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{{Infobox Country
|country = of the Dominican Republic
The '''Dominican Republic''' is the eastern part of the [[Caribbean]] island of Hispaniola.
People will tell you it's very dangerous, but the fact is the Dominican Republic is a comparable safe country of Latin America. Keep a low profile and don't show off expensive smartphones, watches, sunglasses or clothes.
Check out a hitchhiker's personal experience [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhcXDTZ2iJA&index=1&list=PLKvXdnK3gVW0p4OmRNlCnh2v14Xv4vIO_
here on YouTube.]
== Sleeping ==
Dominicans are very friendly and hospitable people and they´ll 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/and camp there, but possible. Also There are good places to find in some national parcs or stuff you can sleepthe countryside. Usually, it's usually there are no problem for white persons or people who look obviously like a touristproblems with the police.
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 kind of everybody will invite you who sees the message in time. I Dominicans are easy-going and they usually looked for a couch one don't mind that you don't know your exact arrival time or two days before i came to the place and i mostly had to choose between couchesdate. You'll be welcome.
There are a lot of empty houses and apartments. "Se alquila" means for rent and "se vende" means for sale. At some places, also along the coast, it's possible to just use them as a shelter for a few days. There is mostly a broken window to find somewhere around the house. Some of them though are already used by Dominicans as a sleeping place. A wooden plate behind an empty window frame is an indicator for an entrance.
== Eating ==
In local restaurants, ask for "plato del dia" (, which means plate of the day), and they'll give you . You will be provided a typical dominican meal for a cheap price, mostly of no more than 150 pesosor 200 Pesos. It's usually rice with beans and meat, and a lot. I always asked If you're on a tight budget or not too hungry, ask for a smaller portion, which was is still a lot, and it's only 100 Pesos. If you just want to get 100 Pesos of rice at a restaurant or a public market for example, you can just ask "Hola, dame cien pesosde arroz, por favor."
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 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.
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. It's worth a try to see if it's hitchable.
== Boat hitchhiking ==
It´s possible to hitchhike sailing boats to get around the Carribean. The two best Two good 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 Recommendable is Boca Chica as it´s 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).
== Cities ==
* [[Santo Domingo]]
* [[La Romana]]