- Thread starter cndeh
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Carretera turística - Anyone Know The Current State?
An adventure
went last week there. Is 50% full of holes. Costs a lot more time, and the car suffers. But it's still nice
went last week there. Is 50% full of holes. Costs a lot more time, and the car suffers. But it's still nice
Apart from where the rod collapsed at Tubagua, it is still pretty much Asa it was as far as Yassica.
After that it is a disaster. Around Orenoso it is now basically an off-road trail with occasional small patches of crumbling asphalt.
I wouldn't take a regular car up there any more
After that it is a disaster. Around Orenoso it is now basically an off-road trail with occasional small patches of crumbling asphalt.
I wouldn't take a regular car up there any more
You should be good to go, as long as you give yourself some additional time. I drove it Friday, and the government seems to have ramped up the repair work on all of the roads from Puerto Plata to Santiago and vice versa, including pot hole repair. As always though, night time driving remains risky especially if you're not familiar with the route!
Stay Safe!
Stay Safe!
Have you actually driven it lately?? I rode it Tuesday and the only work that had been done was putting up signs saying hombres trabajando.
There was however no evidence of anyone, hombres or other, doing much trabajo
I think sweetP is talking about work being done, finally, along the main highway between POP to Navarette and not the route which is called the Carretarra Touristica through the mountains that has gotten very bad according to all reports.
The road was indeed passable. Its not that much worse than before except for the two spots where the road has fell into the great beyond. The spots that were bad before are a bit worse now and there are no signs of impending repairs. If you take you time you will be just fine, it took me one hour from end to end.
I just got back into NYC from Santiago yesterday (2/22). I stayed in Sosua and took both roads during my stay. Here's the latest: RUTA PANORAMICA (shows on a map as "Rt 25").
It's a disaster. As the posting above noted, it's 50% severe dirt potholes and depressions. There's the one point around the Tubagua curve that the road collapsed and you have to use a makeshift bypass that's been backhoe'd out the mountain. If you're driving at night and go over the collapsed section, forget about it, you're a goner. It took me almost 2 hours to go from Santiago (the circun. highway) to Rt5 in Sosua. If you do decide to go this way, ONLY DO IT IN AN SUV. DON'T EVEN THINK OF TAKING A CAR especially if it's a rental where you could get charged for damage when you return it. There were sections in the road where even my rental Honda CRV bottomed out. I used to take that road many times in years past (I've stayed at the Tubagua Nature Lodge in the past w/ my kids) and it wasn't anywhere near as bad then as it is now. It's a disaster. Really think twice before going this option.
SECOND OPTION: From STI take the new Circunvalacion North highway a few minutes outside the airport. It's new, fast, completely modern, very little traffic because it's a toll road. I will cost you $100 pesos (about $2) but it's worth it in the time it saves (you can also go through Santiago proper but you hit all the lights, congestion etc. you lose so much time). The Circunvalacion is what we call here in the US an Interstate Outerbelt; it goes around a main city. Just take that from the airport to Rt 5 and then Rt 5 up to Puerto Plata. In years past Rt 5 used to be a problem road itself, lots of potholes but I took Rt 5 up and down three times on this trip and I can't get over how much better it is now. They've really done a lot of work on it. You probably hear about people saying it goes down to one lane at one point due to the storm etc. after the town of Imbert. Don't worry, it's a 50 foot section. Nothing to worry about, you just wait for traffic to pass. Took me three minutes to get past. Overall condition of the road is very good. It will take you right into Puerto Plata (and beyond to Sosua/Cabarete if those are your final destinations). If you take this route you don't need an SUV and you'll be fine just renting a car at STI for the whole trip. Hope this helps anyone traveling in the near future.
It's a disaster. As the posting above noted, it's 50% severe dirt potholes and depressions. There's the one point around the Tubagua curve that the road collapsed and you have to use a makeshift bypass that's been backhoe'd out the mountain. If you're driving at night and go over the collapsed section, forget about it, you're a goner. It took me almost 2 hours to go from Santiago (the circun. highway) to Rt5 in Sosua. If you do decide to go this way, ONLY DO IT IN AN SUV. DON'T EVEN THINK OF TAKING A CAR especially if it's a rental where you could get charged for damage when you return it. There were sections in the road where even my rental Honda CRV bottomed out. I used to take that road many times in years past (I've stayed at the Tubagua Nature Lodge in the past w/ my kids) and it wasn't anywhere near as bad then as it is now. It's a disaster. Really think twice before going this option.
SECOND OPTION: From STI take the new Circunvalacion North highway a few minutes outside the airport. It's new, fast, completely modern, very little traffic because it's a toll road. I will cost you $100 pesos (about $2) but it's worth it in the time it saves (you can also go through Santiago proper but you hit all the lights, congestion etc. you lose so much time). The Circunvalacion is what we call here in the US an Interstate Outerbelt; it goes around a main city. Just take that from the airport to Rt 5 and then Rt 5 up to Puerto Plata. In years past Rt 5 used to be a problem road itself, lots of potholes but I took Rt 5 up and down three times on this trip and I can't get over how much better it is now. They've really done a lot of work on it. You probably hear about people saying it goes down to one lane at one point due to the storm etc. after the town of Imbert. Don't worry, it's a 50 foot section. Nothing to worry about, you just wait for traffic to pass. Took me three minutes to get past. Overall condition of the road is very good. It will take you right into Puerto Plata (and beyond to Sosua/Cabarete if those are your final destinations). If you take this route you don't need an SUV and you'll be fine just renting a car at STI for the whole trip. Hope this helps anyone traveling in the near future.
Personally, I would discourage anyone from taking "Ruta Panoramica". I only drove it one time about three years ago based upon recommendations from Dr1. At that time, it was probably in better condition than it is now, but I still swore never to go that way again. I think that anyone who needs to ask about this "road" has no business trying to drive it. I was very naive about DR back then and believed that there was actually a real mountain highway there because Google Maps said so.
I don't think the warnings have been strong enough: DON'T GO THIS WAY!!!
I love to drive between Santo Domingo, Puerto Plata and Sosua. As others have stated, the toll bypass through Santiago is a dream, and Rt 5 from the outskirts of Santiago to Puerto Plata is relatively safe with the usual amount of caution needed to drive in this country. Just don't do it at night, but you shouldn't really drive between any two towns at night in DR.
Is there already a sticky thread with DR driving safety tips? If not, maybe we need to start one.