Santo Domingo Transportation Tips by marielexoteria Top 5 Page for this destination

Serious taxi companies By taxi Review

Taxis in Santo Domingo, as well as the whole Dominican Republic, don't run by the meter. All serious companies have pretty much flat rates. How it works is that you call the company, ask for a cab to your home/hotel/place to pick you up, then when you come to your destination the driver calls the dispatch (called base amongst them) and they will give them the rate and all the parties in the car will hear it loud and clear.

Some reputable taxi companies I've used are:

Excelente taxi: (809) 593-8000.
Apolo taxi: (809) 537-0000. They also have limos for rent.
Taxi Anacaona: (809) 530-4800.
Aero taxi: (809) 688-3131, (809) 688-1212.

Mode: AROUND

Type: Car/Motor Home

Metro de Santo Domingo: Line 1 By metro Review

A metro line is being constructed in Santo Domingo and it's expected to be fully operational in Feb 2008 but will be formally open to the masses in Apr 2008. The route consists of 16 stations for a length of 14,5km.

Edit Apr 2009: alright, so we took the metro. The wagons reminded me of the Madrid metro and it's not so weird considering that they financed the project :) The stations are very clean and safe and patrolled by law enforcement people and the process of buying the ticket is very efficient. The ticket is actually a card that everyone must buy and it costs 30 pesos (a little less than 1 US), then every single trip costs 20 pesos. You place the card on top of the turnstile and pass.

We did the trip for the whole line once and then got off at the station closest to where I can go home. Total price? 70 pesos.

The stations don't have names according to the streets close to it, but of people that are/were important to the Dominican history but under the name you'll see which street or "landmark" it's close to.

The one tourist attraction that this metro line passes by is Teatro Nacional (National Theater) and the station to get there is called Casandra Damirón.

Edit Oct 2009: they have started the construction of line 2, which will go from Los Alcarrizos to El Almirante (and close to my house).

Mode: AROUND

Type: Subway/Metro

Buses By bus Review

In Santo Domingo we have 2 kinds of buses:

OMSA buses: the government buses with scheduled stops, they come in 3 kinds: the ones without air conditioning and the cheapest ones, the ones with air conditioning and the express ones that make less stops. If you want to get off you simply pull the cord.

Union buses: property of the various transport unions, the route they drive is usually indicated by a piece of cardboard with the number of the route on the main windshield, visible so that we can stop the bus by stretching and arm and moving the index finger up and down (weird I know). On these buses there's a man hanging on the door called "cobrador" who will collect the fare and shout the route while on the road. Those buses are usually called "voladoras" because they drive like maniacs and at high speeds, and have no scheduled stops so if you want to get out you either shout "déjame" (let me off) or you tell the cobrador who then will signal the driver to stop by knocking on the carrocery of the bus.

Mode: AROUND

Type: Bus

Santo Domingo Las Américas airport (SDQ) Airports Review

Las Américas airport is the biggest airport in the country and a lot of major airlines from Europe and North America fly here:

From Europe:
- Iberia
- Air Europa
- Air France
- Condor

From North America:
- American Airlines
- United Airways
- Air Canada
- Jet Blue
- Delta

From Central and South America and the Caribbean:
- Aeropostal
- Aserca Airlines
- Copa
- Cubana de Aviación
- Air Caraibes
- Caribair

There's another airport called La Isabela, which will be a domestic airport and will replace the old Herrera airport.

Mode: TO

Type: Airplane

Carros públicos (share-a-taxis) By share-a-taxi (carro público) Review

Convenient, cheap but less safe than the buses. The share-a-taxis are popular among capitaleños (people from Santo Domingo). You might have seen them: a typical car with the driver, 2 people on the front seat and 4 on the back. They'll travel the same route back and forth and will pick up and drop off passengers wherever (although not in the middle of the street ;)). Because their routes are shorter they're more expensive than the buses if you travel a distance as long as the buses. Good for a short ride from point A to point B. When you want the driver to stop so that you can get off, say "déjame" (de'hahme, sort of).

Mode: AROUND

Type: Car/Motor Home

Ferry to and from Puerto Rico Ferry to Puerto Rico Review

From this Ferry Touristic Terminal (if memory doesn't fail me I think it's called Don Diego) you can take a ferry to Mayagüez, Puerto Rico and visit 2 Caribbean islands in your trip.

Mode: TO

Type: Ship/Boat

Website: http://www.ferriesdelcaribe.com

Air France

I've flown to and from my country with Martinair (when I moved) and Air France (back and forth) and I can highly commend Air France's service.

I usually fly standby, which means that I get on the plane after all paying customers have got on and if there aren't any seats left then I don't get on board. I've been lucky enough that there's always been plenty of seats so I get mine not as late as it should be, and that those seats next to me have been empty so I can sleep most of the flight on all of them :D The last time I, along with other standbys, got to fly on their Business class (Alizé).

Let's start with the food. Airplane food isn't usually the best or the tastiest. Air France's has been good but sometimes too "gourmet'ish" (especially on Alizé). Their seats are comfortable, even when you're lying on 3-4 seats with the arm rest not all the way up. I've enjoyed their NRJ music mix and their movies, even tho they're not the latest. I like seeing a TV showing how far we are from the destination and all the facts of the trip. The flight attendants usually (try to) speak in Spanish, for those passengers who don't speak French (I get along) and they're very service minded. And last but not least, I haven't had any problem with my luggage on either leg of the trip.

Mode: TO

Type: Airplane

Website: http://www.airfrance.com

Motoconchos (mototaxis) By motorcycle (motoconcho or mototaxi) Review

Another alternative when it comes to means of getting around. These are the most expensive and most dangerous. They're not as cheap as the buses or the share-a-taxis and they definitely do NOT have the same long routes.

Dominicans also use motoconchos for transporting stuff.

Mode: AROUND

Type: Motorcycle