Not sure if I should carry coins for public transport in Dominican Republic or if card payments are common. Advice?
I liked how cheap transport was in the Dominican Republic. The Santo Domingo metro was clean and modern - 20 pesos per ride, using a rechargeable card. Even though I had to load with cash, the fares were so low it didn’t matter. In Puerto Plata, the guaguas cost me just 25 pesos in cash. ATMs from Banreservas worked fine with my foreign card, so I never ran out of pesos.
I was frustrated that I couldn’t use my Visa card to top up the metro fare card in Santo Domingo. The machines were cash-only, and the staff at the booth also wanted pesos. Outside the capital, the guaguas were even more old-fashioned, cash only and no fixed schedules. Definitely not tourist-friendly for someone expecting contactless or card systems.
I stayed near Zona Colonial in Santo Domingo and used the metro daily to get to Mirador Sur. I bought a rechargeable card at Casandra Damirón station with 200 DOP cash. The machines didn’t accept my Mastercard, so I stuck to pesos. When I visited Sosúa, the guaguas were completely cash-only - 50 pesos handed directly to the driver. Honestly, carrying small notes made everything easier.
In Santo Domingo, the metro and OMSA buses only take rechargeable fare cards. You buy them at stations for about 60 DOP and top them up with cash pesos at vending machines. No card payments on buses. Guaguas (shared minibuses) elsewhere in the country are strictly cash-based in Dominican pesos. ATMs from Banco Popular and Banreservas are in all major cities.