When I have to travel longer distances, I take a guagua, which is like a sprinter van with windows, or a larger commercial bus if I'm traveling across the country. To get to where my original host family lives in Mamá Tingó, I have to take a carro público (public car), which is like a taxi except they fit SEVEN passengers in: five people in the back, two people up front, and that's not even including the driver! We each pay $2.50 USD to travel over an hour to our destination, so I guess you get what you pay for!
The most interesting place I visited this week with Samaná. A friend from the United States came to visit the country, and I took her to a place called Las Terrenas, which is a tourist destination in the northeast part of the country. Las Terrenas is very interesting because it's a good mixture of American, Dominican, and European cultures. The food, drinks, and fashion have a large European influence, while there are many Dominicans who reside there and many American tourists who visit, which makes for a very interesting mixture of intercultural exchange.
