BONAO 🇩🇴
If you are a Bachata lover, you surely must have heard of this place before. Bonao, located in the center of the country, to the northwest of Santo Domingo the capital, province of Monsenor Nouel. Each region in the Dominican Republic has its own unique style of dancing, which makes it even more interesting to get to know all the different places. Bonao is very well known for their footwork and dynamic dancing and dance competition videos on YouTube.
One of the most famous and well known videos on YouTube of Bonao Dancers
About a week ago I went to Bonao for the very first time - and all I can say is that dancing Bachata with the Bonao people feels exactly the way I was imagining it from the videos. It’s another level of dancing! It’s not just their playful footwork, actually it’s more than their feet! You can feel their footwork coming from the body movement - the whole body is connected, grounded and dancing!! They’re connected with themselves and want to connect with you, they are intuitive, they flow. I spent only a day there and I have met amazingly talented street dancers.
All in all I felt quite safe in Bonao, and the people were relaxed and open. However I would still recommend you to contact the local dance instructors who offer paid services to tourists to take them around to different places - especially if you haven’t been to many places in the DR yet. They are very helpful in sharing their culture and expertise with you. This way you will get to know the city better and also you get to dance with them. Due to the cultural differences and mentality, make sure to communicate with them in an open and transparent manner and ask about their conditions and what’s included in their price beforehand. Most of them speak only Spanish, so it would be advisable to reach out to them in Spanish.
Instructors offering these services:
Ana Saldaña : multiple competition winner and extremely talented natural dancer. She loves sharing her culture with you and makes sure you enjoy your time there. Extremely community minded she dedicates her time and energy to expose also her fellow local dancers to the outside world. If you want to support one of the very few female entrepreneurs, she is your girl!
El Negro Dulce : Another talented dance instructor who has worked with multiple festivals and events and local businesses to spread the love for Dominican Bachata with tourists.
JeanCarlos : One of the most popular street dancers from Bonao known in social media because of his natural flow.
Besides that I would like to share some useful tips and information I have gained from my friends and experienced myself.
Here are some recommendations on your stay in Bonao:
Hotel
Hotel Gold Premium - recommended by El Negro Dulce is a very charming, very clean and comfortable Hotel. I paid 1700 Pesos for one night/one person and was extremely satisfied. Not only is it clean, but the water is hot (not always given!), the staff is friendly, it’s close to the Bus station of Santo Domingo (2 mins walking distance), and has a cafeteria which is open 24/7.
Places to Dance
Rio Fula : about 20 minutes by Taxi.
River attraction in the mountainous area with mostly locals. Great music. Food and drinks available (400 pesos for table charge).
Discoteca Angeles Bar : 6 mins from the Hotel Gold Premium by Taxi.
A very popular dance bar with a lot of Urban music such as Dembow and Reggaeton, but also Merengue, Salsa, and of course Bachata.
How to get to Bonao - from Santo Domingo
Aetra Bus Station at Kilometro 9 (“La Parada Del 9”)
210 Pesos, approx. 1,5 hrs
Watch out! There are two terminals: one to Bonao, and the one to Santiago. Please ask the staff there which one goes to Bonao.
Always checking and asking the locals is key.
Buses leave from early morning the entire day ( from 5:30AM until about 7 PM, however no exact time schedule is known), buses leave almost every 45 minutes. If you come from Santo Domingo, try to get to the bus station before 10 AM as the traffic gets packed. Use the UBER to get to the station.
Going back to Santo Domingo: the time schedule is almost the same. Make sure to ask the counter about the time schedule once you arrive there. It may be confusing but the Bus station in Bonao is called Tarea. It’s the same station where you have arrived from Santo Domingo.
Check out this video where I’m sharing my
“Impressions of Bonao 🇩🇴” . Please like, share, subscribe ❤️
Have you ever been to Bonao? If so how was your impression? Comment down below and share your experience with us !
