General Info

Hi guys,

Planning a 4 week rental car tour through whole DR and have a question. Is it safe to do that?

For sure I have experience doing this in other countries (e. G. Cuba and Costa Rica) and I speak basic Spanish.

Having the standards in mind (no gold chains around the neck, no high end cameras, no typical tourist behavior.) , can this be fun or is it just too dangerous?

Planning to do this in April or June. If too unsafe I'll do it in Cuba again where I found lots of nice girls being happy to join me for some trips to beaches by car or just driving around for sightseeing.

Thanks,

Hotzo

[QUOTE=Hotzo; 1513464]Planning a 4 week rental car tour through whole DR and have a question. Is it safe to do that?

Can this be fun or is it just too dangerous?[/QUOTE]Not [u]my[/u] idea of fun, but certainly not dangerous provided you use normal common sense.

[QUOTE=Hotzo; 1513464]Hi guys,

Planning a 4 week rental car tour through whole DR and have a question. Is it safe to do that?

For sure I have experience doing this in other countries (e. G. Cuba and Costa Rica) and I speak basic Spanish.

Having the standards in mind (no gold chains around the neck, no high end cameras, no typical tourist behavior.) , can this be fun or is it just too dangerous?

Planning to do this in April or June. If too unsafe I'll do it in Cuba again where I found lots of nice girls being happy to join me for some trips to beaches by car or just driving around for sightseeing.

Thanks,

Hotzo[/QUOTE]When I used to go to DR a while ago I usually stayed 7 nights in Sosua. Rented a car always.

Tips,

1. Troll through rental sites to get a good deal.

2. Get full insurance when you pick up the car. Do not rely on pre-paid insurance or insurance through credit card. These insurances take forever to pay. If there is a serious damage they will not let you leave the country till the damage is paid.

3. Local people are very helpful and generally will not vandalize your car. It is ok to pick up girls who sometimes are waiting for the bus. I have done that.

4. If you have a local girl touring with you it is better. But I have found that I can pick girls up anywhere rather than stuck with one girl.

5. Roads are generally in good condition. I would avoid night time long distance driving mainly because if you get stuck no help will arrive till next day.

6. You can stop at small towns and go to local eateries or bars. They will treat you with respect as long as you do not drink too much and cause a problem. Robberies happen only at nightime at isolated bad neighbourhoods. If you look Spanish they will never bother you.

7. Maps are accurate only of major roads. Make sure you have a local mobile phone.

Good luck and have fun!

[QUOTE=Hotzo; 1513464]Hi guys,

Planning a 4 week rental car tour through whole DR and have a question. Is it safe to do that?[/QUOTE]Sounds like fun! 4 weeks is a long time and I might get tired driving that long but with apposite breaks, it might be a grand plan.

Sammon and Charles Pooter have valid points. Here are my thoughts based on personal driving experiences.

A) Do not rent a car. Rent a SUV instead, with high ground clearance. I drove a car from Santiago to San jose de las matas to Sabaneta last August and the road runs through mountains and most of it was washed away by rain, often leaving large rocks when the road exists. I had a car and it scared the Jesus out of me. As I was worried that I might damage the car and get stuck in the middle of nowhere and I was alone in those tracts. Indeed it needed focusing more on the road and I could not enjoy the beauty of the surroundings. I saw locals driving their SUVs on those lonely tracts without worrying and understood why there is such a preponderance of such vehicles there.

B) The autopistas I have done are generally good but you need to find out about road conditions of the secondary roads and choose alternatives when appropriate. I found out about bad roads when it was late to look for alternatives. In general, rains are bad for the road as everywhere but because there is poor or no maintenance of the secondary roads (especially in mountainous areas) you need to be more vigilant if you take those. On the other hand, secondary roads are more fun, compared to autopistas.

S) On at least one occasion, the local young people helped me. I was coming back to hotel after dinner (in sabaneta) and in a dark spot my car hit rocks used I presume, to cover (or warn off drivers?) a large hole on the road. The car would not move and there were at least 8-9 young men were around and without even my asking, heaved and lifted the car up to remove the rock. I cannot tell you how pleased I was and they did it out of goodness as young people do. I paid them some money of course. In general night time driving is not a good idea. Because of poor lighting including the highways but I have done it when I need to. Better not mix drinking and driving under those conditions.

D) I got lucky several times during the 3 days excursion. Well, on one occasion, I had to actually work hard but it was fun too for it could have gone either way and for some reason, it was a hit on that occasion. This was in Dajabon. With a chick of the local university. I actually walked with her inside the Uni to figure out if she could skip a class etc. And I had recounted the story in greater detail in a trip report here.

Have fun!

There is very good bus service to every where in the DR. Having a car that long increases the odds of something happening. SD is a horrible place to drive and I would not reccomend having a car there. The North coast is easy to get around.

[QUOTE=Hotzo; 1513464]Hi guys,

Planning a 4 week rental car tour through whole DR and have a question. Is it safe to do that?

For sure I have experience doing this in other countries (e. G. Cuba and Costa Rica) and I speak basic Spanish.

Having the standards in mind (no gold chains around the neck, no high end cameras, no typical tourist behavior.) , can this be fun or is it just too dangerous?

Planning to do this in April or June. If too unsafe I'll do it in Cuba again where I found lots of nice girls being happy to join me for some trips to beaches by car or just driving around for sightseeing.

Thanks,

Hotzo[/QUOTE]

CP,

Thanks a million for that DR1 site you recommended. One thing surprised me there was the cost of electricity and blackouts time! Not even when I lived in Cuba did I recall a blackout as bad as the ones mentioned in DR1. I guess nowhere is perfect, cause when I go to Cuba I bring extra tp. LOL.

The towns I mentioned were recommended to me by a fellow volunteer I met once a couple of yrs ago and they were his experiences. He recommended them based on friendliness of people and maybe beauty of the native women there. I probably should've opened a map first and looked them up. I am mainly interested in beach towns.

Thanks for reading my reports. I used to post on another forum and there I made a nice report on Cuba.

[QUOTE=Charles Pooter; 1509280]Cibao is not a town, it's a geographical area. Santiago is the second city (around 800, 000 pop) and it is inland. Never heard of Barbacua. Do you mean Jarabacoa? It is a picturesque and more affluent town and area but, again, inland. La Romana is a small city on the coast with wealthy gringo enclaves. Read up the appropriate section.

I think the first thing you need to do is spend some time with a map of the DR and decide what your priorities are. I thought your priority was beach towns with or near college campuses?

Does that mean you prefer hairy pussies? The less sophisticated and more "innocent" the girl, the less likely to shave. So in Sosua most putas shave. Out in the campo few girls shave. For the same reasons haitianas are less likely to shave than dominicanas.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Tempoecorto;1513632]Better not mix drinking and driving under those conditions.[/QUOTE]Better not mix drinking and driving under any conditions.

[QUOTE=BrasilSoccer0;1513953]Thanks a million for that DR1 site you recommended. One thing surprised me there was the cost of electricity and blackouts time! Not even when I lived in Cuba did I recall a blackout as bad as the ones mentioned in DR1.[/QUOTE]Everyday at my girlfriend's house the electricity and water go off at around 0630 and comes back on at 1800 or later. Fortunate that I only have to stay there 2 or 3 days at a time because I could not put up with that shit living there.

[QUOTE=Charles Pooter;1513959]Better not mix drinking and driving under any conditions.[/QUOTE]I agree but I have been guilty of that in the DR. I do not drink anything but a beer and on one occasion, I was driving back from Montecristi around late in the day and because of the heat, bought a beer at a carwash. As luck would have it, right after I left the place, a cop flagged me down, I had the just opened bottle sitting right next to me and I was shitting bricks. The cop did not even blink! Phew!

Hi there,

Thanks a lot for your info. So as I never drink and drive (it's OR in my case) , I'm not worried about quality of streets or lights as I have this experience from Cuba and I will rent a SUV 4wd with European full insurance for car and accidents and for sure I speak a little bit of Spanish I will go for a car rental. Easy to visit everything, having 4 weeks in total and allows to give some chicas a free ride which they may allow me also.

Happy new year,

Hotzo

[QUOTE=Hotzo; 1514185]. And allows to give some chicas a free ride which they may allow me also.

Happy new year,

Hotzo[/QUOTE]Good line. Yes, in exchange for a free ride, many will allow you a ride too but not free; however it is always good if you treat her / them well! For me, the happenstance of getting lucky without having planned is the best kick, when on the road!

I will be coming in for a week, and would like to get to Bonao, and other towns along the coast and see other places, and meet less experienced girls. My Spanish is passable, but not perfect (especially their version of Spanish). Should I go solo and rent a car, or hire a guide?

Thanks

[QUOTE=MattInNorfolk; 1514971]I will be coming in for a week, and would like to get to Bonao, and other towns along the coast and see other places, and meet less experienced girls. My Spanish is passable, but not perfect (especially their version of Spanish). Should I go solo and rent a car, or hire a guide?

Thanks[/QUOTE]Rent a car, get a map, follow the road signs, and use the gps on your smartphone. Bonão is not the countryside though, it's a town. And I especially don't think the women there are "less experienced" depending on your meaning. They are people you know. It's not like you going to a new land that has women who have never seen men before.

Thanks on the car idea, so I can give them a ride. I just meant less touristy areas and nothing offensive, and I realize they are people and have seen people before.

Thanks for reminding me though!

[QUOTE=MattInNorfolk; 1515117]Thanks on the car idea, so I can give them a ride. I just meant less touristy areas and nothing offensive, and I realize they are people and have seen people before.

Thanks for reminding me though![/QUOTE]It really is less touristy. So if you are not going there to see someone you already know then you may end up considering the evolution a total waste of time. But if you continue south toward Santo Domingo then there will be hookers on the side of the road right past the Bonão exit.