Finding your bearings in Dominican Republic

Oh my goodness this is a good thread topic but it made me laugh out loud!!!

Yes we have GPS and Google maps etc. It is often a bit behind but it's better than nothing.

Road signs - well that is hit and miss. First they are in Spanish in most places, tourist areas have some in English. They are often wrong, out of date or missing!

No road signs are rarely enough to get where you are going!!!

If you ask 10 locals for directions you will get 10 different answers and incite 4 lively debates.

Do not expect anything including use of the words north, South, east or west!

Directions include hand signals and incredible use of facial features which you need to interpret.

Do not ask the local police for help, they are often more lost than you!

Get lost ask a local motorcycle Driver / Taxi to show you the way. It will cost a dollar or two!!!

Priscilla,

I revert to planners response. It is 100% accurate. GPS is my default guidance system. Her last recommendation to pay someone especially a taxi driver to guide you out of a list situation, I have employed more than once and it works! Always carry around 100 to 200 pesos for this emergency. Especially if you are in Santo Domingo.

Never ever trust the locals to tell you where you are. Unless it is about a close relative or very good friend of them, they simply do not know. Most people here have nicknames and are only known by that nickname, Gordo, Flaka, Blanco, Americano, Ajuana. Not realy helpful, (unless they are looking for a white, elderly man). Shops will not tell, they are afraid the police is looking for you, they don't want to rat on you. Motoconcho drivers are a good bet, but have some small cash in your pocket, not in a wallet. (Never ever show people your wallet).
Go to a main street and look out for people standing at the curb. They are waiting for a gwagwa. If you know the route you are saved! If you don't mind crowded small busses, public transport is pretty good and the drivers will often show you how to get from their stop to your destination.
Mark an obvious point close to your home, a bakery or a do it yourself shop on the route and refer to that by name. When you pass the point, say 'padonde puedes' and they will let you go.
Living in a non expat neigborhood and speaking the language has helped me get accepted as one of them, (Gone Native) (When I came here I could only say 'si', 'no' and 'gracias', so there is hope, even for you!)

Disclosure: only been to DR once, and only to Santo Domingo and airport therefore.

Our biggest transportation lesson: many, perhaps most, DR cabbies don't know anything except the major landmarks, routes and streets.

Several times, we had to pass our gps phones to the cabbie to help them find their way.  REALLY!

Admittedly, there is language deficiency on our part:  MINIMAL  Spanish spoken. 

We made several trips to a street named El Retiro in Pianini.  On one trip, the cabbie started driving in the opposite direction!!  Had to urgently dissuade him, and he really didn't believe us till I yanked out my phone with map/GPS and showed him the route/destination to Pianini.  He then borrowed the phone, placing it on the dash to use the gps directions/map. 

Maybe there's another El Retiro somewhere in Santo Domingo; maybe that cabbie was new! 

From that trip forward, we had the route pre-loaded and used it to negotiate with cabbies on location & fare.  In all but one case, the cabbies asked to borrow the phone to set on dash for directions.  (To their credit, each went out of their way to ensure we got our phone back before getting out of the cab.)

Lessons Learned:
- Many SD cabbies don't know their cities.
- Surprisingly, many don't have GPS on their phones, or screens are so small they are useless as real-time Nav aids.
- Using GPS & map on phone simplified Cabbies agreeing on destination and fare.
- None seemed put off by our use of the phone/map/GPS , rather they very much appreciated it.

Your mileage may vary.


Expatrusher

Many don't have Wifi or data pack on phones, too expensive for them

Uber has to have it to operate so they all have gps.

I was just in Punta Cana for 11 days buying my house.  My husband and I walked and took the gwagwa everywhere.  In Punta Cana once you learn El Cortecito, La AltaGracia, Bavaro, Jumbo and Blue Mall you can get anywhere.  You just have to learn their main areas.  I'm studying Spanish and I had no issues.  I just asked everyone to speak slower.  Everyone was friendly. It was confirmed that my husband and I are making the right decision moving to Punta Cana.

It is easier in a highly touristed area! Good for you getting out and doing it!

How are the intercity (intertown) buses? I'm sure the cost is low but how about schedule reliability, comfort/safety?

Cost is low.  The rest depend on the company you are using.

Metro Bus is probably the best quality. Very reliable and clean and also cold!

Next is Bavaro Express.

Then Caribe Tours. Less clean, more scheduled busses and usually cold.

Then all the rest.   There are dozens of smaller companies running mid size busses between towns.

Great! I'm going to spend a month in DR with no timetable or set plan (other than learning Bachata, etc.) so your bus info is perfect. Thanks!

Glad to help.  Learning bachata will be FUN!!!!

Good thinking! Be sure to visit the North shore, the Sosua/Cabarete area for sure. We are having a members meet-up on Oct. 20th. in Sosua if you are in the area.

I'll be in DR 20 Feb to 20 Mar. I'll keep an eye out for get-togethers when the time gets closer. I'm starting in Sto Dom. and ending in Punta Cana. Have some invitations up the middle and in the North; pretty much where ever the Couchsurfers are

I am in SD so we can have a coffee or ???

Sorry for delay in replying, got buried in my email.
Meeting would be great (I know no one in DR). I'll be in SD 19-26 Feb. Reach me on WhatsApp at ***if you want.
...Ken.

Noted. Please edit and remove your number Ken, we don't allow posting of personal numbers. Normally we use private messages.

My apologies. New to this forum and was just thinking about avoiding my cluttered email box and nothing else.

Priscilla wrote:

Hello,

While technology has definitely helped us navigate ourselves more easily in most countries, it's not the case everywhere.

Priscilla

I suspect a lot of us didn't have the technology to which you refer when we were younger and it was a case of planning your trips with reference to maps.

It is the same here in much of DR from what I have gathered.

Some taxi drivers in Santo Domingo are using apps to avoid traffic jambs but my experience is that the apps are not sophisticated enough and they land up taking routes where the traffic light delay is long and so the chosen route is longer. They rely on traffic densities only.

Google Earth is the one piece of technology I always use to pre-plan my trips and it does take me in to the remotest parts as well as deep into city barrios. This online map is much better than any of the available DR road maps by far.

The other fail safe tip to get to your destination end, is that once you are close, call over a moto concho driver and ask him to escort you to the destination for a few negotiated pesos.