How a US girl rides a taxi in the DR

I almost always pay $120 pesos (a little under $4 US). Just say you won’t pay any more than that, most of the time once the realize that I’m not a tourist (because I argue if they try to charge me more) they give me the rate that I want. You will only get charged by person if you take a “van” taxi, which I’ve only done once or if you try to overstuff the taxi (say four or five people). One-three people is always the same rate.

Taxis that only leave from one specific location are more expensive. You will know that they only leave from one location because they are sitting outside of it yelling “taxi, taxi” (and, will often try to follow you around continually yelling this rather annoying word of “taxi,” which may instill in you an extreme desire to turn around and punch them. I would not advise doing this). So, taxis leaving from the Colonial Zone or from a shopping center will cost more. A plus, though, is that you don’t have to phone a taxi (and, thus, will not have to use your Spanish over the phone). It might be worth the money for that reason alone.

There are a few quality taxi companies in this area, but I almost always use Apolo Taxi. I’ve never had a problem with them. To make your life easier, carry a copy of their phone number with you, just in case you find yourself needed it.

My thoughts on publicos: don’t use them. They are super cheap, but they won’t be worth the stress. Maybe after you have been here a while, give them a try. But, unless you are going purely for the experience (as my friend made me do when I first moved here), I wouldn’t advise it. Given, many of my coworkers take them all the time, some are safe and clean…but not all (or even most).