Dogs in the airport

Welcome.to the forums!  Yes you can honey!

Sure can, did it with our 2 when we moved here.  Depending on your home country, you'll need to fill out the proper forms from your Government to give to the Government here.  Vet checks, rabies (the one year, the DR doesn't accept multi-year vaccines), and the proper fee for the Ministry of Agriculture at the DR airport.  It was $20US per dog, I believe?  The hardest parts were getting the proper paperwork in the 10 day timeline, and checking in our dogs.  Getting them from POP airport was a breeze!!  Bring lots of copies of the paperwork, and we taped it in a ziploc bag to the tops of the kennels to make sure whoever needed it had it when they needed it.  Good luck!

Good advise UB. And you are correct. Getting the dogs from US or CA is much more detailed and time line sensitive than getting them through the POP Airport.

When you get them in, check in with a vet, I recommend Dr. Bob. There could be inoculations your pets need specific to DR.

I hope things go well for you!

I've been emailing back and forth with Dr. Bob!  Thank you.

This is great! I have been making sure I get all the documentation I need, checking with the airline and the airport here.  I was just worried about getting there.  Thank you so much.

Hello, My husband and I are moving to the Dominican from Canada with our 2 dogs in about 6 months.  I have looked into the requirements, paperwork, flights etc. and I think it all makes sense.  My question now is what is the best way to get them to our new home in the Sosua area from the airport?  We will have 4 lg suitcases, 1 10lb Chihuahua x and 1 45lb Australian kelpie both with crates.  Will a taxi accept us or would we be better off renting a car?  Any other suggestions are welcome as well!

@Flatlanders2025

Personally,  I would rent a car with full insurance coverage.  My opinion

@CHRISTOPHER DAVID56

Thank you for your reply! How is it to drive there if you have not driven in the country before? I am leaning in this direction but I am definitely not familiar with the “rules of the roads” or have the slightest clue how to get where im going, does google maps work or am I better off with an actual road map?

Eduar Taxi/Edward Taxi in Cabarete (near Sosua) and Santo Domingo Taxi both do long-distance trips and can take a lot of luggage. You could ask them if they take dogs in crates, my guess would be yes. They have English speaking staff and I think they both have websites. I'm not sure if Sosua is in the second company's service area but it's worth a try as they are excellent.

There are probably other similar companies. You could have a look at Sosua-oriented Facebook pages to see if you can find other recommendations.

You might want to put off your first Dominican Republic driving experience until you can engage with that challenge in a more leisurely way with less at stake. Traffic here is ...different.

@CHRISTOPHER DAVID56

Hello, I always use Full Throttle Rent A Car - they have good rates and most importantly, they have integrity. The main office is in Acropolis Center , but for an extra $30 dollars they will bring the car to the airport and meet you in person. I dont bother with rent a car agency's at the airport. They are merciless and to be avoided at all costs. Same for taxis at the airport. Don't even talk to them....except to say , firmly, NO! Cant give you thier number or web addy. But google will find them reference Santo Domingo - Full Throttle - Tell them Brandon from Los Angeles sent you. You are welcome.

@Flatlanders2025

Hello, I always use Full Throttle Rent A Car - they have good rates and most importantly, they have integrity. The main office is in Acropolis Center , but for an extra $30 dollars they will bring the car to the airport and meet you in person. I dont bother with rent a car agency's at the airport. They are merciless and to be avoided at all costs. Same for taxis at the airport. Don't even talk to them....except to say , firmly, NO! Cant give you thier number or web addy. But google will find them reference Santo Domingo - Full Throttle - Tell them Brandon from Los Angeles sent you. You are welcome.

Thank you, will look into them.  I was definitely a little bit leary of driving, I have heard things are quite different from what we are used to.

Don't rent a vehicle if you don't know where you are going, don't speak Spanish or will be distracted by barking dogs!!!! All around bad idea.

There are  large taxis at the airport!

@Flatlanders2025

I would hire a taxi van. Let them deal with the crazy traffic, dangerous drivers and shortage of road directional signs / street names. They can also handle your large load of cargo no problem.

@Flatlanders2025

I just sent you a private message

@Flatlanders2025

It will take skills to drive, if you can avoid being in the rush hour time zones , that will help. I use my gps every single day , the only one that seems to work reliably is google maps.  I drive in Santo Domingo all the time I am there. I get lost in Santo Domingo all the time when I am there. I try not to tell

folks what time I will arrive other than keeping them updated. If being in Bumper to bumper traffic bothers you . Do  not  drive !!

@Flatlanders2025

If you have driven in a major city during rush hour it’s like that but the problem is it’s like that most of the time. The rush hour traffic in Santo Domingo is the worst. I can do it because I do not rattle. I drive in Los Angeles and take it as it comes. If you can avoid Santo Domingo then do so. I find that driving between cities is ok. I drive from Santo Domingo to puerta plata often. The roads are very bad, lots of potholes, but the traffic is easier to deal with as long as you are calm and patient. If you are driving from the airport to any other city , it’s not that bad. Stay focused, use google maps only and make sure your phone service is rock solid. I have a backup to my phone . I have a hotspot device and I buy time on it from claro in Santo Domingo. This ensures that the time my phone decide to not have service between cities. I pull out that hot spot and connect my phone to it. I am not a rookie , I travel to the Dr quite often and with the help of people like planner ( I personally know her and she simply the best !!  ) I learned  the ropes and now I can move around the country without any problems. I had to learn the hard way that google maps is the only gps map service to use. All the others will give you directions and they will be wrong. Keep your wits about you, when the highway police see you driving they will flag you to pull over. They want to get paid by a gringo tourist. Learn to shrug your shoulders and say “ poco dinero compadre “ always dress down! No jewelry period. Try to blend in when driving on the road. And I don’t care anybody here says. Taxis are a rip off.  Use them if you have already figured out what to pay and be firm. If you have to spend more than a few minutes about the price , tell them to move on and MEAN it! Good luck, use google translator and you should be ok.

@bman

I have driven to Santiago from puerto plata and found WAZE worked well for me, don’t have the energy to drive to santo Domingo….. I’ll hire yer for a ride next time you go …😃👍

@Tippj

no problem - i love to drive - you will have to love Brazilian jazz and frequent stops for chicharron.

@bman

Thank you so much for the detailed information tips! Very helpful. On the mention of jewelry this is something I have thought of. I currently have fake diamond earrings and was thinking perhaps i ditch them and get something plain to avoid issues. I did want to ask about a wedding ring though, do ladies generally keep them on or will this be a problem? Mine is not over the top, I am not really a jewelry/fancy person ha ha but I also want to remain safe as the top priority!