A road trip between the highest mountains of the Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic, English, Insider Report, Journal

After all the theory about the traffic and road conditions in the Dominican Republic, it was finally time again for a road trip in the mountains. I was traveling on a risky route between Constanza and Padre Las Casas. In the middle of the two highest mountain slopes of the Dominican Republic. What an adventure! It was a real challenge, but seeing the beautiful landscapes in the Dominican mountains was just worth it.

Approximate reading time: 8 minutes

In this article, you will find out why you shouldn’t always rely on Google Maps and why you should allow an hour or two additional time buffers during such a trip.

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Recommended reads: Traffic in the Dominican Republic

I’ve written a lot in the past few weeks about the traffic and road conditions in the Dominican Republic. Perhaps these four articles will help you to plan your vacations when you are considering a road trip through the Dominican Republic. Have a look, it’s about these following four articles:

How I prepared this trip to the Dominican highlands

It is fun to get into the car and just pound off. Without a detailed planning for your route, you’re pretty much smitten. Especially with all of these trips through the highlands and the wild nature, there are some things to consider and plan before you blast off.

Don’t trust Google Maps blindly

What I was particularly able to learn during this trip is not to rely on Google Maps. At least not when it comes to the estimated travel time. In this case, more than 2.5 hours of driving time should be planned for 62 kilometers. It’s suspiciously slow for so few kilometers. However, it goes up to 1,200 meters above sea level and the route leads through a mountain pass between the highest two mountains in the Dominican Republic.

The route from Constanza to Padre Las Casas took me between Alto de la Bandera and Pico Duarte.

https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m28!1m12!1m3!1d255396.54710881924!2d-70.96330738357811!3d18.873809089740387!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!4m13!3e0!4m5!1s0x8eb0158d840606af%3A0xa21449b48105c4a3!2sConstanza%2041000!3m2!1d18.9114821!2d-70.7376623!4m5!1s0x8eb071b8595c34a3%3A0x49ff4eae70140919!2sPadre%20Las%20Casas!3m2!1d18.733629!2d-70.9398192!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sdo!4v1600350492610!5m2!1sen!2sdo

Overall, the trip took almost twice the estimated time. Of course, a few pee breaks and stops for photos included. But even with this half-hour tolerance in the time calculation, Google Maps has quite miscalculated. Because even the best route system cannot know what kind of complicated route conditions and tight hairpin bends can slow down the speed of travel.

Equip yourself in good time with what is necessary

Your provisions and enough water are essential during your journey on this route. You will drive under the hot sun for several hours and push the AC in the car to its limits. Take enough drinks with you and hydrate regularly with water while driving. Don’t underestimate the heat in the Dominican Republic.

The same goes for gasoline. Of course, you shouldn’t drink that (😅) but you should have enough in your tank. The best thing to do is to fill up the gas in Constanza. You will be on the safe side, because there are no more gas stations up in the mountains. And the constant driving in the mountains swallows a lot of fuel.

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Consider the estimated driving time and include time buffers

Google Maps has miscalculated the time in a colossal way and 2.5 hours became almost 5 hours. However, Google Maps cannot know, it can only estimate.

Whenever you follow a vague estimate, plan at least an hour more as a time buffer. Something can always happen. A herd of cows can block the road, you might want to take a longer break or stop every few miles for a photo.

And in times of Covid-19 and imposed curfews, there is additional pressure due to a limited time window. You are only allowed to be on the streets up to a certain hour before traffic controls begin. That was very challenging for me, especially in 2020, and limited my travel adventures by car, very much. Especially on the weekends, when the curfew started at 5pm.

However, it is much more important to have reached the desired destination by the time it gets dark. When the sun is low and setting, driving a car is very challenging anyhow. In the mountains, the light conditions deteriorate much earlier and the routes are more difficult to follow.

When it is dark, the utmost caution is required while driving. In the mountains, driving at night can be life-threatening. There are nowhere street lights installed and I would not advise anyone to take the risk to drive in the dark. For this reason, it makes sense to leave the mountains behind you as early as possible and feel the asphalt roads under your wheels again by daylight.

Expect ‘Carretera Constanza – Guayabal’ as a rocky and uncomfortable road

You need a fit car with good working tires for the way from Constanza to Padre Las Casas. Driving the ‘Carretera Constanza – Guayabal’ is challenging. An SUV with all-wheel drive is recommended for such a slope. The road conditions are so bad that it cannot be even called a road.

Is it dangerous to drive in the Dominican Republic? — How are the road conditions in the Dominican Republic?

As soon as you have left Constanza with the car towards the mountains, the asphalt ends. The street begins to become a narrow path. You are literally wandering over hill and dale, sometimes even through flowing streams. In the heavy rainy season, this route is impossible to go by car. You should remind that before starting your journey.

Carretera Guayabal — Drive carefully AND slowly. You need to be aware of the possible dangers that could happen behind the cliff

Many places are barely wide enough for a second vehicle. The few trucks, cars, motorbikes or horses on the way have to maneuver so that you can pass safely with your own car. There are an extremely large number of hairpin bends and steep climbs to cope with your set of wheels.

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Beautiful landscapes in the Dominican mountains are worth the hassle

The very first thing you see when you leave Constanza, however, is your hair again. On the outskirts of Constanza, the Dominicans cleared the mountain slopes in order to place a wild garbage dump. Because of hot temperatures and the strong sunlight, the garbage ignites and leaves smoke and offensive smell.

But after you have left this unpleasant part behind you, you will be rewarded. You can expect pure nature and beautiful mountain landscapes.

On this route you are between the highest mountain slopes in the entire Caribbean. If you ignore the dusty gravel roads, you are surrounded by a blooming fauna that you could never have imagined to be so green. In many places in the Dominican Republic, the tropical fauna has been deforested to plant agricultural monocultures such as avocado trees. Within this area you can still see the Caribbean in its full bloom. This is roughly how it looked all over the island before the natural landscapes were exploited:

Beautiful landscapes in the Dominican Republic

The special thing about this trip was being over 3,300 feet above sea level. Completely absurd to believe that these lush and green landscapes are actually belonging to the Caribbean. And yet this natural characteristic is also part of the geographic diverse Dominican Republic.

These mountains are so high and the clouds hang so low that you can almost smell them. And if a huge cloud tries to make it over the mountains as well, the entire valley suddenly darkens.

Mountains in the Dominican Republic — If you are in the Dominican mountains, you can almost touch the sky and smell the clouds.

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Nevertheless, I was happy when I was able to leave this challenging route in the mountains behind me. As beautiful as the view in the pictures was, I could hardly really enjoy it.

It was too dangerous to let your eyes wander for a few moments and look lost in thoughts into the mountainous area. Not paying attention for a moment can be dangerous on such a (off-)road. Therefore, it is better to have a lot of small breaks in order to be able to take photos and enjoy the landscape instead of doing it while driving.

Lush green landscapes and pastures define the Dominican hills near Guayabal

Speaking of dangerous: Pretty much towards the end of the journey through the mountainous landscapes, after more or less 75% of the section, the brakes failed when going downhill. I could only let the car roll out and maneuver with the handbrake until the car came to a standstill at some point. Quite a challenge!

At some point the cart overheated and the brakes no longer worked downhill. The best solution: open the bonnet and let it cool down before continuing your drive.

At some point the brakes ran hot and stopped working. This usually happens on trips that go downhill for a long period of time. Frequent braking will eventually make the iron glow. In that case, you should try to stop the car immediately, secure it with the handbrake and let it cool down for a few minutes before continuing.

So you can certainly imagine that I was relatively happy when I arrived. Everything went well and I made it safely to my destination. 5 hours of intensive car drive with maximum concentration with failing brakes driving downhill may not be the right hobby for everyone. I thought it was great!

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Dominican Republic 🇩🇴

How are the road conditions in the Dominican Republic?

Dominican Republic, English

Every adventurous and curious individual tourist will sooner or later come to a crucial issue when planning a vacation: Should I go on a round trip in a rental car? Driving around an unknown country on your own for several days or weeks? Is the whole preparation, organization and implementation really worth it or far too complicated and error-prone for relaxing vacations? With a series of articles I would like to help all interested travelers from my own experience with my knowledge.

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Approximate reading time: 8 minutes

The first article is about one of the most crucial topics. In all of our imaginations, we would expect the road conditions in a developing country like the Dominican Republic are challenging to drive.

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Is it safe to drive in the Dominican Republic?

We would probably all assume that the road conditions in the Dominican Republic are in bad condition and dangerous to drive. A road trip on the streets of the Caribbean dream island is far too risky and wanders over hill and dale. Fortunately, these assumptions are only true in exceptional cases.

The road conditions in the Dominican Republic are relatively good for a Latin American developing country. In recent years, many new highways have been added to the national transport network. Even if this is more interesting for travel planning, it not only shortens distances but also saves fuel costs. As a consequence, you can get to your desired destination across the island much faster, cheaper and safer.

Of course, there are also dangerous moments when you are driving a car in the Dominican Republic. However, this risk is usually less due to the nature of the road itself. Rather, the Dominican people are the ones to blame for a lot of traffic accidents. But that should not be the topic of this article and rather be addressed in another article.

How are the road conditions like in the Dominican cities?

Driving in the cities is relatively chaotic and disorganized. This is especially true for large metropolitan areas such as Santo Domingo, Santiago and Puerto Plata. Not only the street alignments in these cities lead very often to confusion, but also motorway accesses and an unbalanced ratio of traffic signs create confusion for all traffic participants. Just the typical Dominican and Latin American daily chaos.

Apart from the often questionable behavior of Dominicans in traffic …

If you are traveling in the big Dominican cities, then you have to expect all possible scenarios as a driver when the traffic lights are red.

… the Dominican cities are hardly worth a serious visit either. The older the districts, the narrower, more winding and more complicated the scenarios that occur in daily Dominican traffic. You should only do this to yourself if you really want to invest a lot of patience and time in your holidays. Otherwise, you will lose valuable vacation time on street corners like this one in the historic Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo:

Just one of the examples of the daily traffic chaos in Santo Domingo

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But if we are honest, these cities should only be visited briefly for the cultural and historical highlights or avoided completely for your road trip in the Dominican Republic. In the Dominican cities, as in almost all major Latin American cities, you’d find yourself quickly in hopeless traffic chaos …

Rush hour traffic at 6pm in Santo Domingo (filmed from the rooftops of Agora Mall)

… and you wouldn’t be able to see the really beautiful and authentic landscapes of the country either. And they are worth visiting!

What are the road conditions like in the Dominican countryside?

However, the further you get distant from big cities and touristy areas around Punta Cana and Samaná, the more challenging the road conditions become. But this can be also observed in several other examples worldwide. It probably happens in every country that the road conditions outside the metropolitan areas deteriorate and become a challenge for the driver.

That’s how the way to Salto Yanigua looks like. And the surface got much worse.
The only ‘traffic sign’ that leads to Salto Yanigua. And you barely can see it from the street
The difficult texture of the road
But at least, this Jeep served well during the ride
This is the real Dominican Hinterland. Road conditions are terribly bad and only passable with a motorbike or an SUV.
The only road connection between Constanza and Padre las Casas in the Dominican mountains.
Rocky and unpaved streets lead between the farmlands

Driving in the countryside is relaxing and problem-free due to less traffic, you should focus more on other things. Potholes are increasing, the nocturnal street lighting is virtually non-existent and some animal encounters can happen at any time. Be aware of these numerous occasions.

Iguana traffic sign in the Dominican Republic — “Warning – Iguanas crossing”

Iguana on the street in the Dominican Republic — “Warning – Iguanas crossing”

In addition to these exotic creatures, there are also enough examples of farm animals that can also cross your path while driving. Or even go with you in the same direction. Sounds strange, but it has happened to me often enough myself.

It is not uncommon to come across a bunch of cows on a roadway. This video was recorded on the streets of Pedernales on the way to Eco del Mar.

Wild critters can affect road conditions even in the most remote places.

Overall, it can be said that the road conditions in the Dominican Republic are relatively good. Almost all major road networks are sealed and paved and stable enough. It is anywhere possible to stop and take short breaks, shoot some photos, visit small sights or try many local specialties and exotic fruits of street vendors along the roadside.

Or simply step on the pace on a deserted street:

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Even if the road signs are missing on the surface in the most remote areas, they are hardly needed for normal driving. The streets are wide enough to accommodate multiple lanes. The fact that a bit was saved on the street painting is not a direct disadvantage for the driver.

I’ve always had a lot of fun exploring the country by car. As often as I have the opportunity, I travel through the Dominican Republic to the most remote corners to discover new and exciting travel destinations and the Caribbean nature. Until today, there has not been an accident in which I was involved. And I’ve already driven several thousand kilometers in the Dominican Republic. However, that does not mean that the road conditions in the Dominican Republic are consistently good and that the car can be steered completely safely.

The further you move away from the big cities and road networks, the higher the chance of actually going off-road. In bad weather conditions, THAT is a real challenge for a normal driver and should be enjoyed with caution. But even here, even in the most remote mountain villages, nothing happened to me on muddy stone paths. For example, here on the way back from Playa Bergantin in Puerto Plata:

Playa Bergantin in Puerto Plata. Where the paths are not paved, it can be exhausting to drive.

Suddenly, the rain was coming down in sheets. The roads were unpaved and the deep potholes on this path were quickly filled with water. In addition to the restricted view, it was also difficult to follow the path and not to lose the vehicle because of aquaplaning.

Heavy rains in the Dominican Republic are seasonal and not uncommon. Nevertheless, they can cause certain damage to the roads here and there and make the journey difficult. This must be taken into account when planning your trip.

Doing round trips in the Dominican Republic on your own is therefore very recommendable from my point of view and a nice adventure. Discovering the Caribbean with your own eyes from a completely different perspective is just the thing for adventurers, nature lovers and all other curious travelers who do not want to spend their time in the all-inclusive resorts of Punta Cana.