If you are renting a car so you can do some sightseeing or looking at land to buy, here is some information about what you can expect.
First off, the Dominican Republic is a big country. Second, most of the roads are bad. When I say bad, I mean terrible. Let?s just say that I had looked into flying onto Punta Cana and wanted to get to Samana/Las Terrenas. Well, that is about a 65 mile distance as the crow flies, however if you are unable to take the ferry, then you need to drive the long way around (through Santo Doningo, then up through San Francisco, Nagua, and Sanchez) which means it will be a 9-10 hour drive.
Some roads are good. For example, the main highway from Santo Domingo to Santiago (Autopista) is a good road. It has speed limits which are usually 100km/h and occasionally 80km/hr. I was able to get my rental car up to 140 km/hr on one vacant stretch.
CLICK ON THE PICTURE AND IT WILL GET BIGGER
However, do not think that the Dominican highway is like the Autobahn or like any American highway. Why? Well, you will have people on crappy scooters going about 20-50km/h driving in the right lane, which will mean that everyone in a car/truck has to pass them. Obviously this can clog the passing lane. Also, you will see many many people walking on both sides of the road, even toddlers.
You will also see people on scooters driving the wrong way on the highway (but they will be on the side of the road). Nevertheless, you will see oncoming headlights if you drive at night.
That was the good news. Now for the other 90% of the roads in the DR: They are maintained very poorly. Let?s assume that 50% of the roads in the DR are paved. Well, much of that pavement is covered in potholes. Often entire sections of the road is so marred with pothols that all traffic (including locals) come to a crawl (5-10 km/hr) to traverse that section of the road. Also, since nobody likes hitting potholes, oncoming traffic will frequently swerve into your lane to avoid potholes. Therefore, not only do you need to watch where the scooters and pedestrians are, but you need to look ahead at the road, spot a pothole and estimate if oncoming traffic will be swerving into your lane in an attempt to avoid it.
When you go through a town, usually there will be no traffic signal or stop sign and just some shacks on the sides of the road. People will gongregate and spill into the roadway. The larger towns have concrete buildings and more people. Basically you need to slow down when you drive through a town because people will walk into the road or just stand on the side of the road, or someone on a motorscooter will just dart across the road (sometimes without looking).
When it comes to driving, the rules are often ignored. European driving is closer to Dominican driving than American driving is. What I mean by this is that in Europe you often have small roads and weak vehicles that need passing. Drivers often pass, which forces them into oncoming traffic, but that oncoming traffic will slow down or pull to the side of the road to make room, whereas in America most drivers would not budge an inch and only lay on the horn.
Speaking about horns, get used to hitting it. The Dominican Republic is mountainous and often has blind corners and turns. Just prior to and while driving in such a corner, drivers often tap the horn to alert oncoming drivers of their presence (such oncoming drivers may often be in the middle of the road to avoid potholes). Also, when you are passing a scooter it is advisable to tap the horn if they are not on the far right side of the road because they may move over to make room. Also, sometimes (especially if you are in town) the scooter driver may be making a left turn and may not look behind him, which is quite dangerous, but it happens.
Also, many people walk on the sides of the roads. This is not much of a problem during the day, but at night it is very dangerous. Driving at night is very dangerous in general, and the longer the distance, the more dangerous. I drove from San Francisco to Las Terrenas in the dark and I would try everything in my power to never do that again. I had read many postings about not driving at dark and I laughed. I have driven all over the world and I consider myself a good defensive driver, but I would really caution anyone (myself included) against driving at night for any distance more than several kilometers unless it was a matter of life and death.
There is much livestock and wild animals that you need to watch out for because they can often wander into the roadways. I have encountered cows, horses, donkeys, wild pigs, wild goats, and chickens, and I have almost struck a few of these with my rental car.
Also, when there is road work, rather than seeing machines rub by generators which make a large arrow directing traffic into the right or left lane, you will usually see barrels lined up forcing the traffic where it is wanted and the first barrel encountered will usually have a flame on it (a can filled with a diesel and oil mixture set on fire I believe).
Now the dirt roads. Yes, many smaller roads are dirt. They are very bad after it rains hard because there are many many potholes and you do not know the depth of them when they are underwater.
Also there are some steep side roads. Some of these are so steep that non 4X4 vehicles cannot traverse them. All in all, I took my car almost everywhere that I wanted to. It was a V6, which is helpful in this mountainous country.
Hmm, what else? Oh yes, most cities have no traffic lights and no stop signs. In some cities that actually have traffic lights, the lights do not work at all.
Also, if you are renting the car, make certain you mark down every single mark or scratch that the car has on it, especially if there is any mark on the windshield. When you return the vehicle they will have one OR TWO men who go over the car with a fine tooth comb, looking for marks, hoping to make money on you. They may even try to rush you when you first get the car. They may fill out the form themselves and leave off some marks or scratches. Go over the car yourself and confirm that each scratch is on that form. If not, make then add it. Make sure to look for scratches on the rims and even the tires themselves, and the bumpers and mirrors. Also before you leave the rental agency, make sure the gas tank is full because you will be expected to return it full, and eyeball the tires to make sure they are fully inflated, and double check to make sure that your rental not only has a spare tire AND JACK, but also that the tire is inflated.
When you drive expect to get lost. Most roads are poorly marked or not marked at all. If you are lucky, you will spot a sign like this telling you which way to turn:
You will have to ask for directions in Spanish, as 99% of the people that I approached spoke ONLY Spanish (no English, no Italian, no German, etc.). A basic level of Spanish is fine, but make sure you know how to ask such things as: Donde esta el camino a ___ Which/where is the way to __(insert city here)___; I am looking for ____; Where is ___. Then make sure that you can understand most of the standard responses such as ?to/on the right,? ?to/on the left,? ?straight ahead,? ?around the corner? etc. Even if you know absolutely no Spanish, you should be able to learn these basics quickly. However, unless you are staying at an all-inclusive resort where they cater to English speakers, I would not advise anyone visit the Dominican Republic if you do not have a basic understanding of Spanish. I have visited over 50 countries and speak other languages. I have only studied Spanish for 8 months and I got by fine in the D.R., but I hardly spoke any English during my trip.
First off, the Dominican Republic is a big country. Second, most of the roads are bad. When I say bad, I mean terrible. Let?s just say that I had looked into flying onto Punta Cana and wanted to get to Samana/Las Terrenas. Well, that is about a 65 mile distance as the crow flies, however if you are unable to take the ferry, then you need to drive the long way around (through Santo Doningo, then up through San Francisco, Nagua, and Sanchez) which means it will be a 9-10 hour drive.
Some roads are good. For example, the main highway from Santo Domingo to Santiago (Autopista) is a good road. It has speed limits which are usually 100km/h and occasionally 80km/hr. I was able to get my rental car up to 140 km/hr on one vacant stretch.
CLICK ON THE PICTURE AND IT WILL GET BIGGER
However, do not think that the Dominican highway is like the Autobahn or like any American highway. Why? Well, you will have people on crappy scooters going about 20-50km/h driving in the right lane, which will mean that everyone in a car/truck has to pass them. Obviously this can clog the passing lane. Also, you will see many many people walking on both sides of the road, even toddlers.
You will also see people on scooters driving the wrong way on the highway (but they will be on the side of the road). Nevertheless, you will see oncoming headlights if you drive at night.
That was the good news. Now for the other 90% of the roads in the DR: They are maintained very poorly. Let?s assume that 50% of the roads in the DR are paved. Well, much of that pavement is covered in potholes. Often entire sections of the road is so marred with pothols that all traffic (including locals) come to a crawl (5-10 km/hr) to traverse that section of the road. Also, since nobody likes hitting potholes, oncoming traffic will frequently swerve into your lane to avoid potholes. Therefore, not only do you need to watch where the scooters and pedestrians are, but you need to look ahead at the road, spot a pothole and estimate if oncoming traffic will be swerving into your lane in an attempt to avoid it.
When you go through a town, usually there will be no traffic signal or stop sign and just some shacks on the sides of the road. People will gongregate and spill into the roadway. The larger towns have concrete buildings and more people. Basically you need to slow down when you drive through a town because people will walk into the road or just stand on the side of the road, or someone on a motorscooter will just dart across the road (sometimes without looking).
When it comes to driving, the rules are often ignored. European driving is closer to Dominican driving than American driving is. What I mean by this is that in Europe you often have small roads and weak vehicles that need passing. Drivers often pass, which forces them into oncoming traffic, but that oncoming traffic will slow down or pull to the side of the road to make room, whereas in America most drivers would not budge an inch and only lay on the horn.
Speaking about horns, get used to hitting it. The Dominican Republic is mountainous and often has blind corners and turns. Just prior to and while driving in such a corner, drivers often tap the horn to alert oncoming drivers of their presence (such oncoming drivers may often be in the middle of the road to avoid potholes). Also, when you are passing a scooter it is advisable to tap the horn if they are not on the far right side of the road because they may move over to make room. Also, sometimes (especially if you are in town) the scooter driver may be making a left turn and may not look behind him, which is quite dangerous, but it happens.
Also, many people walk on the sides of the roads. This is not much of a problem during the day, but at night it is very dangerous. Driving at night is very dangerous in general, and the longer the distance, the more dangerous. I drove from San Francisco to Las Terrenas in the dark and I would try everything in my power to never do that again. I had read many postings about not driving at dark and I laughed. I have driven all over the world and I consider myself a good defensive driver, but I would really caution anyone (myself included) against driving at night for any distance more than several kilometers unless it was a matter of life and death.
There is much livestock and wild animals that you need to watch out for because they can often wander into the roadways. I have encountered cows, horses, donkeys, wild pigs, wild goats, and chickens, and I have almost struck a few of these with my rental car.
Also, when there is road work, rather than seeing machines rub by generators which make a large arrow directing traffic into the right or left lane, you will usually see barrels lined up forcing the traffic where it is wanted and the first barrel encountered will usually have a flame on it (a can filled with a diesel and oil mixture set on fire I believe).
Now the dirt roads. Yes, many smaller roads are dirt. They are very bad after it rains hard because there are many many potholes and you do not know the depth of them when they are underwater.
Also there are some steep side roads. Some of these are so steep that non 4X4 vehicles cannot traverse them. All in all, I took my car almost everywhere that I wanted to. It was a V6, which is helpful in this mountainous country.
Hmm, what else? Oh yes, most cities have no traffic lights and no stop signs. In some cities that actually have traffic lights, the lights do not work at all.
Also, if you are renting the car, make certain you mark down every single mark or scratch that the car has on it, especially if there is any mark on the windshield. When you return the vehicle they will have one OR TWO men who go over the car with a fine tooth comb, looking for marks, hoping to make money on you. They may even try to rush you when you first get the car. They may fill out the form themselves and leave off some marks or scratches. Go over the car yourself and confirm that each scratch is on that form. If not, make then add it. Make sure to look for scratches on the rims and even the tires themselves, and the bumpers and mirrors. Also before you leave the rental agency, make sure the gas tank is full because you will be expected to return it full, and eyeball the tires to make sure they are fully inflated, and double check to make sure that your rental not only has a spare tire AND JACK, but also that the tire is inflated.
When you drive expect to get lost. Most roads are poorly marked or not marked at all. If you are lucky, you will spot a sign like this telling you which way to turn:
You will have to ask for directions in Spanish, as 99% of the people that I approached spoke ONLY Spanish (no English, no Italian, no German, etc.). A basic level of Spanish is fine, but make sure you know how to ask such things as: Donde esta el camino a ___ Which/where is the way to __(insert city here)___; I am looking for ____; Where is ___. Then make sure that you can understand most of the standard responses such as ?to/on the right,? ?to/on the left,? ?straight ahead,? ?around the corner? etc. Even if you know absolutely no Spanish, you should be able to learn these basics quickly. However, unless you are staying at an all-inclusive resort where they cater to English speakers, I would not advise anyone visit the Dominican Republic if you do not have a basic understanding of Spanish. I have visited over 50 countries and speak other languages. I have only studied Spanish for 8 months and I got by fine in the D.R., but I hardly spoke any English during my trip.
It can be done, but it is dangerous outside of the cities. BTW, did you post as 'superman' on another website when you were considering this trip? If so, hope the advice received there was helpful. Reading your report sounded a lot like the advice given to 'superman' a couple of months ago.