Puerto Plata

[Manizales911]

Ok, since this topic of 'Driving in the DR' seems to have engendered substantial interest since my original inquiry, I thought that I would follow up with my thoughts having just returned from the DR.

Manny I'm glad everything worked out for you driving. Keep in mind that the majority of the discussions concerning driving have not been about the actual driving but about what happens after you get in an accident and someone is injured, that's when the shit hits the fan.

[Manny51]

ok, since this topic of 'driving in the dr' seems to have engendered substantial interest since my original inquiry, i thought that i would follow up with my thoughts having just returned from the dr.

so i picked up my car from sti airport and drove to the north coast passing through multiple destinations, including playa dorada, sosua, and ultimately, cabarete. i took some much valued advice from responders to my question, and rented a compact (the second to the smallest car). i drove the highway route, meaning highways 1 and 5, not the mountain route highway 25. the highway route from sti to sosua takes two hours. the highways were generally in good condition, and have either 1 or 2 lanes in each direction. a few potholes here and there, but nothing that i was wary of.

the advantages of the car were many. all of the towns of puerto plata, sosua, cabarete, are about 8-10 miles apart. it also seems a little farther than that because you can't really drive that fast. if you plan on planting at only one place, like sosua, then i suppose that taking a taxi is ok. but i really enjoyed moving from town to town at will, kitesurfing in cabarete but sleeping in playa dorada, etc. i can't imagine being stuck in one place, since no one place is that interesting. in particular, i found sosua to be a little skuzzy.

the main risk for getting into accidents has to do with the craziness of some, not all, car and motorcycle drivers. some drivers will go through red lights. two lanes become three lanes as cars squish to get the jump on the green. the motorcycle riders in particular often have suprising disregard for their own safety. once a motorbiker passed me on the left when i was in the fast lane, through a small space between me and the divider. i thought he was crazy. motorbikers will also do quick you-turns into oncoming traffic with little warning. nobody uses their turn signals. there are funny some videos on youtube making fun of dr drivers.

despite the above, i still think that driving is ok and doable. you just have to become a more attentive driver. here in the us, where traffic is orderly and most drive automatics transmissions, we tend to drive inattentively, with one arm on the window or shifter, lazily listening to music.

you can't do that in the dr. i drove with both hands on the wheel at all times. radio off, a /c on, and only during the day. constantly assessing the road and other motorists about 100 yards ahead. if any of you have taken a course for a motorcycle license in the us, you know what i mean. and you absolutely cannot drive while drunk or even buzzed. i suspect that some members of the forum who have gotten into accidents were probably driving at night after a sojourn to sosua, etc. in santiago, driving was dicey. but once outside santiago, i always felt comfortable with no narrowly missed accidents.

in addition, i was never pulled over by a cop or a victim of bribe extraction. i did drive by one gringo who had been pulled over, but he was surrounded by 4 cops, not just one, so i imagine that he was speeding, swerving, or suspected of something serious. otherwise, there were very few cops on the road. and no one ever vandalized my car, even when parked on the streets of sosua at night.

i paid $131 for a four day rental, and that included all taxes and liability insurance. that's $33 a day and well worth it. flying into sti and renting a car was cheaper than flying into pop. just keep in mind that gas is $6 per gallon.

for next time, i may fly into pop anyway, since the drive to sti from cabarete was over two hours and, before a return flight, kind of painful. but renting a car itself always felt like a good thing.

will report on other details of the dr visit soon.

[Manizales911]

Never heard of this one. Is it located in Puerto Plata? Does it have a website? Where did you hear of it?

This is it:

http://www.tour69.com/

Their prices are laughable.

[Charles Pooter]

In a newsletter they say they are confident of the future of their business because they are one of the few to have an "Adult Resort" Licence.

To paraphrase Mandy Rice-Davies,"Well, they would say that, wouldn't they".

[Niceb]

I've never been to F. O. D nor BB nor whatever but I try to know what's going on in my playfield.

In a newsletter they say they are confident of the future of their business because they are one of the few to have an "Adult Resort" Licence.

[Charles Pooter]

Hi,

Have anyone here used Tour69 adult vacations?

Never heard of this one. Is it located in Puerto Plata? Does it have a website? Where did you hear of it?

Most of these operations, the guy just adds his commission to stuff you could do for yourself for the same price.

One that was fairly priced was "The Man Tour" based in Pto Pta. He did not rip people off, but there was still no point in using him for anyone with minimal Spanish and some common sense. Haven't heard of him for four years. Is he still going?

Reading the monger boards should tell you all you need to know for a great, and reasonably priced, mongering holiday.

Anyone who is still not confident they can cope on their own would be best advised to stay at Blackbeards or Field of Dreams. You cannot go far wrong at either of those places. But if you fancy something more adventurous or varied, grow a pair, not hire a nanny.

[Maskier]

Hi,

Have anyone here used Tour69 adult vacations?

Weren't able to find any report / review.

Hope this is not in breach of any rules.

[Phaedrus42]

Having just migrated our web site to a new server (because of an explosion of traffic in the last year. Thanks, in part, to the ISG members) , our site is having issues with Internet Explorer. All other browsers work fine, though. Until we can figure out why, please use any other means to access our site (Google Chrome, Firefox, iPad, etc.). We apologize for any inconvenience this causes. But are working on the problems.

The site is back online and working just fine.

[Phaedrus42]

Having just migrated our web site to a new server (because of an explosion of traffic in the last year. Thanks, in part, to the ISG members) , our site is having issues with Internet Explorer. All other browsers work fine, though. Until we can figure out why, please use any other means to access our site (Google Chrome, Firefox, iPad, etc.). We apologize for any inconvenience this causes. But are working on the problems.

[Grub1]

I have never travelled to Haiti for mongering so I think you are confusing me with someone else.

Why did you quote a long post from me about driving in the DR just to ask a short question about Haiti?

Charles pooter I was only looking at photo's and not reading post in the Haiti forum for 2009. Now that I went back and read the post I now know you were only posting photo's there.

Well after reading a lot of your post I decided you were the man to ask Haiti questions so when I thought of it I just went to the 1st post I saw with your name on it. No disrespect intended.

Thanks for all post

[Charles Pooter]

Charles Pooter by looking at the Haiti gallery it looks like you had a good time in 2009. Did you pick up the ladies in the city or in the countryside?

I have never travelled to Haiti for mongering so I think you are confusing me with someone else.

Why did you quote a long post from me about driving in the DR just to ask a short question about Haiti?

[Grub1]

despite your unfriendly reply to me because i was not saying what you wanted to hear, i was not necessarily advising you not to rent. many of our regular and sensible posters have been doing so for years and have experienced no great problems.

i was only advising you to inform yourself of the issues. it seems that you are now doing that from much good info posted, so i am happy.

they are. if you are in a group of three or more it is no big deal because the cabs charge by mile and not by number of passengers, so even an expensive fare split three or more ways can be the best option.

and even if you are solo, some cabs are cheaper than others, as manizales has written.

one option is look to share with other mongers staying at the same location. they will often fancy an outing if they can split costs.

another tip is to rent a dedicated publico where available (that is, at the sosua or puerto plata paradas or if you spot an empty one on the road). you should be able to negotiate them at half the price of a private cab. sosua to blackbeards is 1000 pesos by private cab and 500 in a dedicated publico. doesn't work the other way though, as publicos are not allowed into costambar to pick up passengers.

there are no perfect options because this a third world shithole run by crooks and imbeciles. but some options are better than others and the best approach is to pick the appropriate means of transport for each journey.

(1) anywhere along the main road from san juan to santiago, use publicos or guaguas. fast and very cheap. for greater comfort pay for two adjacent seats (an option not always available unless you are boarding at the terminus, in which case pay for both "halves" of the bucket front seat).

(2) short local trips away from the main roads or within towns, use a moto. avoid using them along main roads or in heavy traffic. avoid taking one to lonely locations or you could get scammed or mugged. i always look for a veteran driver, ideally wearing a helmet and with wing mirrors. less likely to drive with macho competitive spirit or be on drugs.

(3) longer trips from sosua or puerto plata city to destinations well away from the main road, go to the publico terminus and hire a dedicated publico. negotiate the price in advance, not more than half what a private taxi has quoted you.

(4) staying at blackbeards? you are fucked. no cheap and easy way to get off campus and worse trying to get back at night. cheapest option by day is to walk or take a moto to the main gate and then catch a jc publico from there to pto pta, then change again according to where you want to go. but harder to get back as the jcs don't run at night, so a taxi is your best bet.

and so on, i cannot list every permutation as i don't know your itinerary, but horses for courses.

sorry, this is not the right answer. most policies won't cover you against the biggest risk (not in likelihood but in magnitude). read what i said below about the casa del conductor.

three (?) years back one of our members had to pay about us$10, 000 to get out of jail after a minor incident in which he was only technically partly to blame. the moto driver he hit was overtaking him at speed on the wrong side. he went through hell and as far as i know has never driven here since. it is all posted here in detail.

incidentally, had he followed some advice about the route which i had posted on another board of which we were both members, he wouldn't have had the accident in the first place, but some guys just won't be told.

charles pooter by looking at the haiti gallery it looks like you had a good time in 2009. did you pick up the ladies in the city or in the countryside?

have you travelled to haiti this year?

[Grub1]

I have always rented a car in DR. It is not dangerous to drive there. Yes, there are roadblocks sometimes. Roadblocks are usually in the daytime. Police just check the rental papers and the licence and let you go. Only problem is there are potholes which you do not see at night. I had my car wheel bent on one occasion. But local people helped changing to spare.

Advantages of renting the car is many. Chicas love to ride with you. I have picked up many local girls. Have the freedom to drive anywhere. Have visited girls home and meet the family. It is a fun experience.

I have drove past FOD many time's but never stopped. Do they have good security for your auto?

When I was in Sosua I went to passions 1st thing they had good security for auto's but the price to lay with the girls was too much money but I had travelled a long way and was ready for some ass so I paid it but only1 time then it was street girls or places that did not charge over 1500. The day I went to Passion's they were training a bunch of new girl's it was funny listening to them tell the girl's how to suck a dick and fuck

[Sammon]

If you have driven in third world countries or Atlanta New York or in any other big city and you feel comfortable then I think you will be fine. For me I always rent a automobile and when I see mongers on the street sweating there balls off I remember why it was a good Idea and it is so much easier when you meet that perfect chica to just jump in the auto and get to having fun they usually start playing with your dick and balls before you ever make it to where you are going. It will make your waterfall trip much better you can get there early before all the taxis and busses. But do be careful these guy; s are not bullshiting when they say a lot of people on this board have really fucked up. A auto is good also when it rains

I have always rented a car in DR. It is not dangerous to drive there. Yes, there are roadblocks sometimes. Roadblocks are usually in the daytime. Police just check the rental papers and the licence and let you go. Only problem is there are potholes which you do not see at night. I had my car wheel bent on one occasion. But local people helped changing to spare.

Advantages of renting the car is many. Chicas love to ride with you. I have picked up many local girls. Have the freedom to drive anywhere. Have visited girls home and meet the family. It is a fun experience.

[Peppy007]

Always travel with atleast 5 dollars inn your passport so when or if you do get stopped by police you will already have your tip ready for them. This will make things much eaiser

I give them $100 pesos. When I know I haven't broken any laws and I'm in a hurry. If you don't speak Spanish there is a chance they may not even bother with you.