Difference between revisions of "Dominican Republic"

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There are car ferries three times per week leaving from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico. Once in Puerto Rice there are from the state subventioned ferries to Culebra and Vieques, also there are connections to the american virgin islands St. Thomas and St. John.
 
There are car ferries three times per week leaving from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico. Once in Puerto Rice there are from the state subventioned ferries to Culebra and Vieques, also there are connections to the american virgin islands St. Thomas and St. John.
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Departure Santo Domingo Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday at 8 p.m., arrival in Mayaguez (Puerto Rico) 8 a.m. the next day.
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Departure Mayaguez (Puerto Rico) Monday, Wednesday and Friday 8.p.m., arrival Santo Domingo 8 a.m. the next day. (www.ferriesdelcaribe.com, (809) 688 4400 for Dom. Rep.)
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It's very expensive. 163 USD one-way, 391 USD roundtrip, 172-202 one-way with car. I don't know if it's hitchable, but i guess worth a try.
  
 
== Boat hitchhiking ==
 
== Boat hitchhiking ==

Revision as of 18:20, 29 September 2012

Applications-office.png This article is a stub. This means that the information available to us is obviously insufficient. In these places little information is available or the description is severely outdated. If you have been there, whether hitchhiking, for travel or as part of an organized tour − be sure to extend this article!


Flag of Dominican Republic Dominican Republic
Information
Language: Spanish
Capital: Santo Domingo
Population: 9,507,133
Currency: Dominican Peso (DOP)
Hitchability: <rating country='do' />
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<map lat="18.818819131877" lng="-70.50479606405" zoom="6" view="0" float="right" />


The Dominican Republic is the eastern part of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.


Hitchhiking in the Dominican Republic is - like in many countries in the Caribbean - farely common and especially in the evening if people finished work, you can see a lot of people waiting for a lift on the side of the road. They gather at bus stations, I saw up to 50 people standing around one bus station. Sometimes they stick out their thumb, but usually they are just standing there as people know what they are waiting for anyway. Kinda everybody hitched once and a lot of people who have space pick up hitchhikers. As a white person you get lifts very fast, locals can wait longer, but I like the atmosphere, that hitchhiking is just a normal thing to do. Not so common like in Cuba, but easier as more people have their own, empty car... There are a lot of pickups, it happens sometimes there is one who just picks up everybody they come across, as much as fit on the back. In the middle of the day, its possible to wait longer, as less people are driving long distance when it´s really hot, and as it´s also not too comfortable waiting in the sun (at least in the hot season), i recommend morning or evening hitchs.

The most important word to know is "una vola" which means a ride in dominican spanish and makes clear what you want, as many people want to help you finding a bus.


Sleeping

Dominicans are very friendly and hospitable people and they´ll probably invite you by times.

There are a lot of private beaches and areas you can't enter next to the sea, so it's hard to find a nice spot to sleep/camp there, but possible. Also in some national parcs or stuff you can sleep, it's usually no problem for white persons or people who look obviously like a tourist.

It seems hostels and guest houses are relatively expensive, in Punta Cana a girl recommended me a cheap hostel and it was 20 USD per night.

Couchsurfing works super well, also last-minute, you don't have to send too many requests (more than 5), as kinda everybody will invite you who sees the message in time. I usually looked for a couch one or two days before i came to the place and i mostly had to choose between couches.


Eating

In local restaurants, ask for "plato del dia" (plate of the day), and they'll give you a typical dominican meal for a cheap price, mostly 150 pesos. It's usually rice with beans and meat, and a lot. I always asked for a smaller portion, which was still a lot, and 100 pesos.

If you smell the taste of food somewhere in smaller towns or the countryside, people eating together in the garden, you're lucky, as you can easily join (just ask for the way, etc.) without being supposed to pay, that's part of the culture and a reason why i wanted to visit this country. Although, it won't happen too often.

If you arrive at a place in the noon around 12 - be it with your lift in a town, with a person you met at a house, or at a friend's place - people will always invite you for lunch without asking.

Boats out of here

There are car ferries three times per week leaving from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico. Once in Puerto Rice there are from the state subventioned ferries to Culebra and Vieques, also there are connections to the american virgin islands St. Thomas and St. John. Departure Santo Domingo Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday at 8 p.m., arrival in Mayaguez (Puerto Rico) 8 a.m. the next day. Departure Mayaguez (Puerto Rico) Monday, Wednesday and Friday 8.p.m., arrival Santo Domingo 8 a.m. the next day. (www.ferriesdelcaribe.com, (809) 688 4400 for Dom. Rep.) It's very expensive. 163 USD one-way, 391 USD roundtrip, 172-202 one-way with car. I don't know if it's hitchable, but i guess worth a try.

Boat hitchhiking

It´s possible to hitchhike sailing boats to get around the Carribean. The two best ports for that i found are in La Romana and Boca Chica. From May till November nobody´s sailing cause of the winds. You can find the first boat out beginning of November. I recommend Boca Chica as it´s the bigger port, but if you don´t find any there, La Romana is very close.

The right port in La Romana is, if you go from the Jumbo Supermarket (kind of a cultural centre for this city..) across the river. If you stand on the end of the bridge, you can see the sailing ships already under and left of you, now you just have to find the way down there (it´s a bit longer than it seems).

Ask for "el puerto/la marina de veleros (=sailing boats)".


Cities

- Santo Domingo

- La Romana