Conchos, motoconchos, the Autovía del Este and homologating a foreign licence

Step-by-step

1. 1

   Learn two concho corridors in your first week

   Conchos are shared cars running fixed routes for a flat fare of a few tens of pesos. They are not taxis: they pick up until the car is full past any Western definition of full. Two corridors — one along the main avenue and one to wherever you work — will cover most of your daily movement for RD$25–40 a trip.

   In personWho: YouA week of trial and errorRD$25–40 per trip
2. 2

   Get a motoconcho driver's number rather than flagging one each time

   Motoconchos are how the city actually moves and are faster and cheaper than anything else. In a small city the sensible approach is to find one reliable driver, take his number and call him — which gives you an accountable person rather than a stranger, and a fixed price. Buy your own helmet; drivers rarely carry a spare.

   In personWho: YouYour first fortnightRD$50–150 for most city trips
3. 3

   Understand the two roads west

   The Autovía del Este is the fast coastal route to Santo Domingo — roughly an hour to the capital and about forty minutes to Las Américas airport — and it carries tolls. The older Carretera Mella is free, slower, and goes through the towns. Both are used; which one you take depends on whether you are carrying a deadline or a passenger who gets carsick.

   In personWho: YouOngoingTolls on the Autovía; check the current rate at the plaza
4. 4

   Homologate the foreign licence through INTRANT — and start with the embassy

   INTRANT exchanges a valid foreign licence for a Dominican one. The distinctive requirement is that your own country's mission in the Dominican Republic certifies the licence is valid and states its category, and MIREX then apostilles that certification. Every embassy is in Santo Domingo, so from San Pedro this is a capital trip on the embassy's schedule. Bring the original licence and a copy, your residency or cédula, your passport and the payment receipt; applications and payment run through INTRANT's virtual office.

   In personWho: You, at INTRANT with your embassy's certificationDays at INTRANT once the certification is in hand; the certification takes weeksINTRANT's published licence tariff, in the low thousands of pesos
5. 5

   If you buy a car, price the running costs and expect to keep it

   Compulsory insurance, the annual marbete and fuel are the recurring items, and fuel prices are reset weekly by the Ministerio de Industria, Comercio y Mipymes rather than by the stations. Second-hand prices are high because most vehicles are imported, and the resale market outside the capital is thinner — buy something common enough that parts and mechanics are local.

   In personWho: YouOngoing
6. 6

   Adjust to how the roads actually work

   Lane markings are advisory, motorbikes filter from every direction including against the flow, and a green light does not mean the junction is clear. On the intercity roads, avoid driving at night: unlit vehicles, livestock, cane trucks and unmarked works are the standing hazards, and the Autovía is fast enough to make all of them serious.

   In personWho: YouOngoing