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A vacation in Santo Domingo offers the wonderful experience of seeing a Caribbean city in its purest state: strolls through the Colonial Neighborhood and down the Esplanade, adventure sports in natural parks, naps on idyllic beaches, the best dining and drinks, and nights spent dancing to the rhythms of salsa and bachata. However, like on any trip abroad, it is important to keep some details in mind so your vacation in the Dominican Republic is a success.
Citizens from almost every country may visit the Dominican Republic as tourists for up to 30 days without a visa. However, you will need to bring your current passport, round trip airline ticket, the address where you are going to stay and proof that you have sufficient financial means to cover your expenses.
The Dominican Republic is considered a relatively safe country, especially compared to other countries in the area. Despite that, we recommend taking out trip insurance that protects against theft, accidents, and includes medical care and repatriation. Medical care in Santo Domingo is carried out in private hospitals at very high prices, so it is very important to verify that the policy is comprehensive.
You do not need any vaccines or special health-related precautions, according to the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare. However, dengue, an illness caused by mosquito bites, is prevalent. Therefore, the Ministry of Public Health of the Dominican Republic recommends adopting preventive measures to avoid mosquito bites and going to a medical facility if you have symptoms of dengue. Likewise, we recommend adopting certain hygiene measures, especially with regard to food handling and drinking water (consume only bottled).
The official currency in Santo Domingo is the Dominican peso (RD$). To access current exchange rate information, see the website of the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic. It is very difficult to exchange large bills to Dominican pesos or American dollars, so we recommend exchanging small amounts of currency in cash. Given the frequent reports of credit card cloning and falsification, we recommend extreme caution using them. However, in official establishments and at hotel chains there is total security and both Visa and Mastercard are accepted.
The time zone in Santo Domingo is GMT-4 and the time does not change in the summer, so it is the same year round.
The official language of the Dominican Republic is Spanish, though in tourist areas most staff speak English. In some areas you will hear Haitian Creole and you may also find signs written in this language.
What you pack will depend on the places you are going to visit. In general, we recommend light clothing with long sleeves and a hat to avoid mosquito bites. You will also need adapters to connect or charge your electronic devices at 110 V. The plugs and outlets in Santo Domingo are type A and B.
Santo Domingo, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC