- Thread starter nlove88
- Start date
Car rental for 18 year old?
I think it is 21 or even 25 years minimum. Even with insurance the driving situation is pretty hairy and an 18 y/o might be lacking enough experience to drive defensively. What city and why a rental car?
Not advised to do this....
First of all this isn't the same as any place else you might have driven in your short driving career. INSANE is the only word I can use to explain it. You truly must have eyes on the sides and the back of your head. There are pot holes that will completely swallow your car! If you do damage the car it isn't the same as renting from Avis or Hertz in the states, Canada or Europe were you just fill out a form. You will NOT leave the DR until you paid for the damages! There are mountain roads that are completely washed away and nothing but sheer cliffs to fall off of! The rains here are tremendous, flooding is a normal occurance in the winter months! Horses, cows, donkeys, goats and people run out in front of you! Turn signals do not mean anything and people drive at night without headlights in the oncoming lane because they are hammered drunk.
One more thing and I am positive all of these guys that live here along with me will agree. If you get into an accident and IT ISN"T YOUR FAULT....guess what? IT IS YOUR FAULT! God forbid if you kill someone!
Seriously, you are too inexperienced to drive here. Hire a taxi and enjoy your vacation here! Have fun, and be safe!
nlove88 said:
First of all this isn't the same as any place else you might have driven in your short driving career. INSANE is the only word I can use to explain it. You truly must have eyes on the sides and the back of your head. There are pot holes that will completely swallow your car! If you do damage the car it isn't the same as renting from Avis or Hertz in the states, Canada or Europe were you just fill out a form. You will NOT leave the DR until you paid for the damages! There are mountain roads that are completely washed away and nothing but sheer cliffs to fall off of! The rains here are tremendous, flooding is a normal occurance in the winter months! Horses, cows, donkeys, goats and people run out in front of you! Turn signals do not mean anything and people drive at night without headlights in the oncoming lane because they are hammered drunk.
One more thing and I am positive all of these guys that live here along with me will agree. If you get into an accident and IT ISN"T YOUR FAULT....guess what? IT IS YOUR FAULT! God forbid if you kill someone!
Seriously, you are too inexperienced to drive here. Hire a taxi and enjoy your vacation here! Have fun, and be safe!
Last edited:
I would think if the OP is the 18 y/o as well, he or she won't have the required credit card to facilitate this senseless idea, maybe a good thing.
Hey Rick....
Yeah, let's only hope for their sake!
I truly do not wish to scare people. But words of advice aren't always things people want to hear. Something else that most (but not all of us people that live here) already know. That is the roadblocks by only God knows who. It could be the local friendly folks collecting money for a funeral or a sick relative. It could be the PN collecting money for their party after work or the jefe's car payment or his night out. Or...it could be worse, yes unknowing people that wish to drive around this country. There are criminals in the Dominican Republic that will rob you or maybe worse.
Hire a taxi please, they really aren't that expensive and if you ask them, they will stay with you for your entire trip.... Be safe and have fun!
ricktoronto said:
Yeah, let's only hope for their sake!
I truly do not wish to scare people. But words of advice aren't always things people want to hear. Something else that most (but not all of us people that live here) already know. That is the roadblocks by only God knows who. It could be the local friendly folks collecting money for a funeral or a sick relative. It could be the PN collecting money for their party after work or the jefe's car payment or his night out. Or...it could be worse, yes unknowing people that wish to drive around this country. There are criminals in the Dominican Republic that will rob you or maybe worse.
Hire a taxi please, they really aren't that expensive and if you ask them, they will stay with you for your entire trip.... Be safe and have fun!
Last edited:
Thanks,
As a side note, my driving may be a little more experianced than the typical 18 year old as I learned to drive in NYC & drive two hours round trip to school every day. (Not to say NYC is anything in comparison to the chaos in the DR, I have seen it in many cities like Bangkok and Guatamala City.)
As a side note, my driving may be a little more experianced than the typical 18 year old as I learned to drive in NYC & drive two hours round trip to school every day. (Not to say NYC is anything in comparison to the chaos in the DR, I have seen it in many cities like Bangkok and Guatamala City.)
DominicanScotty said:
Of course you scare people, what do you think a newbie would think if this was the first post they had read? You make it sound like a police state which is 100% misinformation.
I live and work here full-time, I drive all over the country and have done so for years and have encountered very little trouble.
Thousands of tourists drive all over this country every year and never have a problem. The best way to see this country as a tourist is rent a car and go explore. You just need to be 21 for the insurance to cover you
Yes, driving here is different from USA, Japan, Brazil or outback Australia, but with a little common sense you will be fine driving here for the first time, just like the thousands of other people that do it.
Bottom line advice from DR1. If you old enough to rent a car, do it. See the country, get out and about and you will see a side of the DR you never knew existed and what 99% of all-inclusive tourists miss. Use a little common sense, don't drive at night or drunk and you'll be fine.
DominicanScotty said:
Not true if you rent with a well known car hire company like National, Avis, Budget etc. If you rent from some unknown low end company, then yes, you may have problems. Stick with the big ones and the one's people on DR1 have had good experiences with.
I know of a poster that wrote off a car a few days ago and never had a problem. They replaced the car and he was on his way again. Maybe he will post on the board with his experiences, I was speaking to him at Rocky's (Sosua) yesterday morning.
He rented from Prestige Car Rentals.
http://www.dr1.com/directories/car_rental/prestige_rentals.shtml
Last edited:
My post was directed at the OP
TO ROBERT: Do you really think this 18 year old is going to know that? I am sure that the readers of this thread understand where I was coming from when I posted it. Yes, there are some reputable rental companies out there. But many aren't and you know that is true!
TO THE OP: IF you have a credit card go to one of the big car rental companies. After you do that then go back to my original posts.
TO anyone else that got something to write: I am curious to read that I am wrong about that and then I will tell you that you are not on the same island that I am on.
Enjoy!
Robert said:
TO ROBERT: Do you really think this 18 year old is going to know that? I am sure that the readers of this thread understand where I was coming from when I posted it. Yes, there are some reputable rental companies out there. But many aren't and you know that is true!
TO THE OP: IF you have a credit card go to one of the big car rental companies. After you do that then go back to my original posts.
TO anyone else that got something to write: I am curious to read that I am wrong about that and then I will tell you that you are not on the same island that I am on.
Enjoy!
Last edited:
*Sigh*
How many 18 year olds do you know that drive all over the countryside Robert? My posts were directed at the OP who wrote that they were 18 years old. My posts hold creedence and the wise will see that I wasn't being overly dire and only wish to see these people come back down again and again.
Now tell me that the dangers do not exist? To scare is sometimes a good thing Robert. How many tourists get hurt or killed every year on these dark and dangerous roads because they weren't advised of the dangers? Drunks? Don't drink and drive? No kidding! I wasn't writing about the tourists, I was writing about the Dominican that was playing dominos all day long! Live and work there? So do I! I also drive all around the country. I still listen to the news on the road about dangers. I am sure you have been through the cumbre at night. No guardrails, many times no visibility?
Robert, I understand your concerns, they are real. So I are mine.
Back to the OP. Everyone here wants you to have a safe trip. Read these posts and take heed.
Robert said:Of course you scare people, what do you think a newbie would think if this was the first post they had read? You make it sound like a police state which is 100% misinformation.
I live and work here full-time, I drive all over the country and have done so for years and have encountered very little trouble.
Thousands of tourists drive all over this country every year and never have a problem. The best way to see this country as a tourist is rent a car and go explore. You just need to be 21 for the insurance to cover you
Yes, driving here is different from USA, Japan, Brazil or outback Australia, but with a little common sense you will be fine driving here for the first time, just like the thousands of other people that do it.
Bottom line advice from DR1. If you old enough to rent a car, do it. See the country, get out and about and you will see a side of the DR you never knew existed and what 99% of all-inclusive tourists miss. Use a little common sense, don't drive at night or drunk and you'll be fine.
How many 18 year olds do you know that drive all over the countryside Robert? My posts were directed at the OP who wrote that they were 18 years old. My posts hold creedence and the wise will see that I wasn't being overly dire and only wish to see these people come back down again and again.
Now tell me that the dangers do not exist? To scare is sometimes a good thing Robert. How many tourists get hurt or killed every year on these dark and dangerous roads because they weren't advised of the dangers? Drunks? Don't drink and drive? No kidding! I wasn't writing about the tourists, I was writing about the Dominican that was playing dominos all day long! Live and work there? So do I! I also drive all around the country. I still listen to the news on the road about dangers. I am sure you have been through the cumbre at night. No guardrails, many times no visibility?
Robert, I understand your concerns, they are real. So I are mine.
Back to the OP. Everyone here wants you to have a safe trip. Read these posts and take heed.
If I am overly scaring you
Please be careful and keep in mind that it isn't the USA. If you have been to Thailand and Guatamala then you are probably experienced enough to drive here too. I still believe that you have to be at least 21 years old to rent a car here.
nlove88 said:
Please be careful and keep in mind that it isn't the USA. If you have been to Thailand and Guatamala then you are probably experienced enough to drive here too. I still believe that you have to be at least 21 years old to rent a car here.
When you say stuff like "INSANE is the only word I can use to explain it" it's misinformation. Sorry, I have driven all over the world, Rio, Bangkok, Tokyo, London, Manila, New York, Paris, etc. The DR is NOT an insane place to drive, yes, I have driven all over it. From the highways to the goat tracks. Sometimes I even write about it.
http://www.dr1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42595
http://www.dr1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2816
I never said dangers do not exist. We all know they exist, just like they exist in any country you drive in. Some places require more awareness and common sense. I think we all know that, don't we?
Yes, people get killed, just like they do in many other places on the planet.
It's better to make people aware of the specific possible dangers, like don't drive at night, ask around to find out the road conditions, make sure you tell someone the route you plan to travel etc.
Actually, scaring someone from not driving here in my opinion is a bad thing. Making them aware of the realities and letting them decide by themselves is a good thing. We are here to inform, not scare.
Bottom line, the vast majority of tourists have a positive experience when driving in the DR.
http://www.dr1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42595
http://www.dr1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2816
I never said dangers do not exist. We all know they exist, just like they exist in any country you drive in. Some places require more awareness and common sense. I think we all know that, don't we?
Yes, people get killed, just like they do in many other places on the planet.
It's better to make people aware of the specific possible dangers, like don't drive at night, ask around to find out the road conditions, make sure you tell someone the route you plan to travel etc.
Actually, scaring someone from not driving here in my opinion is a bad thing. Making them aware of the realities and letting them decide by themselves is a good thing. We are here to inform, not scare.
Bottom line, the vast majority of tourists have a positive experience when driving in the DR.
DominicanScotty said:
Wow!!! Discouraging news to any newbies!!
Hi there.
I too am going to be a newbie coming to D.R. in Jan/06. Have already decided to probably rent a car for a couple of days at least. Because I had never been to D.R. I was seeking info and found this board. It was wonderful.
After several posts and replies, I decided that some of my fears about NOT leaving the resort were allievated. I rented a car in St.Maarten's, and , yes,,with the round a bouts thrown in there, and the drunk drivers, and the pot holes and speed bumps, and also the people that pull you over and want your money, it was a bit of a challenge. If I had been scared off, I never would have experienced what I did of that island.
Now, I am not 18 (darn it!) , but...nevertheless, when I read Dominican Scotty's post, I thought it was a bit intimidating. I truly hope there is some halfway medium in there.
The whole part of travelling is to see the country and not sit in an all inclusive and drinks the same drinks and eat the same food. I think I will take my chances and make the most of my trip.
My advice to anyone who has never been to D.R.......read as many posts on this forum as you can, and try to come to terms with where your comfort level lies. Most of the information is so helpful.
I can hardly wait to see and explore as much as I can in only 1 week! The only thing that had stood out very clearly to me about driving in the D.R. is that I don't think we will venture out at night - ANYWHERE!!.
Cabarete,,,,,here we come!!!!
Meg
Hi there.
I too am going to be a newbie coming to D.R. in Jan/06. Have already decided to probably rent a car for a couple of days at least. Because I had never been to D.R. I was seeking info and found this board. It was wonderful.
After several posts and replies, I decided that some of my fears about NOT leaving the resort were allievated. I rented a car in St.Maarten's, and , yes,,with the round a bouts thrown in there, and the drunk drivers, and the pot holes and speed bumps, and also the people that pull you over and want your money, it was a bit of a challenge. If I had been scared off, I never would have experienced what I did of that island.
Now, I am not 18 (darn it!) , but...nevertheless, when I read Dominican Scotty's post, I thought it was a bit intimidating. I truly hope there is some halfway medium in there.
The whole part of travelling is to see the country and not sit in an all inclusive and drinks the same drinks and eat the same food. I think I will take my chances and make the most of my trip.
My advice to anyone who has never been to D.R.......read as many posts on this forum as you can, and try to come to terms with where your comfort level lies. Most of the information is so helpful.
I can hardly wait to see and explore as much as I can in only 1 week! The only thing that had stood out very clearly to me about driving in the D.R. is that I don't think we will venture out at night - ANYWHERE!!.
Cabarete,,,,,here we come!!!!
Meg
Yes, perhaps scary
The "cop" in me I guess. Sorry to intimidate people. Drive carefully if you rent a car. But I suggest hiring a driver until you learn your way around.
megamania said:
The "cop" in me I guess. Sorry to intimidate people. Drive carefully if you rent a car. But I suggest hiring a driver until you learn your way around.
Thanks everyone for your replies.
I didn't mean for the message to be so controversial...I was just curious on what the age was to rent cars in the DR as I will be turning 18 when I am down in Santiago, Santo Domingo and Boca Chica in late November. It's my first trip to the DR and hopefully not the last. I am already planning where else I'll go if I return in March (if I enjoy it).
Thanks again.
I didn't mean for the message to be so controversial...I was just curious on what the age was to rent cars in the DR as I will be turning 18 when I am down in Santiago, Santo Domingo and Boca Chica in late November. It's my first trip to the DR and hopefully not the last. I am already planning where else I'll go if I return in March (if I enjoy it).
Thanks again.
Have a good time and be safe
We debate on this forum. No big deal! Many people have their ideals regarding this enchanting island. Some choose to close their eyes, then some choose to sugar coat things. I do neither!
Have fun and especially be safe!
nlove88 said:
We debate on this forum. No big deal! Many people have their ideals regarding this enchanting island. Some choose to close their eyes, then some choose to sugar coat things. I do neither!
Have fun and especially be safe!
The scariest thing I found in driving in the DR is when you get lost, people tell you the wrong directions and you get lost more. Once I was lost in Santiago trying to find the road to Puerto Plata and with my little spanish just asked 'Puerto Plata?' ...someone would point toward left at the upcoming intersection..I would turn left and then ask someone a minute later 'Puerto Plata' and the next guy would point me back in the other direction where I came from.
On another note, yesterday I was driving Santiago-POP (I know the way now) and a car was coming at me full speed on the wrong side of the empty highway (1 lane each way) - On a straight so he didnt even have a curve as an excuse to be in my lane. I had to almost pull off the road to avoid a head on collision. 3 minutes later we ran into a traffic wreck (probably happened 30 mins to an 1hr before) and there was a dead body laying on the side of the road covered with a sheet.
You figure someone who just saw a wreck like that would be careful to drive on the right side of the road but maybe he was freaked out from the wreck, who knows.
If the OP is careful and speaks some spanish he should be ok. but i wouldnt want my 18 year old to do it.
On another note, yesterday I was driving Santiago-POP (I know the way now) and a car was coming at me full speed on the wrong side of the empty highway (1 lane each way) - On a straight so he didnt even have a curve as an excuse to be in my lane. I had to almost pull off the road to avoid a head on collision. 3 minutes later we ran into a traffic wreck (probably happened 30 mins to an 1hr before) and there was a dead body laying on the side of the road covered with a sheet.
You figure someone who just saw a wreck like that would be careful to drive on the right side of the road but maybe he was freaked out from the wreck, who knows.
If the OP is careful and speaks some spanish he should be ok. but i wouldnt want my 18 year old to do it.
Thanks Robert! Wow!
Back to the thread... My son drove from the US right down to Panama when he was 18 - not a rental though. Took him and a buddy 6 weeks to do the drive. I think it all depends what kind of 18 year old you are... I do not know the legal requirements in terms of age for renting a vehicle here. I would suggest you buy the most comprehensive insurance you can get.
Back to the thread... My son drove from the US right down to Panama when he was 18 - not a rental though. Took him and a buddy 6 weeks to do the drive. I think it all depends what kind of 18 year old you are... I do not know the legal requirements in terms of age for renting a vehicle here. I would suggest you buy the most comprehensive insurance you can get.
nlove88 said:
Oh, you'll enjoy it. One of the things that I realized when I started traveling to the DR was the fact that, immediately upon my return to the states, I began planning my next trip. That always seems to be part of the fun. I am going there in 1 week, have already bought a return ticket for the end of December-early January, and imagine that I will have made arrangements for another trip by the time I return from my November trip. It's crazy, but it's fun. Have a good time!