TRAVEL GUIDE to THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
This is your ultimate travel guide to the Dominican Republic!
CAPITAL: SANTO DOMINGO
The Dominican Republic was discovered in 1492 by Christopher Columbus, and since then, the country overflows with fascinating history, museums, and exciting cultural experiences: music, art, festivals, specialties such as cigars, rum, chocolate, coffee, merengue, amber, and larimar.
What you will find there? White sand beaches and resorts, scuba diving and fishing, sailing from island to island, lots of coconuts, and parties at Coco Bongo.
There are plenty of 5star resorts in the Dominican Republic, but you can also travel on a budget, especially if you book in advance. And stay away from the high season, which is from December to May.
SAY HELLO IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC:
¡Hola! = Hello
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When in THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
YOUR TRAVEL GUIDE
The Dominican Republic belongs to the Caribbean Region, which is a massive archipelago located in the Caribbean Sea, subdivided into regions: the Lucayan Archipelago, the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles, and the ABC Islands. With 13 sovereign states and 17 dependent territories in the Caribbean, the predominant languages are English, Spanish, French, Dutch and Antillean creole.
The Caribbean sprawls across more than 1.06 million square miles and is primarily located between North America and South America.
Currency: Despite its small size, the Dominican Republic uses its own currency: the Dominican peso.
The Eastern Caribbean dollar serves as the official currency for the Organisation of the Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), an economic and monetary union established in 1981 to harmonize economic and trade policies among the 10 islands located in the Eastern Caribbean.
CARD PAYMENTS AND CASH WITHDRAWALS:
Credit cards are widely accepted throughout the Dominican Republic, mainly Visa and Mastercard. Based on my experience, what I can suggest, is either you bring cash with you, euros or dollars and you exchange it at the airport, or even better in Santo Domingo, or you might want to take a REVOLUT card with you, to eliminate bank fees.
At the ATMs there are fees up to 50% of the amount you want to withdraw, so stay away from this. If you pay with a card, there are fees of up to 20% of the amount. If you really need to pay by card, pick their own currency and let your bank do the exchange. If you have a REVOLUT card, even better. If you choose your own currency, the retailer will charge you his own fees, and they are quite huge.
Be aware of the fact that locals are very nice, extremely nice, but for every little help, even telling you the direction, they expect to receive some money in return. At the airport, do not accept help with the luggage from anyone, as they will charge you money afterward for helping you.
Plugs: For Dominican Republic, there are plug types A and B. Plug type A has two flat parallel pins and plug type B has two flat parallel pins and a grounding pin. The Dominican Republic operates on a 120V supply voltage and 60Hz.
Connexion: Wi-Fi connection on every resort, free or on demand.
Best Time to visit
The sun always shines in the Caribbean.
Tourists come to the tropical islands especially when winter strikes their homeland. The temperatures, on average, are between 23 to 30 degrees Celsius regardless of the season.
Be aware of humidity that can be high year-round. If you need dry clothes, I suggest the cleaning service at your hotel. I’ve been to the Dominican Republic in May, and it was OK, hot weather, with some rain, but not too much.
Also, note that hurricanes are common in the tropics. Hurricane season lasts from June through November so check the forecast before your vacation.
The rainy season arrives in autumn, and the hurricane season is from June through November. Truly a year-round destination, there is never a bad time to visit the Dominican Republic.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC SOLO TRAVEL REPORTAGE
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