Practical Information for visiting Dominican Republic

Guaguas — shared minibuses running fixed routes — are how Dominicans travel: very cheap, frequent, crowded, and leaving when full. For longer trips, Caribe Tours and Metro run comfortable air-conditioned coaches between the main cities on a timetable.

Hire cars give you the mountains and the south-west, which are awkward otherwise. Roads are decent on the main routes and poor off them. Drive defensively: the accident rate is among the worst in the region, motorcycles come from every direction, and driving at night outside towns is best avoided.

Motoconchos, motorcycle taxis, cover short hops everywhere. They are cheap and not especially safe; helmets are rarely offered.

Taxis should be agreed in price beforehand; Uber works in Santo Domingo and in the main city of the Cibao.

Flying into Punta Cana, Santo Domingo, Puerto Plata or Samana puts you close to most regions; internal flights are limited.

The currency is the Dominican peso (DOP). US dollars are widely accepted in the resort zones and for tours, though you will generally get a better deal paying in pesos.

Cards are accepted in hotels, resorts, supermarkets and larger restaurants. Cash matters everywhere else — guaguas, motoconchos, comedores, markets and small towns.

ATMs are widespread in towns and resort areas. Use ones attached to banks, preferably during the day, and decline the machine’s currency conversion offer.

A tax and service charge of around 28 per cent is added to restaurant and hotel bills — 18 per cent tax plus a 10 per cent service charge — so the bill runs well above the menu price. This surprises almost everyone.

Tipping: the 10 per cent service charge is standard, and an extra 5 to 10 per cent for good service is normal. Tip guides, drivers and housekeeping separately in cash.

Coverage for mobile networks is good across the populated areas and the resort zones from Claro and Altice, with 4G widely available and 5G in the cities. The mountains and the remote south-west have gaps.

Local SIMs and eSIMs are cheap and easy to buy with a passport, and are far better value than roaming.

Wi-Fi is standard in hotels, resorts and cafes, and generally reliable.

Power cuts are common outside the resorts, which run generators. Smaller hotels and guesthouses may lose power for hours, taking the internet with it. A power bank is worth carrying.

There are no access restrictions.

Spanish is the language, in a Caribbean variety that drops final s sounds and runs words together, and is considered one of the faster dialects. Local vocabulary is extensive.

English is widely spoken in the resort areas, by tour staff and in Santo Domingo’s tourism trade, and much less so elsewhere. In the mountains, the south-west and ordinary neighbourhoods, some Spanish makes a real difference.

Haitian Creole is spoken by a substantial population near the border and among migrant workers.

In Samana, a small community descended from nineteenth-century African American settlers has historically spoken a form of English.

Useful: buenos dias, gracias, por favor, cuanto cuesta for how much, que lo que as the local greeting, and una fria for a cold beer.

Most visits are trouble-free, and the resort areas are heavily policed. Crime is a real issue in the cities and the risks on the road are significant.

• Road traffic is the most likely thing to hurt you. The fatality rate is among the highest in the Americas, motorcycles are everywhere, and motoconcho rides are genuinely risky.
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• Street crime in Santo Domingo and the larger cities: bag snatching, robbery at night and occasionally armed. Do not walk alone after dark, do not display phones or jewellery, and do not resist.
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• Scams: unofficial taxis, inflated fares, card skimming at isolated ATMs, and timeshare pitches.
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• Beaches: rip currents and undertow on the Atlantic north coast, often with no lifeguards.
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• Hurricanes and flooding from June to November; mountain roads wash out.
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• The Haitian border area is subject to advisories and instability; check current guidance before going near it.

Private hospitals in Santo Domingo, in the northern Cibao and in the resort areas are good and used to foreign patients; public facilities are limited. Insurance covering medical treatment and evacuation is important, and payment is expected upfront.

Vaccinations: routine cover plus hepatitis A and typhoid; rabies for longer or rural stays.

Mosquito-borne illness is the main concern. Dengue is endemic with periodic outbreaks, and chikungunya and Zika have circulated. Use repellent through the day, since the relevant mosquito bites in daylight. There is a small malaria risk in some rural western areas near the Haitian border.

Stomach upsets are common. Do not drink the tap water — use bottled, including for teeth — and be careful with ice and salads outside good establishments.

Sun and heat: the UV index is high year round, and dehydration is easy in the humidity.

Pharmacies are widespread and sell much over the counter.

Greet people. A buenos dias on entering a shop or joining a queue is expected, and skipping it reads as rude. Greetings are warm and physical — handshakes, cheek kisses between women and between a woman and a man who are acquainted.

Dress: Dominicans dress carefully and neatly, and scruffiness is noticed. Beachwear stays at the beach; cover up in towns, churches and restaurants.

Photography: ask before photographing people, especially in poorer neighbourhoods. Avoid military and police installations.

Drug offences carry long sentences and the prisons are grim. Penalties apply to quantities that would be minor elsewhere.

Prostitution and child protection: sex tourism exists and sexual exploitation of minors is prosecuted, including under the laws of visitors’ home countries.

Haitian descent: casual prejudice is common in conversation. There is no obligation to agree with it.

Punctuality is relaxed socially and expected for transport and tours.

Emergency number: 911 covers police, ambulance and fire across most of the country and works well in the cities and resort zones, with English-speaking operators often available.

Tourist police — CESTUR — operate in the resort and heritage areas and are the better first contact for a visitor’s problem.

Medical. Head for a private hospital — Centro Medico Punta Cana, Hospiten in the resort areas, or Clinica Abreu in Santo Domingo. Payment or an insurance guarantee is required upfront; keep receipts.

During a hurricane, follow official instructions and resort procedures; evacuation orders are issued and should be obeyed.

On Pico Duarte or in the parks, guides are compulsory for a reason — there is no organised mountain rescue, and evacuation is on foot or by mule.

Embassies are in Santo Domingo, with some consular presence in Punta Cana.