and less bussy) experience. Zona Colonial is filled with other historical buildings and landmarks, the ones I described are just the most popular ones. Basically any travel guidebook offers an extensive list of all the historical sites, if you want to do a more in - depth research before your trip.

Exploring the Zona Colonial's side streets has its rewards.

What to eat and drink?

Zona Colonial is filled with bars and restaurants. If you want the cheapest meal possible, head into one of many pizza joints on calle el Conde. Two pizza slices and a large fountain drink will cost you around two dollars.

For a more Dominican meal, consider eating at one of the restaurants with ladies in colourful Dominican dresses - they are there to attract people into the restaurants. While eating there will be a few times more expensive than eating at the pizza joints, you will get to try the traditional Dominican foods, and the portions are very generous. And the food is still extremely cheap for European or American standards.

To cool down from the humidity and heat of the Dominican Republic, consider having one of the tasty ‘batidos’, or smoothies. You can either pick the one from the menu, or just pick the fruits that you want inside. But definitely ask for a fresh coconut milk instead of water as a base. Yummy!

Where to stay?

Zona Colonial has plenty of affordable, and a few of not so affordable accommodation options. You can easily book everything online in advance. I am going to tell you more about the two places I stayed at.

There are two budget friendly places in Zona Colonial, and I stayed in both. One of them is the Hotel Monumental, and the other one is Hostal Freeman. I stayed in the Hotel Monumental for the first two nights of my visit to the Dominican Republic, and in Hostal Freeman for the last night, before heading to the airport the next morning. One night in the Hotel Monumental cost me thirty dollars per night, and one night in Hostal Freeman in a six bed dorm cost me seven dollars per night. So which one did I like better?

I am sure you are assuming I liked staying in the hotel more, since hotels are usually more upscale, and you get your own room. Well, unfortunately, you are wrong. Hotel Monumental was one of the worst places I have ever stayed at, including hostels. But first, let me tell you more about Hostel Freeman, which was actually a pretty decent place.

The entrance into Hostel Freeman looks super inviting, and it is decorated with a lot of flowers. The common areas of this small hostel are amazing, the staff went out of their way to make me feel welcome, and the rooms are very big for a hostel. The beds were comfortable and their position allowed some privacy, which is a rarity in most of the hostel rooms nowadays. Hostel Freeman has a party atmosphere, and they also offer some guided tours and a pub crawl. I would not hesitate to stay there again!

And what made my stay at Hotel Monumental so miserable? Well, I usually do not want to sound too negative, but the answer is: mostly everything. The only two good things that I can possibly think of, are the great location and the free breakfast. The entrance into this place is in a very unsuspicious looking building, and you have to ring the bell every time you want to enter.

There was only one receptionist there during my whole stay, and maybe the fact that he was always working, contributed to his rudeness. once arrived, he insisted I did not pay, until I showed him the confirmation. Then he tried to charge me extra money for random things, such as the fact that I was a foreigner.

When he walked me to the room (which has no windows), he asked if I am planning to bring a man in there, and if I do, I must tell him so he can charge him too. Dude, really? Maybe people only use this hotel for one night stands or something, but I was seriously offended by that offer.

The shower had no hot water, which is pretty common in Dominican Republic, and it would not bother me otherwise, but it was advertised that this hotel has hot water. Well, at least the water temperature had two options - cold and ice cold. Sarcasm off. During my two night stay, I also found a cockroach and a few other insects in the room, and I could not be happier when I checked out of this place.

Safety

I have heard a lot of people say that Zona Colonial is the only safe part of Santo Domingo. It is true that this part has the biggest tourist police presence (also called ‘politur’, but I would disagree with the statement that every other part of Santo Domingo is dangerous. Well, it has its unsafe areas, just like any other big city, but you should not skip seeing some other parts of the city if you want to see them.

Exercise usual caution - do not wear expensive jewelry and if you carry a shoulder bag, do not carry the bag on one shoulder, wear it across you. If you are unlucky and you get robbed, do not resist - your life is worth more than that iPhone!

A few words for the end…

I have to say that I wish I spent more time at Zona Colonial. While the area is pretty small, each and every street hides something worth looking at. And I figured out that the best way to truly experience the Zona Colonial is just to sit down in one of the ‘plazas’ (squares), watch people walk by and listen to one of the many street performers that play typical Dominican music.