DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

After being in the remote jungles of Panama, the Dominican Republic was a great place to relax and soak up the beaches before heading to the next destination! Here are some of my favorite places to visit on a road trip around Dominican Republic!

Punta Cana

Most people fly into the airport at Punta Cana, which is known for its all-inclusive resorts. You can always find some good deals if you’re looking to just relax and have food and drinks included. One thing to note that I didn’t know, was that most restaurants need a reservation the day before to eat there. There usually is one cafeteria-type area where you don’t need a reservation but it’s not the best food.

Isla Saona

This is a great day trip from Punta Cana if you have extra time to spare! The beaches are incredibly stunning, but although the photos make it look like a deserted island, it gets pretty packed with tourists and there are long lines for lunch.

Playa Macao

This beach was probably my personal favorite! It’s big enough so tourists can spread out, the water is clear, and there’s cute huts and surf spots!

Montana Redonda

The view at Montana Redonda is insane! If you don’t have a 4x4 vehicle, you can leave your car parked at the bottom of the hill and take a truck up to the top. I highly recommend going close to sunset for the best colors for photography. Relax and enjoy the swings and view!

Samana Peninsula

This is probably one of my favorite areas of the Dominican Republic! Unfortunately when I went there was a torrential downpour of rain, but it’s such a unique area with very little tourists. The beaches are the absolute best in this peninsula!

HAITI

During my stay in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, I decided to take a bus over the border to the Dominican Republic. I see a lot of posts about traveling from the DR to Haiti, but not a lot vice-versa.

Where to stay in cap-haitien

First of all, if you’re traveling to Haiti, I recommend staying at Habitation des Lauriers. It’s clean, has great security, the owners take great care of you, and has an incredible view overlooking the city and ocean. Not to mention sunrises are spectacular! I told them I wanted to take the bus over to the DR and they arranged a driver to drop me off at the bus station the next morning at 7 AM. The bus leaves at 8 AM but it’s important to get there early to ensure you get a spot.

The journey to the Dominican Republic

I arrived at the El Caribe bus station and told them I wanted to be dropped off at Santiago since I was going to take a guagua (little bus) to Las Terrenas. Important thing to note: bring US dollars! It’s funny they don’t take Haitian gourdes or Dominican pesos… There were two European guys that had euros, gourdes, and pesos but they wouldn’t accept any of them. Another thing to note, they take your passport once you pay and they give it back to you on the bus. I got anxious because I hate not having my passport with me but I got it back!

Anyways, the border crossing takes about 1 – 2 hours. If you flew into Haiti, make sure you have your exit ticket with you so that you don’t have to pay an extra fee. After being stamped out, we went to the DR side which was a little crazier. You don’t need a PCR test to enter, but they do a bag check and you have to wait for a long time. Everything else was fairly quick but the majority of the 2 hours was spent waiting on that.

I arrived at the bus station in Santiago and needed to find the guagua station to Las Terrenas. Luckily I found a trustworthy taxi driver, Miguel (Whatsapp +18094912013), who took me over to the station and agreed to pick me up when I returned to get a PCR test and take me to the airport. When I got to Las Terrenas, I had a little mishap with a motoconcho driver. Long story short, try to avoid them if you can — I didn’t know this beforehand. They’re motorcycle taxis but are notorious for stealing. So when I pulled money out and didn’t have change, he swiped it from my hand and sped off with it. I was pretty sad.

Honestly, I didn’t have a great time in the DR. Most people go to the touristy areas and stay in an all-inclusive resort but I wanted to try something different and off-the-beaten-path. I think it was tough trying to figure out all the logistics while everything was going wrong, but I know that’s all part of the adventure. On the other hand, I loved figuring out how to cross the border from Haiti to the DR, so I hope my experience can one day help someone have a better time than I did. I also hope to return to the DR one day to gain a different perspective, but for now, I’ll always remember it as a true adventure