Dominican
Republic Dominican
Republic 
TRAVEL INFORMATION
Documents: 
It is most likely that from 1997 citizens of the USA, Canada, Germany
and Britain will not need a passport, just some identification document
from their own country. Citizens of the following countries do not need
a tourist card to enter the Dominican Republic: Argentina, Ecuador, Israel,
Japan, Liechtenstein, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, Uruguay. All others
need a green tourist card, which costs US$10, purchased from consulates,
tourist offices, airlines on departure (e.g. American at Miami), or at
the airport upon arrival. The time limit on tourist cards is 60 days, but
extensions are obtainable from Immigration. The easiest method of extending
a tourist card is simply to pay the fine (US$2 for each month over 3 months)
at the airport when leaving. Check all entry requirements in advance if
possible. All visitors should have an outward ticket. For more information,
see the Dominican Republic Embassy web
site.
Customs:
The airport police are on the lookout for illegal drugs. It is also
illegal to bring firearms into the country. At the land border with Haiti
bags are searched and things sometimes go missing so keep a close eye on
everyone, not just on customs officials. Duty-free import of 200 cigarettes
or one box of cigars, plus one litre of alcoholic liquor and gift
articles to the value of US$100, is permitted. Military-type clothing and
food products will be confiscated on arrival. Currency in excess of US$10,000
may not be taken out of the country without special permission.
Health:
It is not advisable to drink tap water. All hotels have bottled water.
The supply of drinking water in Santo Domingo has been improved. The local
greasy food, if served in places with dubious hygiene, may cause stomach
problems. Hepatitis is common. It is also advisable to avoid the midday
sun.
WEATHER
The climate is tropical. The rainy months are May, June, Aug, September
and November. The temperature shows little seasonal change, and varies
between 18° and 32°C. Only in December does the temperature fall,
averaging about 20°C. Humidity can be high, particularly in coastal
areas, making physical activity difficult. For current weather
in Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic, please see the Washington
Post Weather Information web page.
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MONEY
Currency:
The Dominican peso (RD$) is the only legal tender. The peso is divided
into 100 centavos. There are coins in circulation of 25 and 50 centavos
and 1 peso, and notes of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 pesos.
Exchange:
In 1991, new legislation outlawed all exchange transactions except
those in branches of the major banks. You will be given a receipt and,
with this, you can change remaining pesos back into dollars at the end
of your visit (maximum 30% of dollars changed; cash obtained against a
credit card does not count). Do not rely on the airport bank being open.
Most European currencies can be changed at the Banco de Reservas; Scandinavian
currencies are very hard to change. For current exchange rates please see
the OANDA Classic Currency
Convertor web page.
Credit Cards:
Nearly all major hotels, restaurants and stores accept most credit
cards. Several banks will give cash against Visa or American Express cards,
usually with 5% commission.
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COMMUNICATIONS
Postal Services
Don't use post boxes, they are unreliable. The postal system as a whole
is very slow. For each 10 grams, or fraction thereof, the cost to Europe
is 1 peso; to North America, Venezuela, Central America and the Caribbean,
50 centavos; to elsewhere in the Americas and Spain, 70 centavos; to Africa,
Australia, Asia and Oceania, RD$1.50. It is recommended to use entrega
especial (special delivery, with separate window at post offices), for
2 pesos extra, on overseas mail, or better still a courier service.
Telecommunications
Operated by the Compañía Dominicana de Teléfonos
(Codetel), a subsidiary of GTE. All local calls and overseas calls and
faxes to the Caribbean, European Community, US and Canada may be dialed
directly from any Codetel office (no collect calls to the UK, but they
are available to many other countries). Through Codetel you call abroad
either person-to-person or through an operator (more expensive, but you
only pay if connected). Calls and faxes may be paid for by credit card.
For phone boxes you need 25-centavo coins. Phone calls to the USA cost
US$7.85, to Europe
US$8.50, to Australia US$9.60 and Argentina US$14.80 (3 mins). AT&T's
USA-Direct is available on 1-800-872-2881, US$1.45 for the first minute,
US$1.06 additional and US$2.50 service charge. Canada Direct is 1-800-333-0111.
Codetel publishes a bilingual Spanish/English business telephone directory
for tourism (a sort of tourist's yellow pages), called the Dominican Republic
Tourist Guide/Guía Turística de la República Dominicana,
which contains a lot of information as well as telephone numbers. Emergency
number: 711; information is 1411.
Media
Newspapers:
There are 10 daily papers in all, seven in the morning, three in the
afternoon. Listín Diario has the widest circulation; among the other
morning papers are La Noticia, La Nación, El Nuevo Diario, El Caribe,
Hoy, El Siglo (has good foreign coverage). In the afternoon, Ultima Hora
and El Nacional are published. The English language Santo Domingo News,
published every Friday with listings of events, is available at hotels.
Touring is a multilingual tourist newspaper with articles and advertisments
in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian. La Información,
published in Santiago on weekdays, is a good regional paper carrying both
national and international stories.
Radio and Television:
There are over 170 local radio stations and 7 television stations.
In the N coast area, Radio Fantasia (90.5 FM) is an all-American music
station. Also 1 cable TV station broadcasts in English.
FOOD
Local dishes include sancocho or salcocho prieto (a type of stew made
of six local meats and vegetables, often including plátanos, ñame
and yautia), mondongo (a tripe stew), mofongo, ground plátano with
garlic and chicharrón de cerdo (pork crackling), usually served
with a soup, a side dish of meat and avocado (very filling), chicharrón
de pollo is small pieces of chicken prepared with lime and oregano, locrio
de cerdo or pollo (meat and rice), cocido (a soup of chickpeas, meat and
vegetables), asopao de pollo or de camarones, chivo (goat). Also try pipián,
goats' offal served as a stew. Fish and seafood are good; lobster
can be found for as little as US$12. Fish cooked with coconut (eg pescado
con coco) is popular around Samaná. The salads are often good; another
good side dish is tostones (fried and flattened plátanos), fritos
verdes are the same thing. Plátano mashed with oil is called mangú,
often served with rice and beans. Sweet bananas are often called guineo.
Moro is rice and lentils. Gandules are green beans, as opposed to habichuelas,
very good when cooked with coconut. Quipes (made of flour and meat) and
pastelitos (fried dough with meat or cheese inside) can be bought from
street vendors; but that can be risky. Casabe is a cassava bread, flat
and round, best toasted. Catibias are cassava flour fritters with meat.
The most common dish is called bandera dominicana, white rice, beans, meat/
chicken, plátano or yuca and, in season, avocado.
DRINK
Juices, or jugos, are good; orange is usually called china, papaya
is lechosa, passion fruit is 
chinola.
Agua de coco is coconut milk, often served cold, straight from the coconut,
chilled in an ice box. Local beers are Presidente (the most popular), Quisqueya
and Heineken. There are many rums (the most popular brands are Barceló,
Brugal, Bermúdez, Macorix and Carta Vieja). Light rum (blanco) is
the driest and has the highest proof, usually mixed with fruit juice or
other soft drink (refresco). Amber (amarillo) is aged at least a year in
an oak barrel and has a lower proof and more flavour, while dark rum (añejo)
is aged for several years and is smooth enough, like a brandy, to be drunk
neat or with ice and lime. Brugal allows visitors to tour its factory in
Puerto Plata, on Avenida Luis Genebra, just before the entrance to the
town, and offers free daiquiris. In a discothèque, un servicio is
a 1/3 litre bottle of rum with a bucket of ice and refrescos. In rural
areas this costs US$3-4, but in cities rises to US$15. Imported drinks
are very expensive. Many of the main hotels have a 'Happy Hour' from 700-1900,
on a 'two for one' basis, ie two drinks for the price of one with free
snacks.
