Dec

Dominican Driving

In order to see all that Punta Cana and the Dominican Republic have to offer, you need to get out of the resort and onto the street. Taxis can be expensive, so renting a car gives you the most freedom and flexibility. With a rental car you can go where you please, when you please.

Driving in the Dominican Republic is not for the nervous driver. Dominicans generally drive fast and aggressively. Driving here can be a challenge with all the new sights and sounds, lack of signage, bad roads, and trucks, buses, cars, motorcycles, and pedestrians everywhere. Just take it slowly, keep your eyes open all around you and you’ll be fine. Driving is on the right hand side of the road but other basic road rules are mostly ignored (eg traffic entering a roundabout often does not stop – even if there is a “give way” sign). Know that Dominicans will try to pass you whenever they can, they will even overtake only to pull over or turn right immediately in front of you! Oncoming cars may be passing each other and coming head-on at you. Just be ready to slow down where they can get back in their lane. Relax and breathe. When turning left expect the vehicle behind you to pass you on the left rather than wait for you to complete your turn. Always expect the unexpected.

We don’t recommend driving long distances or on unfamiliar streets at night (it gets dark around 7pm). Motorcycles with no lights, pedestrians and animals in the road are common. Oncoming high beam headlights make it hard to see holes, unlit vehicles and obstacles in the road (99% of drivers do not dip their headlights).
Note: As of March 2011 all the roads in Punta Cana have recently been repaired and are in very good shape.

The best car rental prices are found by booking online. Go with a renown, reputable company. Make sure you have full insurance coverage and understand exactly what it covers (don’t rely on your credit card insurance). When you collect your vehicle make sure to ask the agent what to do in case of an accident 1) with no injured parties 2) with injured parties. Good idea to have the rental agent’s out-of-hours phone number on you in case of emergency.

Driving around Punta Cana is fairly easy once you get the hang of it and the sights you will see will make it worthwhile. You will have a fun time getting to know the area as long as you take it slow, use our Punta Cana maps and be aware.

Note: there are 4 gas stations in Punta Cana see our General Map
1) north of Moon Palace/Hard Rock Hotel on the road to Macao beach
2) Fruisa junction
3) Blvd Turistico del Este towards the airport (between Cabeza de Toro and the airport)
4) Veron crossroad (Cruce de Veron)

Before you get on the road here in Punta Cana we recommend you take the following awareness test