Help Please with Road trip!!

sarahhope said:

Am flying into POP with 13 yr old 21st June and hiring a carIMO, first major error. Thehotel will pick you up. Have you ever driven here? If not, do not!. Here is my itinerayThat should be intinerary. I would really appreciate any driving times/directions and advice r.e conditions of the road etc - actually any kind of advice, recommendations etc.
day:
1 - arrive POP 1 pm. checking into the Velero in Cabarete for a bit of luxury (we are coming from Spain) 45 mins?Have them pick you up. Closer to 25 minutes
2 - getting up v. early to drive to 27 falls (length of drive? length to do all falls?) Get the hotel to schedule the tour. It is all day and you will bbe exhausted. Do Punta Rucia the following day. Or forget it all together. then driving up to Punta Rucia to stay in a b&b (villa rosa).
3 - do Paradise island with local fisherman. Drive to Jarabacoa. (do-able? and if not, any place en route). Night at Rancho Baiguete.
4 - couple of activities, i.e rafting, a waterfall. Overnight Baiguete again.
5 - Morning activity and drive to Semana/Terrenas/Las Galeras (inland route?? Too long a drive?? Anywhere to stay en route if it is? Best budget B&Bs)
6 -10 a couple of days in Semana area and a couple on the way back to POP via the coastal road. Los gringos in Rio San Juan one day?
I dont want to be stuck with drives that are too long or too difficult - 13 year old! - or at night but am confident driving in Caribbean, rough roads etc. Want as many activities - waterfalls, rafting, hiking, etc as poss.
Absolutely ANY advice would be SO gratefully received.

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Aw do what you want... you are pushing it too much.

HB

sarahhope said:

.....I dont want to be stuck with drives that are too long or too difficult - 13 year old! - or at night but am confident driving in Caribbean, rough roads etc. Want as many activities - waterfalls, rafting, hiking, etc as poss.
Absolutely ANY advice would be SO gratefully received.

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That is a LOT of driving............. you will be exhausted everyday with the itinerary you have. Whatever you decide be sure to be off the road and checked into a hotel before dark.

Is this your first trip to the DR and will this be your first time driving in the DR?

sarahhope said:

Mmm...thought it might be a bit tough....any ideas then how to fit in 27 falls, paradise island, semana and jarabacoa in ten nights? Should I ditch semana? Yes, first time in DR. Thankyou for your reply! Really need some help! Just found out that its much more expensive if you dont have a US credit card to book flights so really looking at the cheapest way to hire a car and have the adventures we are after....

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Driving in the DR is not easy...............

For starters I think it might be a good idea to forget about Semana. I can't think of a thing your 13 year old would enjoy. You can book a tour to the 27 falls online or probably at your hotel. I understand you prefer to be independent but trust me you will be glad to have someone else do the driving. Cabarete and Jarabacoa should be enjoyable. I can't speank on Paradise Island as I have never been there.

Please give some serious thought to driving in the DR. You looking for adventure? Use public transport for all the adventure you could ever ask for.

Your previous post you mentioned the Coastal Highway. Please, please, please don't think this is a smooth, paved, divided, 4 or 6 lane highway. Most people will agree that driving in the DR your first trip is not a wise thing to do.

First, it?s SAMANA, not semana. semana=week
In my opinion the best and more interesting way to drive from Jarabacoa to Samana, is thru Santo Domingo. Driving time from Jarabacoa-santo domingo is 1:30 1:45 mins. you can spend 1 or 2 days in Santo Domingo (lot of interesting and cultural sites for a 13y/o teen) then drive to Samana in a good new highway. 2 hours drive time.

Rent a 4x4, have fun. Please post a trip report, would love to see how it turns out. This almost seems fictional.

sarahhope said:

the spanish crabby thing was for Johnny...

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Relax Sarah, you will get your help. Some things in life one must learn to ignore.

The previous post about going from Jarabacoa to Santo Domingo and the new highway to Samana sounds like a good idea. This shouldn't be too difficult of a drive. There is a lot of non AI stuff to be photographed in SD.

johnny said:

First, it?s SAMANA, not semana. semana=week
In my opinion the best and more interesting way to drive from Jarabacoa to Samana, is thru Santo Domingo. Driving time from Jarabacoa-santo domingo is 1:30 1:45 mins. you can spend 1 or 2 days in Santo Domingo (lot of interesting and cultural sites for a 13y/o teen) then drive to Samana in a good new highway. 2 hours drive time.

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I usually travel via San Francisco - Nagua - Samana, is the new road via Santo Domingo faster coming from Jarabacoa?

You should not mistake crabby for a genuine attempt to give you good advise, even if it might be a correction in how to spell/pronounce the name of one of the most lovely areas in the DR. That said, your itinerary is really ambitious, and not surprisingly so for one who has never before visited the DR. I understand the desire to get it all in, but you will exhaust yourself and leave little time to enjoy the true wonder that the DR is and to enjoy the time there with your teenager. Unlike Johnny, I suggest you not go to SD [unless your teenager is interested in history and archetecture and exploring the Colonial Zone, etc]. Rather, after a few days in Jarabacoa head to Samana or Las Terranas via SFM, Nagua, Sanchez. LT is a very nice base camp to visit the waterfalls on horseback at El Limon and the beaches are fantastic. You can get rested up in LT and then travel to Rio San Juan [I suggest you stay at the Bahia Blanca] and take the boat through the mangroves to the beach [I forget the name right now but I think its Playa Caleton]. You sound like your are intent on driving yourself, although I agree with everyone here that driving in the DR is more difficult than you now imagine, but if you insist, understand that the 'highways', with the exception of the new highway from Santo Domingo to Samana which is only two and a half hours and beautiful, are very not well maintained, are not lit, and have little to no signage; and getting lost going through the towns is not unusual. So, only drive during the daylight hours, use your spanish and be friendly with the locals, stop at the roadside restaurants and enjoy some great food, and ask directions even if you think you know the way. Enjoy the DR!

sarahhope said:

why fictional? Goodness, I have put off asking for help for months because you all sound so crabby with one another....maybe its a european?/Us thing but you sound crabby. I would still like some help if anyone wants to give some. Anyway, I live in Spain, speak Spanish, sorry for the typo?, big b. deal!

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Well, Sarah, just tried to give you some help. I saw you wrote Semana 5 times, so I thought it couldnt be a typing mistake.
It's better to know how to spell correctly the name of the town you are going to visit, because many people in the campos may not understand what are you talking about.

This is getting silly. Look, if you want flexibility, please think about hiring a car and driver for this period. It will be probably cheaper than renting a good 4 x 4 .
Look, driving in this country is nuts. I have driven all around the world and the surrealist things that you see here are truly unearthly. On the major highway near here, I say a large truck stop so that the driver could greet a friend! (the 1/2 mile traffic jam was just a by product). Plus the fact that you go to jail if there is a fender=bender and there is someone slightly injured, PLUS (and this is something you NEVER saw) there are over 2.5 million motorcycles on the roads like ants. No helmets for the most part, the incredible reliance on YOUR driving prowess,and not a license among them. Knock one down for any reason and you go sit in a police station for hours and hours.

I can give you, literally, outstanding directions to any place in this country. I can even offer you a place to stay in Punta Rucia or Jarabacoa or almost any place in the country if you need it. BUT please understand that this is a large place, not a little island like Mallorca or Puerto Rico. It is 240 kilometers fromwhere you are on the North Shore to Santo Domingo (+/- a few), and the roads are iffy at best. You have, lets day, maybe 5 or 6 days of travel and maybe 3 or 4 to rest and relax.

Okay. Let's say you get picked up at the airport by your hotel.
At the hotel you can ask one of the many drivers what he'd like to get for a drive over to Punta Rucia. You ask another. You take the lowest price. The trip out to Paradise Island you can do with Damaris, I can call her, or you can join one of the boats leaving from the hotels there. Your driver will find a good deal for you.

When you get back, you will be exhausted. Be sure to take a lot of sun block and bug repellant with you wherever you go.

Next day, you can do the same thing to the 27 falls at Damajagua. Be very careful, it can be dangerous and it has been raining. Once again you will be exhausted.

On the third day, you can take a driver to Jarabacoa, and dismiss him. The rafting, waterfalls and other activities will wear you out each day.

When you decide to go to Saman? (it is a most incredible place, beautiful almost beyond words) . As others have said, it is not filled so much with "sights" but rather great beaches out at the end --Las Galeras and Rincon. Also good food.

You can do it the same way. Get a car and driver in Jarabacoa and hire him for a trip to wherever you want to stay in Saman?. In Saman?, which is small, you can go by guagua from place to place. It will be fun, and totally safe.

And finally, there are buses that go around the North Shore and can drop you at your hotel.

There you are safe, had the adventure of a lifetime and will welcome that nice bed for a day or two...

HB, trying not be crabby.

dear adventurious spaniard,
you have no idea what you are up to. please do your gifted child and yourself a favour and read between the lines of the honest responders. you are going to visit a paradise on earth called the dom. rep.
at least for the first time do it collectively as a group, as you will not imagine the concequecies of driving.
a very small example that you will encounter on the roads are these modern carriages which are driven by donkeys and mules which is called motoconshe, they will be buzzing around your vehicle and around your windshield like bees and flies.
you better believe, its an honest advice and nobody is being crabby.
bring your cameras and bathing suits, join the public transport, tours, guides etc... believe me it'll be cheaper and safer.
i learned my lesson the hard way, so better you don't.
my home away from home is this island and its wonderful people.
you are playing with fire if you did it you way.

Hilbilly would you extend the offer to a non driving forum member (Jarabacoa and Punta Rucia) ??

To the OP, been to both places, and I think driving in DR and driving in Africa is comparable. However, you won't be sitting in Jail in Africa if, God forbids, you'd get into an accident.

It just seems that your plan is a bit ambitious. Again, you will see for yourself and will improvise accordingly.

Enjoy your time in DR!

Am flying into POP with 13 yr old 21st June and hiring a car. Here is my itineray. I would really appreciate any driving times/directions and advice r.e conditions of the road etc - actually any kind of advice, recommendations etc.
day:
1 - arrive POP 1 pm. checking into the Velero in Cabarete for a bit of luxury (we are coming from Spain) 45 mins?30 to 40 mins driving at a relaxed pace not far at all. make a left coming out of airport and drive thru Sosua and you will be in Caberette in no time.
2 - getting up v. early to drive to 27 falls (length of drive?About an hour or so depending how fast you drive, as for visiting all the falls not sure. length to do all falls?) then driving up to Punta Rucia to stay in a b&b (villa rosa).From the falls to Punta Rucia 1 1/2 to 2 hours driving pretty bad roads with no real signs as to where you are. Give yourself plenty of daylight to get to Punta Rucia from the falls.
3 - do Paradise island with local fisherman. Drive to Jarabacoa. (do-able?3-3:30 drive to Jarabacoa from Punta Rucia if you know your directions, maybe a night in Santiago would be appropriate? I would suggest Camp David Ranch for the night, beautiful views up in the mountain. and if not, any place en route). Night at Rancho Baiguete.
4 - couple of activities, i.e rafting, a waterfall. Overnight Baiguete again.
5 - Morning activity and drive to Semana/Terrenas/Las Galeras (inland route?? Too long a drive?? Anywhere to stay en route if it is? Best budget B&Bs)Jarabacoa to Samana via Sanfrancisco Marcoris is a 4 hour ride, start early and enjoy the changing scenery from the mountains to the endless rice fields to the north coast and the coastal scenery. I would also suggest stopping for some lunch as you leave Nagua for Samana on the beach they have some decent seafood places and you and the little one can go for a swim.
6 -10 a couple of days in Semana area and a couple on the way back to POP via the coastal road. Los gringos in Rio San Juan one day? sure why not, visit playa Caleton for a nice beach.
I dont want to be stuck with drives that are too long or too difficult - 13 year old! - or at night but am confident driving in Caribbean, rough roads etc. Want as many activities - waterfalls, rafting, hiking, etc as poss.
Absolutely ANY advice would be SO gratefully received.
If you are a confident driver go for it,should be fun. Let me know if you need any other info, I personally love doing road trips while in DR, so have fun.

Wow ,your planning on doing alot in your visit .
This is a very beautiful country with lots to see and do ,but don,t get caught up in the romance of it all and try to do too much put yourself at risk .Sorry but you need to be realistic about dominicano and what it holds.
I would seriously think twice about doing all this in your holiday or it could turn out to be a bit of a race getting from A to B and exhausting.The roads are not very good ,directions non existent ,and they are a little bit crazy here on the roads to say the least .I have only driven alittle on the roads here and its an experience and this is coming from an hardened driver in the UK .Make sure you have plenty of time on your side to get to your accomodation as its not clever to be freelance here on a nightime .Don,t carry too much money with you and don,t stop for anyone unless absolutely neccessary,and the police here are a law unto themselves .
Your stay here needs to be a good one for you take it easy and enjoy yourself and take care , cuidame mucho .