Haiti Dominican Republic
Haiti 
Dominican RepublicLast reviewed July 2026
Crossing the border
Haiti and Dominican Republic share a land border you can cross by car. Keep your passport, national driving licence and International Driving Permit together, and check opening hours and any toll or vignette requirements before you travel.
Driving rules in Dominican Republic
- Drive on the right.
- Aggressive urban traffic and motoconchos.
- 0.05% alcohol limit.
- Avoid night driving on rural roads.
What to see when you arrive in Dominican Republic
- the colonial zone of Santo Domingo
- the beaches of Punta Cana
- the peninsula of Samaná
- the waterfalls of Damajagua
- the Saona Island
Once you're driving in Dominican Republic
Destination-specific detail sourced from national road authorities, motoring clubs and rental policies — the things that catch cross-border drivers out.
Driving on a foreign licence
A valid home-country licence in the Latin alphabet lets most tourists drive throughout their stay and no IDP is needed, though an IDP is useful if your licence is in a non-Latin script.
Tolls & road charges
Toll booths ('peajes') sit on the main highways radiating from Santo Domingo and on the Samana toll road; pay cash in Dominican pesos (booths rarely take cards), with charges of roughly RD$60-300 (about US$1-5) per booth depending on the route.
Parking in the cities
Parking is free in most areas but paid or attended in larger town centres; in Santo Domingo's Zona Colonial use guarded lots, tip the informal car-watchers, and never leave valuables visible.
Fines & camera enforcement
DIGESETT issues fines for speeding, phone use and no seatbelt (commonly RD$500-1,500, rising for serious excess and possibly licence points/bans); officers may seek payment roadside, and rental firms pass camera and unpaid-toll fines back to the renter's card.
If you have an accident
Dial the nationwide 911; call the rental company and do not move the car unless it is unsafe to leave it where it stopped, and wait for DIGESETT traffic police to document the scene.
Driving in the capital
Santo Domingo traffic is dense and assertive, with darting 'motoconcho' motorbike taxis weaving between lanes and lax lane discipline; the Av. 27 de Febrero and Malecon corridors are notoriously congested, so drive defensively and expect motorcycles on all sides.
Sources: sixt.com · jumbocar-dominicanrepublic.com · dominicantoday.com · tyremap.com