i travel in and out of the DR with a very expensive violin, very, expensive. in NYC the idiot from homeland security opened the case upside down and it damn near fell out, even after i told the fat unemployable woman not to do that. in ft. lauderdale FL they thought i had a machine gun, until they x-rayed the thing and then told me they had never seen a violin go through security. get the guitbox (elvis' words, 1964) to miami and then find a cheap flight up and back for the weekend. this could be cheaper than shipping, no import duties, etc. but you are not going to get that guitar here for 100 or 200 bucks, unless a friend is coming down for a visit. as soon as you step on the plane, hand the guitar to the flight attendant, tell them it's delicate, and they will store it up-front until you get off the plane.