To/From Las Terranas by Bus

[Aceman]

I am deciding whether to rent a car or take the bus to Las Terranas from Santo Domingo Airport. I am not afraid of car travel as I have done it numerous times in the Caribbean and Central America. A couple of questions:

1) Do I really need the supplemental insurance the car agency will offer, or will a combination of my US Insurance (very comprehensive) and Credit card protection be enough?

2) Will I need a car once I get there? From what I have read it seems like I can both relax and party in Las Terranas and take day trips and/or rent a car or moped from there if I want to explore?

3) How much does it cost to get from the Airport to the Bus terminal in Santo Domingo? Do I need to take a taxi, or is there a bus that will take you there?

4) When I depart back to US, my flight leaves @ 11:00am from SDQ. Is there a way to get back to Santa Domingo that morning by bus in time to make that flight, or will I need to leave the day before if I do not rent a car.

I'm looking forward to this trip.

Thanks,
Ace

[mountainannie]

Originally Posted by Aceman

I am deciding whether to rent a car or take the bus to Las Terranas from Santo Domingo Airport. I am not afraid of car travel as I have done it numerous times in the Caribbean and Central America. A couple of questions:

1) Do I really need the supplemental insurance the car agency will offer, or will a combination of my US Insurance (very comprehensive) and Credit card protection be enough?

2) Will I need a car once I get there? From what I have read it seems like I can both relax and party in Las Terranas and take day trips and/or rent a car or moped from there if I want to explore?

3) How much does it cost to get from the Airport to the Bus terminal in Santo Domingo? Do I need to take a taxi, or is there a bus that will take you there?

4) When I depart back to US, my flight leaves @ 11:00am from SDQ. Is there a way to get back to Santa Domingo that morning by bus in time to make that flight, or will I need to leave the day before if I do not rent a car.

I'm looking forward to this trip.

Thanks,
Ace

You don't need a car in LT unless you are staying in Playa Bonita or way out of town... if you are in one of the hotel near the village, you can hop a moto and have more fun.

You can only take a taxi from the airport in SDQ, there are no buses.

The bus from Caribe Tours goes to Samana and then there is guagua that takes you over the mountain...... very easy,.. very comfortable

Also there is direct guagua that takes you to LT but less comfortable for tourists with baggage.. although you could pay extra for two seats with bags... It leaves from the Samana stop behind La Sirena in the Zona... I will leave it to a current LT resident to post the schedule.

You can get your car insurance covered with coverage with American Express, I don{t know about the others. If you rent in LT be careful to check the deductible,.. because some of them have this weird.. like $3000 deductible. I think that ADA will give you comprehensive.

For an 11 AM flight, I would be in town the night before, but there are also flights out of Portillo that you can check that might give you a good connection to make you flight home

Enjoy your vacation

[Aceman]

Hi Annie -

I am staying in LT at a Hotel on Playa Las Bellanas. Not as far as Playa Bonita from what I see on the map.

Is that too far away?

Also, I think this is covered on these boards, but what is the cost of the taxi from the SDQ airport to the bus station?

Thanks Annie!

Ace

[Facility]

$30 from the airport to anyplace in SD is more or less standard fee, but don't assume it, _state_ it to the driver before boarding, otherwise after the ride they will request more.

Motoconchos are aplenty to and from Lass Bellenas, no prob.

[Aceman]

So it's $60 for taxi's plus the bus fares, and $40 for a hotel room cause I gotta leave the night before (my room in LT is already paid for) vs. $150 plus gas & the tolls to have access to a car for the entire week, and being able to leave for the airport very early the morning of my flight. I'm figuring if I leave by 5-6am I can find my way to the airport in four hours to make the 11am flight. Is that doable?

The only reasons to not rent a car is to be able to enjoy the scenery and not worry about the road, meet some locals or other tourists and to see the city of Santo Domingo for the night. Is it worth it for one night?

Thank you for your advice so far.

[ben jammin]

personally i would rent the car. the new highway to las terrenas is very close to the SD airport and easy to find. although it is walkable to town from playa las ballenas it is is a bit long and if carrying anything(groceries, booze,etc.)the car will come in handy. just be sure to have pesos for the tolls on the new highway when you leave the airport. my wife and i went last fall and took a taxi to/from SD, rented atv's while in las terrenas. if i had it to do over i would rent a car and do the atv's a day or two just to go to playa bonita and playa coson and do excursions for other parts of the peninsula. good luck, you will enjoy the area ben

[Aceman]

Thanks Ben, that was my thought as well.

peace.

[Expat-in-Cabarete]

Just a piece of advice, contact your insurance company in the US to check on coverage. I had great coverage even when renting overseas from Geico. One day I decided to call to check on that again, and no more such coverage. Also coverage from US credit cards do not include liability. I even bought special additional coverage from Amex but there was no liability just theft included. My Visa card, I had to call several times, and indeed just theft, collision, etc., but no liability. I ended up having to buy from car rental company. Finally, do ask about deductibles specially from small car rental companies. It's true that they have $3,000 deductibles and don't sell any additional coverage.

I always rent from the US before traveling. I realized that budget rent-a-car has very good rates if you have a US drivers license. Yet, if you don't reserve, or go directly to the country site (instead of the US site) the rates are much much higher.

Have a great trip and enjoy your visit to LT

[mountainannie]

If I were out at Ballenas, I would want a car. Conchos can be hard to find out there. And you will get to see more of the peninsula which is great.

of course, you will miss the true LT experience, which is the motochonco!

REMEMBER BRING TWICE THE MONEY!

the restaurants in LT are the best in the DR!

[Aceman]

Originally Posted by Expat-in-Cabarete

Just a piece of advice, contact your insurance company in the US to check on coverage. I had great coverage even when renting overseas from Geico. One day I decided to call to check on that again, and no more such coverage. Also coverage from US credit cards do not include liability. I even bought special additional coverage from Amex but there was no liability just theft included. My Visa card, I had to call several times, and indeed just theft, collision, etc., but no liability. I ended up having to buy from car rental company. Finally, do ask about deductibles specially from small car rental companies. It's true that they have $3,000 deductibles and don't sell any additional coverage.

I always rent from the US before traveling. I realized that budget rent-a-car has very good rates if you have a US drivers license. Yet, if you don't reserve, or go directly to the country site (instead of the US site) the rates are much much higher.

Have a great trip and enjoy your visit to LT

Thanks for the advice on checking the liability issue. I am going to check with my local insurer as my visa card does not cover this. I seem to recall they don't and I had to buy it on a trip I took to Mexico. I did rent the car from Payless, from their US site. but have never used that company outside the US. I guess I should investigate their web site a bit as well. Not sure they are a small company in the scheme of things.