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{{IsIn|Caribbean}}
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 picks a lot of people who have space pick up hitchhikers. As a white person you get lifts very fast, Locals 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 are some is one who just pick 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 waitingin the sun (at least in the hot season), i recommend morning or evening hitchs.
Dominicans are very friendly and hospitable people and they´ll probably invite you by times.
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.
== Boat hitchhiking ==
It´s possible to hitchhike sailing boats to get around the Carribean. The two best ports for that 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)".
