Bus / Guagua

[Symetown]

Hi,
I'd like your advice please. I'm a backpacker and enjoy independent, budget travel. I'm interested in starting my trip in Santo Domingo and was hoping to spend a few days there and then making my way to Bayahibe for a few days, hopping on a boat and going to Isla Saona. I'll be coming by myself, I'm a 200 lb gringo, traveling with one backpack, and I'm fluent in Spanish. This is my first time in the DR. I've travelled in Puerto Rico, Panama, and Brazil without incident. One of my travel rules is to lock up the credit cards and passport and only carry as much cash as I can afford to lose at one time. And if I have a bag, I usually take a cab rather than a bus.
I'm having a hard time figuring out how to get from the capital to Bayahibe safely, without relying on a $100 cab ride. Could I take a guagua during the daytime, with my bag, my passport, debit card, and cash? My gut tells me that that is a bad idea. What do you think? Is it possible / safe to catch a bus to La Romana and then guagua to the village of Bayahibe? I really wanted to spend some time there, but I'm thinking of taking a bus to B?varo instead, because it looks more accessible for me. Thanks for your ideas.

 

[malko]

Couldnt speak for SD or laromana or bahibe.......but in my campo here on the NC,guagua is one of the safest ways to travel.....
I am due a trip to the capital and I do not go in the SUV.
I go by guagua. I feel safe, the driver knows the road, knows where to stop,etc.......
Some guaguas work on a line/route and stop every so often.
I prefer the more "personal" kind ( in my case my campo to SD, non stop ). You phone the driver the day before and tell him the number of seats you need. He picks you up at a prearrainged time, at your house and delovers you to your destination in the capital.
That way no sweat for your luggage ( as opposed to the guaguas who stop along the way, and each time you have to check someone is not walking off with your backpack. )

Also,since guagauas are cheap(ish), you could pay for a seat for yourself and another for your bag.

 

[Xavier_Onassis]

There are guaguas everywhere. You could take a cab from SDQ Airport to the next town east, which is Boca Chica, and catch a guagua from there on to La Romana and another on to Bayahibe from there. You could even take a cab to the highway in front of SDQ and catch a bus East from there to San Pedro, and on from there. I have taken a cab to the highway ($300 pesos, from the top deck of the airport) and into SD and on to Barahona (which is W of Santo Domingo) five times now and never had any problems. I would not do this at night, though.

In a smaller guagua, your backpack might have to pay the same fare as a passenger, but this is not much when compared to a cab ride, but it will be right next to you or at least somewhere that you can keep an eye on it. I have never had a problem with a bag disappearing. I won't say it has never happened to anyone, but I know of no such tales.

Unlike other countries, there is no central bus terminal. Each company has its own. Some have something more like a "spot" than an actual terminal.

If you do take a cab for a longer distance, go up to the second floor of the terminal and ask one of the guys in a yellow shirt. You can negotiate a price better from there. Once you have established where you are going to, the guy will run off and return with a taxi. That always works for me. The worst money changing fees before you get to customs in the airport. Once you have gone thru customs, they have slightly better rates. I would not change more than $100 in the airport. Usually, I have some pesos when I arrive from my last trip. I would say that 42DOP to $1.00 USD, and no commission is a good deal. You can get up to 44 in SD. We have a listing of this on this site daily.
Que tenga un feliz viaje.

 

[RonS]

I'm a frequent visitor to the DR and have traveled around the country often from SD to the Samana peninsula, SE, and SW to Barahona. I have always used either the Caribe Tours bus or the guaguas, and in the last five years or so, exclusively the guagua. I don't think you get the flavor of the country as authentically any other way. I have never had a problem. The Dominican people have been very good to me and I have had a great experience traveling around with them in their country. I am always careful and I have always been respectful. The Dominican people have always reciprocated. I've carried cash on me, kept an eye on my one small piece of luggage and small bag, and remained pretty low-key without flashy jewelry or expensive clothing, and I've had a wonderful time. I don't, however, travel at night. You shouldn't have a problem. Enjoy your trip!

BTW being fluent in Spanish will help immeasurably. As I'm sure you're aware, Dominican Spanish is a little different than what you may be accustomed to.

 

[RV429]

OK so you are going SDQ to SD to Bayahibe. Yes, guaguas are normally safe, especially for a poor looking Spanish speaking backpacker.
SDQ to SD, you can walk out of the terminal to the road and grab a motoconcho to the highway for say 100 RD; then take a guagua or two into SD (or just take a $45 Cab). Then from SD to Bayahibe take a Bus from the parque to La Romana and then a guagua to Bayahibe. Easy to do and cheap.
At your hotel or hostel in SD just ask them the bus info to La Romana, easy, and several departures/day in a real bus. The bus stops in LaRomana near the guagua terminal so easy to walk to the guagua. Just don't flash cash or bling and keep your luggage in sight. This is really not hard to do for a Spanish speaking traveller.

 

[Symetown]

Thank you for your help. What I was wondering, is it safe to take a guagua with your passport, cash, debit card on your body? I would be on the move, between hotels, near the beginning of my trip, and the idea of traveling with my loot makes me a little nervous. I don't think I will be able to lock it up anywhere, until I get to my destination.

 

[RonS]

Personally, I have not had a problem with that. But, as noted, I would not do that at night.

 

[franco1111]

Thank you for your help. What I was wondering, is it safe to take a guagua with your passport, cash, debit card on your body? I would be on the move, between hotels, near the beginning of my trip, and the idea of traveling with my loot makes me a little nervous. I don't think I will be able to lock it up anywhere, until I get to my destination.

The gua gua from La Romana to Bayahibe is safe. You will probably be the only white person if you are white, although sometimes there are stray Italians. It doesn't matter what color you are, by the way. Just thought I would say it so you don't worry. But it sounds like you are experienced with this. You might want to do the trip in the day, though. Things can change at night. It only runs until about 7 at night though, so trips late at night are not possible anyways.

Sometimes they charge to take your bag on the gua gua and sometimes not. (There is no storage under these small gua guas)

 

[Xavier_Onassis]

I have made many trips to the DR starting in 1978 and have never encountered any problems with assault, mugging, pickpockets or theft. If you arrive when it is dark, there is no problem waiting at the SDQ airport. I have met a lot of interesting people waiting for flights to arrive from Europe in one of the all night restaurants. It is best, however, to arrive during the day.

 

[mofongoloco]

Thank you for your help. What I was wondering, is it safe to take a guagua with your passport, cash, debit card on your body? I would be on the move, between hotels, near the beginning of my trip, and the idea of traveling with my loot makes me a little nervous. I don't think I will be able to lock it up anywhere, until I get to my destination.

Do you use a travel "safe"? I have been looking at some on the Internet and can't decide. The kind u can attach to a radiator or pipe.

 

[RonS]

lol. I think the OP is talking about the safety of his valuables while traveling around in a vehicle. Most hotels, even inexpensive hotels, have safes. As long as you are careful and low-keyed, you'll be fine. I would only add that you should keep the bulk of your money and your other valuables separated from the money that you intend to use so as not to disclose all that you are carrying.

 

[anng3]

Get a money belt for passport, money and cc and put what you need for a day in your pocket.

 

[Xavier_Onassis]

I find that when traveling one of those pouches you wear around your neck is useful for traveling. I would recommend long pants with buttoned pockets as ideal, since you might be traveling via motoconcho and do not want your stuff sliding out. Dominican men do not wear shorts, other than at the beach, so shorts make a man rather conspicuously foreign in appearance. So do fanny packs. Some sort pocket coin purse is useful. Do not expect anyone to have change for anything larger than an RD $500 peso bill, which is worth about $11.50. When you change your dollars, try to avoid $1000 and $2000 peso bills for that reason. Take some zip seal sandwich baggies and keep your passport and other important papers in one to avoid it getting wet from rain, sweat or falling in water anywhere.

 

[Harleysrock]

I am sure you will be fine OP. I hear of way more problems with gringos driving on their own than in Guagua's.

 

[Xavier_Onassis]

Hahaha Half the men walking down the street wear shorts. Maybe not to the office, but out in public check out the first 100 men that walk by and I assure you 50 of them or more are gonna be in shorts.

Perhaps this is true where you are. You will not see grown men in shorts in Barahona. I am not opposed to shorts at all.

 

[Symetown]

I've never heard of that. If I stay in a hotel, I look for one that offers a safe in the room. If I stay in a hostel, I'll put my valuables in a locker and use a padlock on it. When I go out on the street in Latin America, I usually never carry my ATM card unless I'm on my way to withdraw money right then from a machine inside a bank. I don't usually carry my iPhone, and I usually only wander around with enough cash to buy two meals and a few drinks. I've never been robbed, but I could live with losing that kind of money if it happened. Under those circumstances, I usually feel pretty comfortable exploring a city, using public transportation, or even going out partying a bit, depending on what the neighborhood looks like.

 

[Xavier_Onassis]

T shirt, yes, they are very popular. But I have not seen adult men wearing shorts in Barahona, other than it the beach. There were lots of men wearing shorts in Juan Dolio, but they were not Dominicans. I think that there must be a difference between the various parts of the DR.
If you ride any motoconchos, wear fairly thick socks or risk getting burned on the tailpipe.

 

[RonS]

Barahona is a small DR city in the southwest and is not very tourist friendly. I was being adventurous and I visited there once. It is very different from other places. When I arrived it was clear to me that most knew that I was a tourista notwithstanding that I have often been mistaken for Dominican in many, many places. And you're right XO, I did not see any men wearing shorts. I have not found that to be the norm in the Samana Peninsula, in SFM, Nagua, Rio San Juan/Gaspere Hernandez, or anywhere in the southeast. And certainly not in Cabarete/Sosua. The only time I felt uncomfortable wearing shorts was in a Caribe Bus where they routinely have the a/c blasting to frigid temps. The OP will be fine.

 

[AlterEgo]

I have to agree with XO - when you get away from beaches, you will not see Dominican men wearing shorts in public. Tourists/foreigners are a different story, as are Dominican-Americans. I base this on about 40 years of visiting DR.

My husband has 4 brothers who live in Santo Domingo - only 1 of them ever wears a t-shirt occasionally, the others wear long sleeve dress shirts every day. They may roll up the sleeves, but never a short sleeve dress shirt. The one who comes to visit us most often "dresses down" for the campo: a Ralph Lauren polo shirt [I think he has 30+ of them], jeans/pants, loafers. On the other hand, that's about as dressy as Mr. AE gets in DR, unless we're going to a funeral.

Even the poor campo men where we live are in long pants. Usually a t-shirt, sometimes flip flops though.

Even our Haitian caretaker wears jeans, shirt and sneakers when he leaves our property - when he's working on a hot day, he and Mr. AE are usually in shorts and shirtless.

 

[Xavier_Onassis]

Barahona has very few tourists. I am an American "Anglo" and people there ask me if I am a missionary or with the Cuerpo de Paz. It is not at all an unfriendly place, though. It is a bit reminiscent of Mexican Pacific fishing towns like Tecoman, Colima back in the 60's. The only men I have seen dressed in something other than long pants and a tee shirt or short sleeved shirt are those who work in the bank. The guys in the Claro office wear long sleeved shirts and neckties, but no jackets. When the temperature drops below 75? F, you start hearing "?Ay que fr?o! and some people break out sweaters.

There are some hotels that cater to tourists, but most are a ways from the Malecon and are sort of self-contained. On weekends the place to be is either cruising the Malec?n on a Chinese moto or watching those that do, while listening to bachata and dancing.

Younger women generally dress in long pants or shorts and "franelas" which are tank tops.