Our Entry Experience from the US, June 2018

Our Entry Experience from the US, June 2018

After 4 months of anticipation and preparation, we’ve finally touched down at SDQ for our first visit (and planned overstay) in the DR. The members and information on this site have been extremely helpful , so I just wanted to pay it forward by sharing what worked best for us while it is still fresh in my mind.

Here is a collection of all the topics we searched for before making our trip. Hopefully this narrative will help someone else.

AIRLINE FLIGHTS
We flew in on Delta in a direct flight from ATL. Our two boys are old enough to carry their own backpacks and push a 4-wheeled suitcase for a short distance, but we still need to limit as many stress-points as possible on these young travelers.  The direct 3hr flight was easy.

Check-In / Return Ticket:  We didn’t want to purchase a return ticket because we don’t know exactly how long we will be here. However, Delta didn’t allow us to complete the online check-in without listing a return date.

So, following the advice of the forum members, I waited until the night before our flight and purchased the least expensive return tickets I could through the Delta mobile app, with the intent of cancelling them when we landed in the DR.  I actually purchased tickets I thought we could use just in case something didn’t go right, but I’m happy to say they allowed us to cancel the tickets just fine.

In fact, there was some conflicting information about the inability to cancel tickets that originate internationally, but I was able to pull up the itinerary on their mobile app, and just click the cancel button. I received an immediate confirmation that the tickets for all 4 of us were cancelled successfully.

Baggage Drop-off: After I purchased my temporary return tickets, I went ahead and completed the check-in of our departing flight. As the last step in that process, they offered me an opportunity to pre-pay the baggage fees. We did this, and it saved us quite a line at the drop-off counter in the morning. As annoying as baggage fees are, the convenience of prepay was worth it. Also, make sure you keep your baggage claim receipts — they do check them at SDQ.

TSA Security Check Point:  The TSA precheck was a fantastic investment. We whisked right through security on the US side. Only adults need the precheck — 2 children can accompany each prechecked adult. Well worth the $89.

Dominican Currency: Once we entered the international terminal, there were a number of currency exchange kiosks. We picked up about $100 USD in Dominican Pesos. That seemed about the right amount to get us through this first day or two of unknowns.  It wasn’t a good exchange rate, and the fees were high, but it was easy and was helpful when tipping on arrival.

Check In At Gate: While we were waiting at the gate, the Delta rep called us up to the podium, and asked to see our return tickets. I don’t know why this happened at the gate (and not at the downstairs counter), but we were able to point her to the online tickets we purchased the night before. Just be aware, our return tickets were for 90 days after our arrival. The gate agent said something about having to prove we have a visa if the stay is longer than 90 days. I don’t know if that’s true for the DR specifically, but if you’re going to use this technique, probably best to keep the return less than 90 days out.

A Note on ATL Rental Car Return: the rental car return garage is realllllly far from the bus that takes you to the international terminal. When the attendant saw how much luggage we were bringing, she went out of her way to help us by driving us in the car we were returning to the international bus. We never would have though to ask for this help, but if you find yourself in the same situation, maybe it is worth asking for a similar courtesy. A generous tip well deserved.

FORMS ON THE PLANE
On the plane, we received one white declaration form per family and a blue entry form for each of us. The declaration form asks what you are bringing into the country. We declared some food (eg protein powder), but nothing over the value limits.

The blue forms were basically a recap of passport info, plus your departure date with flight number and the address you are staying at while in country.

ARRIVAL AT SDQ
The SDQ airport is really quite nice. It is well cared for, clean and does a good job of promoting the beauty of the DR. We followed the signs and went straight down to immigration. Note: if you need to visit el baño, do so in the terminal — even though there is a sign for one in immigration, you can’t get to it until after the customs process.

Tourist Card: Following the link provided on a different forum thread, we had pre-purchased and printed out our tourist cards. I’m happy we did it, but that didn’t save us as much time as I was hoping. The tourist card station was immediately preceding the passport registration tables, and we had to wait in the same line as everyone else. The agent did try to pick us the shortest line for the next station, but in typical fashion, the group in front of us seemed to take for-ev-er. Oh, well. We pretended to wait patiently.

Passport Check: The next phase in the process was the official passport and visa stamp. Here, the agent asked us for the blue cards and our passports. The adults had to have our fingerprints scanned, but the kids did not. He stamped all passports and gave us back the blue cards.

We were then funneled through a door where another agent quickly verified the blue cards were complete, and then collected them and welcomed us to the baggage claim.

Baggage Claim:  Baggage claim was simple. The room is well lit, clean and free from unwanted visitors. We collected our bags (which had already been pulled off the carousel) and headed toward the exit. They had two agents there to confirm the baggage claim numbers. It was a reassuring feeling knowing that no bags could just walk off and no similar bags got mixed up.

Declaration Station: The last stop, which immediately followed baggage claim was the declaration station. The agent took our white form and quickly glanced at it. She didn’t question us about our food declaration. She smiled and said “welcome.”

Ground Transportation:  Again, following the advice of forum members about never accepting a service without a pre-arraigned deal, I had scheduled a car ride to our hotel with Rideways. It is probably more expensive than you could find on your own, but with all the unknowns of a new country and our extra luggage, it was well worth it. Their professional, well-dressed driver met us in the greeting area, immediately following customs in a uniform of black slacks and black polo shirt with a name card identifying us. He then escorted us to a safe position on the curb and left to get the van. He loaded all the bags (with some help from an airport hustler who demanded and got a small tip), and offered us cold water. The streets from the airport to downtown are fantastic and the view of the ocean is beautiful. It was a great ride, and worth the price.

Following this method, we had a marvelously uneventful trip. May all your travel investments return life-long dividends.