7 tips to visit dominican republic
If you're planning on going to Dominican Republic soon, these are the seven things you really need to know!
do not drink tap water
do not drive
wake up early
always have cash with you
use trustworthy apps to book your tours/experiences
if you are ever stopped by the police, make sure that you only speak in English
bring loads of mosquito repellent
Let’s break this down, shall we?
Do not drink tap water
We knew this beforehand and we still brushed our teeth with tap water during the first few days and then Rui was like: “wait a minute, why is there a cup and a water bottle by the sink?”… Unfortunately, as many other undeveloped countries, tap water in Dominican Republic is classified as improper to drink, as there are multiple infectious diseases that can spread through it.
Do not drive
Whatever you do, please do not drive! Driving in the Dominican Republic is way too dangerous. We rented a car with full insurance and we still felt at risk because people do not comply with basic safety rules! You will see vehicles without doors, without license plates, you will see people riding motorbikes with five people on it, including babies. It was absolutely chaotic! It was normal to have 5 car lanes when there were actually only 3 and no one stops before entering roundabouts, so please be extremely careful!
If you choose to drive around the country, NEVER drive overnight because the road side lighting is practically inexistent, vehicles often don’t have any lights and it is common for people to drive while they’re drunk.
You can find these pieces of advice in the official Government website and statistically, Dominican Republic is considered to be one of the countries with the highest road accidents as well as the highest death rate as a consequence of those accidents.
Wake up early: sunrises are amazing
We used to belong to that group of people who would choose sunsets as our preferred time of day to photograph and record some videos. But people change, right?
Sunrises in the Caribbean are extremely peaceful, beautiful and magical. When we got there, we decided to get up early to start our day the best way possible and we couldn’t recommend it more. Places are usually less crowded - although we loved to see loads of couples enjoying early mornings - and we can guarantee the colours will look great on your camera.
Always have cash with you
Tips are really a thing in the Dominican Republic. If you feel you received a good service, if you feel welcomed and you can actually afford it, then it will be very well appreciated if you give a tip. To be fair, we didn't know this and it's not part of our culture. We don’t find it normal here in London and we hadn'’t really thought about this before our trip but after the first day, we understood that everyone was giving tips and Dominicans were actually expecting them.
We are not trying to say that you should do that every single time, but if you believe it is deserved, don’t be shy. We found ourselves in a couple of awkward situations where everyone else was giving tips and we really wanted to as well but couldn’t because we didn’t have any cash on us and ATM machines were available but definitely not as widely as we would love to.
Use trustworthy apps to book your tours
It’s now time to take advantage of all the digital tools available and to save a couple of bucks on your trips! We highly recommend you guys compare prices for every tour/experience you may be interested in, as we found out that the prices you will probably find in the hotels or other local business are often advertised as “Special Guest Price” but unfortunately they’re nothing but a tourist trap.
OUR experience
We received loads of messages suggesting to visit Saona Island. In our resort, there was a tour supplier with a tour to the Saona Island which included hotel pick-up and buffet lunch at the island. The price was 99£ per person. We genuinely thought we wouldn’t get a better offer. Later that day, we were looking for other things to do on the GetYourGuide App and we found the exact same tour, for 62£ per person. It is certainly worth exploring all the options before you commit to something. We could have saved 37£ per person! Don’t be like us, use GetYourGuide.
If you are ever stopped by the police, make sure you only speak English
We can’t recall how many times we were stopped by the police on our long journey through the island. We read somewhere on the internet about always interacting in English with Dominican Police and we found it extremely useful!
As we are Portuguese, we are able to understand Spanish and we could understand that the policemen were often asking us to get out of the car or to inspect the trunk but as we would always reply in English, they were simply taken aback by the language barrier and allowed us to proceed our journey without troubling us (at least until the next checkpoint, only a few kilometers ahead).
We obviously didn’t have anything to hide but we know from other people’s experiences that in some countries police forces are highly corrupted, so if you wish to get out of trouble, stick to English!
Bring loads of mosquito repellent
Mosquitos can get quite nasty in the Dominican Republic, therefore Mosquito repellent will never be enough and it was our absolute favourite when it came down to skincare essentials! Despite all our attempts to keep the mosquitos away, we still brought back with us a couple of bites spread all over our bodies that made it hard to forget this trip for a couple of weeks.
DON’T FORGET YOUR TRAVEL INSURANCE
Dominican Republic is still a poor country despite all the luxury resorts and accidents happen when we least expect! There is nothing more terrifying than getting hurt abroad, where we don’t always understand the health system neither the language. Also, there is this misconception that a travel insurance is really expensive, which couldn’t be far from the truth!
If you are looking for travel insurance for your trip to Dominican Republic, we would recommend IATI, which is the company we use when traveling. As our reader you will get 5% off your travel insurance!
Always remember: Better Safe Than Sorry!
