Finally, after not visiting my family in the Dominican Republic (DR) for over ten years, my girlfriend and I took a flight to DR! Although I visited DR in 2017, I spent a short time in a resort and was not able to see my older brother, my grandma and so many other loved ones. However, I dedicated this trip to re-connecting with them and diving deeper into my cultural heritage.
The first day was a full travel day. My girl and I onboarded the plane in Boston heading to New York, where we had a 2-hour layover. We didn't feel the layover was a drag because we made the most of it. First, we ventured around the JFK airport, searching for a place to eat. I found a sushi restaurant where I bought about a case of 8 sushi rolls for $18! My girl bought less than ten buffalo wings for $20 at Buffalo Wild Wings! I mean, I did expect shopping at the airport would be expensive, but I was shocked when we bought just two medium-ice coffees and a water bottle for $17 at Dunkin Donuts.
My older brother Yohan picked us up at the Santo Domingo airport. When we first met up, all I could think of was how I hadn't seen him for over ten years. Nevertheless, we were excited to see each other, and we gave each other a long-lasting, firm hug for all the years we've missed. After greeting Yohan and introducing him to my girl, he packed our traveling bags in his truck while I walked to the nearby Hertz agency to pick up our rental reservation.
Since we already reserved the rental in Rhode Island, we figured it would be a seamless process, but it was not. When we walked into the renters building, the HERTZ associated wanted us to pay for an additional insurance fee of over $400, even though we already placed full coverage on our rental. I explained to the man that we already reserved it with insurance, but he responded that HERTZ insurance didn't cover cars overseas...
I tried to reason with the HERTZ associate, but he was adamant about selling us the additional insurance and would not change his mind. As the associate and I speak back and forth, coincidently, three customers, two men and women, at the kiosk next to us were having a heated debate with another rental associate regarding the additional insurance they purchased from the company. In short, the family had purchased the extra insurance but paid over $600 because of the type of car they reserved. Unfortunately, that family had got into a bad car accident which totaled the car. Although they were not at fault and had an incident report to prove it, the Police in the Dominican Republic informed them that the extra insurance would not cover them. When the family returned to the company to report what had happened, the police officers were correct, and the company shifted the repair responsibility onto the family.
As the heated discussion between the family and associate began to get more hectic, I remembered my friend's story, who experienced the same insurance challenge during her recent visit to DR. Before arriving in DR, she reserved a fully insured SUV. But and unfortunately, she fell for the associate's insurance "recommendation" and added the extra protection, spending more than $500 because of the type of car she reserved.
On her third day in DR, a car crashed into her. Luckily, the accident was not fatal, and everyone only sustained minor injuries, but the vehicle she reserved sustained heavy damage. Although the accident was not her fault and she was "fully insured," the HERTZ company in DR refused to pay for all damages and placed the repair responsibilities on her, too! As a result, she is currently suing the company.
After witnessing the family's situation with their rental, we opted to rent with a local agency that my brother recommended instead.
A few picture from DR. Click HERE to see album
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