SDQ: is 2000 DOP enough?

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DR fan1990

Well-known member
Sep 22, 2020
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Flying back to the capital soon, and I wonder if 2000 pesos should be enough to cover a taxi trip from the airport to the La Castellana neighborhood (in the national district)?

Also, can I order an uber from the airport with the airport Wi-Fi connection or not? (No Dominican sim card in my phone).

And if Uber isn't available from SDQ and/or I'm unable to order one, which reliable cab company should I look for after landing? I'll be exiting the airport late at night (11:00pm ish), with a small luggage and a carry- on, and I'm not trying to get robbed by frauds lurking at night.
 
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IslandCabby

Member
Jan 7, 2017
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Safest bet, wait till early morning and take a cab. Tradeoffs are traffic and having to wait, however it's too easy to get followed from the airport late at night under the best conditions, regardless of whether your driver is trustworthy or not (do NOT blindly trust driver apps), or boxed in when you get to your destination. Airport Wifi instructions here: https://www.aeropuertolasamericas.com/?q=en/servicios/wifi. As an alternate there are businesses at the airport that have Wifi, including the banks BUT they're not open at night and it really depends on whether you can see the signs with the Wifi Passwords. A trustworthy and quick company is Apollo 8095370000, Alternate is 8095644444 Ruta/Anacaona and the best option is always to go to the information desk at the airport and ask them to get you a cab, even if it's pricier, your life's always worth more. When you get to your destination look at your surroundings/other vehicles before exiting. $2000 is what cabs will charge if there's one already at the airport (Usually Apollo since they're the largest) and it's one way. If you call one that's far from the airport they might charge you for a roundtrip so 1 1/2 up 2x that amount. Airport cabs will probably want around US$80-$100.
 
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irishpaddy

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Sep 3, 2013
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Yellow cabs right outside the airport door are the best bet .....clean and comfortable.......good drivers ....and they are monitored ...ive used them numerous times
 
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DR fan1990

Well-known member
Sep 22, 2020
650
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IslandCabby said:
Safest bet, wait till early morning and take a cab. Tradeoffs are traffic and having to wait, however it's too easy to get followed from the airport late at night under the best conditions, regardless of whether your driver is trustworthy or not (do NOT blindly trust driver apps), or boxed in when you get to your destination. Airport Wifi instructions here: https://www.aeropuertolasamericas.com/?q=en/servicios/wifi. As an alternate there are businesses at the airport that have Wifi, including the banks BUT they're not open at night and it really depends on whether you can see the signs with the Wifi Passwords. A trustworthy and quick company is Apollo 8095370000, Alternate is 8095644444 Ruta/Anacaona and the best option is always to go to the information desk at the airport and ask them to get you a cab, even if it's pricier, your life's always worth more. When you get to your destination look at your surroundings/other vehicles before exiting. $2000 is what cabs will charge if there's one already at the airport (Usually Apollo since they're the largest) and it's one way. If you call one that's far from the airport they might charge you for a roundtrip so 1 1/2 up 2x that amount. Airport cabs will probably want around US$80-$100.
Click to expand...

I mean I'll pay $100 if I have to, if that's what it takes to not mugged at night (I'll be carrying USD bills as well) but holy shit that sounds like a lot for a one-way into distrito nacional.

Isn't Uber available for pick-ups at SDQ if you order it? Or is it banned like they banned it at PUJ ?
 
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Kipling333

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Jan 12, 2010
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Yes .an accurate answer. the man who is working the line will also give you the price which you can confirm with the driver.
 
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IslandCabby

Member
Jan 7, 2017
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DR is the land of opportuni.. well opportunistic pricing anyway. It's about where you're going. The "nicer" the destination and the more "gringo" the client the more elevated the cost. You'll get charged less to a barrio further away than you'd get charged to go to Naco, Piantini or Los Prados/Castellana. All that said:

The service is provided directly by SICHALA.

You can contact them by calling 1-809-549-0245/ 1-809-549-0011 / 1-809-549-0364.

For more information, you can visit Taxi SICHALA

NOTE: The info on their site is at least 6 years old. If you want to be sure about the rate call. Do NOT reserve a cab, signalling your visit is a really bad idea right now.
 
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Liberator

Liberator

Luck is for the unprepared
Jan 23, 2021
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In addition: See if it is possible to share a taxi with someone you met during the flight. You share the costs and are not alone in the taxi for the entire ride.
 
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MariaRubia

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Jun 25, 2019
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US$ 80-100? Crazy prices. My staff order cabs for people arriving in the middle of the night and the rate is always US$ 30-US$40. Call or Whatsapp Jesus, 809 432 0999, he drives for expats and hotels, speaks English. Tell him your flight number and he will have someone waiting for you in the arrivals area with a sign. He will charge maximum US$ 40.
 
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MariaRubia

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Jun 25, 2019
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Liberator said:
In addition: See if it is possible to share a taxi with someone you met during the flight. You share the costs and are not alone in the taxi for the entire ride.
Click to expand...

No don't do that either. You don't know them from Adam either. Whenever you read these threads about someone who just lost their life savings, it always starts with "It all started when I found myself sitting next to this nice guy on a flight..."

Just book with a trusted driver. A lot of us on here have been around years, run businesses, know people.
 
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MariaRubia

Well-known member
Jun 25, 2019
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IslandCabby said:
DR is the land of opportuni.. well opportunistic pricing anyway. It's about where you're going. The "nicer" the destination and the more "gringo" the client the more elevated the cost. You'll get charged less to a barrio further away than you'd get charged to go to Naco, Piantini or Los Prados/Castellana. All that said:

The service is provided directly by SICHALA.

You can contact them by calling 1-809-549-0245/ 1-809-549-0011 / 1-809-549-0364.

For more information, you can visit Taxi SICHALA

NOTE: The info on their site is at least 6 years old. If you want to be sure about the rate call. Do NOT reserve a cab, signalling your visit is a really bad idea right now.
Click to expand...

With the greatest of respect sir (I presume you are a man), you are a new member and you're giving out advice incorrect information. No taxi from the airport to the Distrito Nacional should be RD$ 5,000. That's an eye-watering amount and completely incorrect. And anyone arriving in the middle of the night should book with a trusted, known, driver. If you're going to a hotel, get the hotel to book - there is no hotel that will risk using a driver for a night-time pick-up that they don't personally know. If anything goes wrong, you can make a formal complaint to the ministry of tourism and the hotel will be deep in the doodoo. And if you're going to a private residence, then come onto something like this forum and ask people who have lived here for years and years to give you some numbers. I've been here over 10 years now, many on here have been here for more like 20, honestly we know people who can be trusted.

I know we all have different experiences, but I am just wary of new members on this forum who appear out of the blue and start giving out advice for what could be a dangerous situation.
 
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drstock

drstock

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Oct 29, 2010
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At Puerto Plata airport the taxi guys have prices to all common destinations on a board so that there is no confusion or argument. Don't they do that at SDQ?
 
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Liberator

Liberator

Luck is for the unprepared
Jan 23, 2021
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MariaRubia said:
No don't do that either. You don't know them from Adam either. Whenever you read these threads about someone who just lost their life savings, it always starts with "It all started when I found myself sitting next to this nice guy on a flight..."

Just book with a trusted driver. A lot of us on here have been around years, run businesses, know people.
Click to expand...
I respect everyones opinion. I get chills when someone with my name tag is waiting in the lobby. Anyway maybe I will use your man in post #15. Thx for the tip
 
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IslandCabby

Member
Jan 7, 2017
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MariaRubia said:
With the greatest of respect sir (I presume you are a man), you are a new member and you're giving out advice incorrect information. No taxi from the airport to the Distrito Nacional should be RD$ 5,000. That's an eye-watering amount and completely incorrect. And anyone arriving in the middle of the night should book with a trusted, known, driver. If you're going to a hotel, get the hotel to book - there is no hotel that will risk using a driver for a night-time pick-up that they don't personally know. If anything goes wrong, you can make a formal complaint to the ministry of tourism and the hotel will be deep in the doodoo. And if you're going to a private residence, then come onto something like this forum and ask people who have lived here for years and years to give you some numbers. I've been here over 10 years now, many on here have been here for more like 20, honestly we know people who can be trusted.

I know we all have different experiences, but I am just wary of new members on this forum who appear out of the blue and start giving out advice for what could be a dangerous situation.
Click to expand...
With the greatest of respect ma'am. I've been here for 24 years. I've also been visiting DR1 for quite a long time. If you looked at my profile you'd see since when I've been a member. The airport cabs charge what they should sometimes and what they want sometimes. Yes you can get a cheap rate but if he's not prepared to pay the gringo rate and makes a bad decision to go with a "hey use this other guy Mr. Unsuspecting Gringo, he's parked down there in the parking lot or just rolling along looking for a fare" you're setting him up to get robbed or worse. Painting a pretty, cheap picture is not what's in his best interest. If you'd read through the message you'd see that I told him that $2000 was a verified possible rate, which is about $40 at airport exchange rates but if you'd recently taken an Airport Cab you'd know it's more and worse if it's late at night and they think you don't have other options. In fact if you'd looked at the SICHALA rates you'd see where the ones from 2017 were.

PS Do NOT pay people in US Currency, that's a big (I have more where that came from) flag. One thing is inside a resort, things are completely different in regular places.
 
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