Haitian Market

The Haitian Market very easy to find so long as you stay on the main road as you enter town. Just keep driving and you’ll run into it. Just as the market goes in Dajabón, so does this one. Twice a week (Monday and Friday), Haitian and Dominican merchants (mostly women) put their wares onto blankets on the street and shield themselves from the sun with whatever is handy.

You won’t find tourist souvenirs like the ones in gift shops, but more the likes of pots and pans, housewares, clothes, and produce all for very cheap. Sometimes you’ll find sunglasses and pirated DVDs.

They expect you to haggle, and there are many schools of thought on whether haggling in a third world country is worth it, or even the right thing to do. Go with your natural instincts. If you feel the price the merchant has asked you to pay is fair, then pay it. If the sport of haggling interests you, play along.

Just remember, these prices are already knocked down a considerable amount to begin with and then marked up for tourists. You do the math.

Getting to Comendador del Rey

You’ll find guaguas at their terminal on 27 de Febrero at the Parque Central. Buses to Santo Domingo leave every 30 minutes for US$8. If you’re going to Barahona, you’ll need to board an Ázua bus and exchange there. Going to San Juan de la Maguana is only US$2.50.

Crossing the border to Haiti is a bit different here than in Dajabón. At the Dominican immigration office (8 a.m.–6 p.m.) they will stamp your passport (make sure you have it on you) and you’ll likely be asked to pay US$25 to cross over, the official amount that should include your re-entry fee at the same gates. When you cross over, take a taxi about 2.5 kilometers to the Haitian immigration office, where you’ll pay US$10 to enter Haiti.

Don’t be surprised if you are asked for an extra US$10 when you come back to the Dominican Republic. They shouldn’t be asking for more money but sometimes it is easier to just pay the money than to argue. So make sure to have some small American bills if crossing into Haiti is part of your plan in order to do this. That is, unless they ask for a ridiculous amount of money.

Taxis and motoconchos usually hang around near the Dominican immigration office.

© Ana Chavier Caamaño from Moon Dominican Republic, 4th edition