renting a car - safe?

jeffnunner · #1 12-13-2006, 10:45 AM

Hi everyone!

My friends and I are travelling around the island in February: one night in Sto Dgo, two nights in Las Terrenas, and three nights in Cabarete.

We were originally going to take the bus all around, but now we're considering renting a car, since most of us are flying home through STI, except one who is flying home through SDQ.

Given that we won't be driving at night, would you recommend this? Lonely Planet strongly warns against potholes, police bribes, and "gringo tax" when it comes to accidents, but I don't know if this is just an "America is not the world" warning to the unseasoned traveller. Two of us are Spanish speakers, the one who has to drive himself back to SDQ isn't.

If we do rent a car, would we need a jeep or something to cross the island or would a regular car be OK?

My friend says he found a rate for USD 27 per day. Does this sound right?

Thanks in advance,
Jeff

jruane44 · #2 12-13-2006, 10:52 AM

Don't do it on your first trip. It's no joke driving in the DR. It takes a while to get some sort of comfort driving in the DR. Another thing there are alot of rent a car companys that are no good.

bigbird · #3 12-13-2006, 11:28 AM

I would not rent a car on my first visit. I made seven trips to the DR before renting a car. A car rental with full insurance is $50-60 USD per day.

Robert · #4 12-13-2006, 11:50 AM

Read the many threads on DR1 about renting a car, it's the best way to see the country. As long as you rent from a major company like National, AVIS, Alamo etc you'll be fine. Avoid the small "mickey mouse" no name companies. You might get a cheap price, but they will not support you if you break down or have a serious problem.

1000's of people rent cars here and never have a problem.
National rent over 20,000 cars every year here alone. Combine that with all the other companies and you have a lot of people happily renting and driving around the DR.

Yes, I have driven all over the country many, many times.
Yes, I drive daily here and encounter very few problems, haven't been stopped by the police looking for a bribe in years.

My advice, go rent a car and see the country!

http://www.dr1.com/national/cars.html

jeffnunner · #5 12-13-2006, 02:58 PM

Thanks for the advice so far! Please feel free to leave more comments about driving cross-country.

EMTuKnowMe · #6 12-13-2006, 10:24 PM

dont know exactly what youre used to when it comes to driving, nor do i know anything about your background, but, i was just in santiago and punta cana for about a week, and i cant imagine that driving is something anyone would consider in the DR if its your first time. Besides the missing street signs, or the fact that they seem to change everyday, you will need to accustom yourself to sharing the road with horses, donkeys, motoconchos, and the like. Furthermore, traffic lights often are out of service due to "se fue la luz", and what are called potholes in the DR might be called sink holes here in the US. Oh. and by the way. watch out for landslides.
Is renting a driver familiar with the roads of the DR an option for you? Might work better. good luck.

JODY JOHNSON · #7 12-15-2006, 05:37 PM

We drove around punta cana and bavaro, driving no problem
but the Avis guy was an absolute crook, make sure you know what you are paying, i had to threaten charge back on credit card, he adjusted the bill, but still ripped us off,,,

CommTHOR · #8 12-16-2006, 02:23 AM

There is certainly a different driving style than America in the D.R.

I've only been down 3 times so far, and am still not ready to rent a car - although with a couple more trips under my belt I'll consider it again. Unless you've seen how they drive, I'd certainly recommend you see how they drive before renting a car and heading out. You'd be lucky to make it out of the airport parking lot.. lol

From what I've seen so far:
-Rule of the road #1: The bigger your vehicle is the more rules you make.

-Rule of the road #2: Traffic lights aren't mandatory - think of them as friendly guides (as long as they don't inconvenience you)
-Rule of the road #3: If driving at night, High beams are mandatory. Low beams are for girls and wimps.

Joking aside, I'd say you'd have to see how it is first hand before making the decision - and then making the decision wether you are personally comfortable. I was raring to rent a motorcycle before my first trip - I wanted to boot all over. That changed once I took the bus ride from the airport.