Transport options from Barahona to Pedernales (Bahia de las Aquilas)

Emina

New member
Mar 23, 2017
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Dear all,

First of all, I am so happy I stumbled across this forum. I will be traveling to DR in May/June this year, for the first time. Me and my friends want to independently explore the country and there are not so many information online for some of the places we want to visit.

Among others, we want to stay 3 days/nights in SW Coast. The plan is to stay the first night in Barahona (Caribetours bus from Santo Domingo to Barahona).

The next day we want to go to Pedernales and from there visit Bahia de las Aquilas and stay the night. After that, we want to return to Barahona for one final night, after which we will take the Caribetours bus back to Santo Domingo.

At this point we don't know how to get from Barahona to Pedernales.

- We don't feel comfortable renting a car. However, if we do opt for a rentacar, do you know of a local company that is reliable?
- A taxi for a return ride is probably very expensive. Do you know how much it would cost?
- Is there any regular public transportation from Barahona to Pedernales?
- Or, can you recommend a reliable and cost effective private company/agency that would take us there and back?
- Any other suggestions on how we could do this?

Thank you very much in advance!
 

LTSteve

Gold
Jul 9, 2010
5,449
23
38
Dear all,

First of all, I am so happy I stumbled across this forum. I will be traveling to DR in May/June this year, for the first time. Me and my friends want to independently explore the country and there are not so many information online for some of the places we want to visit.

Among others, we want to stay 3 days/nights in SW Coast. The plan is to stay the first night in Barahona (Caribetours bus from Santo Domingo to Barahona).

The next day we want to go to Pedernales and from there visit Bahia de las Aquilas and stay the night. After that, we want to return to Barahona for one final night, after which we will take the Caribetours bus back to Santo Domingo.

At this point we don't know how to get from Barahona to Pedernales.

- We don't feel comfortable renting a car. However, if we do opt for a rentacar, do you know of a local company that is reliable?
- A taxi for a return ride is probably very expensive. Do you know how much it would cost?
- Is there any regular public transportation from Barahona to Pedernales?
- Or, can you recommend a reliable and cost effective private company/agency that would take us there and back?
- Any other suggestions on how we could do this?

Thank you very much in advance!

I am not familiar with this area but you seem all over the map, with another post, also asking for travels info. You are going from the Santiago area which is North to Barahona in the Southwest. First, how long will you be in the DR? If you have a few people involved I would consider renting a vehicle and pick it up at the airport you are flying into and out of.
 
Feb 7, 2007
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Yes there are local buses Barahona to Pedernales, but I do not know schedule nor prices.

But beware that Bahia de las Aguilas is quite off the Pedernales to Barahona road so you might need to take a taxi from Pedernales.

All in all you might be better off renting a car, the transit southwest of Barahona is quite light.
 

Matilda

RIP Lindsay
Sep 13, 2006
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I would rent a car in Barahona if you can. The road is not bad and a fabulous drive and its worth stopping off occasionally to enjoy the view which you can't in a bus. There isn't much traffic either.

Matilda
 

Emina

New member
Mar 23, 2017
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I am not familiar with this area but you seem all over the map, with another post, also asking for travels info. You are going from the Santiago area which is North to Barahona in the Southwest. First, how long will you be in the DR? If you have a few people involved I would consider renting a vehicle and pick it up at the airport you are flying into and out of.

Thank you for your answer. We will be 3 weeks in the country. Yes, after Barahona we will go to Santo Domingo and from there to Santiago, all with caribetours bus. From what I have read, these places are all well connected with Caribetour bus. We checked into their schedule and planned our trip accordingly. We will be three people and, of course, renting a car would be the most convenient. However, we will consider this option only after we arrive and see the condition of the roads and the driving culture. Should we not feel comfortable driving, we will stick to public transportation.

This is why I want to explore all our options before we actually arrive, especially for the parts of the trip for which I could not find obvious public transport options.
 

ju10prd

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Nov 19, 2014
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I would always recommend reading Rough Guides before venturing to a new destination, so I recommend you follow this link:

https://www.roughguides.com/destinations/central-america-and-the-caribbean/dominican-republic/

They recommend you contact Ecotour Barahona:

http://www.ecotourbarahona.com/espanol/catalogo/catalogo-espanol-2014.pdf

Frankly you can plan to see a lot more this way on a guided local tour than by catching one of the regular guaguas that ply the route between Barahona and Pedernales and then having to make your way to Bahia de Las Aguillas. I would advise against a car hire for a first trip...some nice places to stop but, the regular military roadblocks and checks might bother you if your Spanish is not so good.......and the town of Barahona does have delinquency problems so try and book a hotel just south of the town.
 

Emina

New member
Mar 23, 2017
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Thank you for your answer. Indeed we might end up renting a car, depending on whether we will feel comfortable driving once we actually see the road conditions and driving culture. Therefore, in case we don't opt for renting a car, I would like to know what our alternatives are.

Yes, we know that Bahia de las Aquilas is still quite a bit far from Pedernales but we found a nice hotel in Pedernales (Eco Del Mar which actually consists of tents with beds, all on the beach). We plan to take a boat tour with them to Bahia de las Aquilas.
 

Emina

New member
Mar 23, 2017
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Thank you for the link. It seems like something we have been looking for. Have you or your friend use their service? After reading all about the scams with rentacar companies in DR, I am looking for a reliable company that will not try to overcharge us.
 

Emina

New member
Mar 23, 2017
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Do you know of a reliable car rental in the area? From what I have read so far, scams are very common and I would like to get in touch with a reputable company.
 
Aug 6, 2006
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dom-rent-a-car seems to be rather secretive about themselves. They provide no address nor telephone, only a form to order a car. Does anyone have any experience with them?



There is at least one company that runs large Hyundai busses from the Plazoleta, just a bit closer to the downtown area than the Arch.

There are lots of guaguas.
 

Emina

New member
Mar 23, 2017
32
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dom-rent-a-car seems to be rather secretive about themselves. They provide no address nor telephone, only a form to order a car. Does anyone have any experience with them?



There is at least one company that runs large Hyundai busses from the Plazoleta, just a bit closer to the downtown area than the Arch.

There are lots of guaguas.

Thank you for the info. Do you maybe know of a reliable rent a car service in Barahona?
 

mantaclause23

Newbie
Sep 13, 2017
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Prices to Pedernales and Bahia de las Aguilas

I wanted to give an updated price on how to get to Pedernales from Barahona with public transportation.

As of August 2017, it costs 250p from Barahona to Pedernales and buses run every hour or 2. We were told in Pedernales that the buses left at 8am, 9:30am, and I'm unsure about the rest. It took about 3 hours to travel.

To get to Bahia de las Aguilas, we asked the hotel we were staying at if they knew anybody to take us, which of course they did and called him over so we could negotiate the price. He started at 1000p per person for a round trip motorcycle ride. After a very long time of negotiations, we ended up paying 1400p total for two people to ride on the little motorcycle round trip. His name is Antonio and his number is 829-367-6554.
I'm sure if you ask anyone around town on a moto, they would take you as well, and maybe you can get it for a cheaper price.