Dominican Republic Tourist Guide

Air
flight Departure airport – charter flights – Domodedovo, regular flights – Sheremetyevo
Arrival airport – Santo Domingo or Punta Cana
Travel time – direct flight about 13 hours.

Customs control
Tourist card Even before the border guard desk you need to purchase and fill in Latin letters a tourist card. The cost is $10 per person, including children. The validity of the card is up to 3 weeks from the date of entry. The spine of the card must be kept for control during the return flight. In case of loss of the spine – a fine of 20 dollars. The passport must be valid for one month from the date of entry.

Return flight

When registering for a return flight at the airport, an airport tax is charged – $ 20 per ticket. Don’t forget to set aside money in advance.

Transfer
After passing through passport control and claiming your luggage, you need to approach the representative of the host company, who is waiting for you in the arrivals hall with a sign with your name
You will register with a representative and receive an information envelope and find out where your bus is located, if you have booked a group or taxi, if you have booked an individual transfer.
Our advice: have your transfer voucher ready on the plane – this will help you quickly complete the check-in procedure and go to the hotel.
During the journey (if you have booked a collective transfer) from the airport to the hotel you will receive all the information about the resort, country features,

sightseeing
routes letters.
Please note: all calls from the hotel are chargeable!!!
ATTENTION!!! Check-out time at the hotel on the day of departure – no later than 12:00
Please pay bills for additional services in advance.

Dominican Republic. short info

Geography, population, religion
The capital
is the city of Santo Domingo with a population of 2 million people, the population of the country is 8.5 million people. (2001). The total area is 48.4 thousand square meters. km. The highest point is Mount Duarte (3175 m). Ethnic composition: 73% mulatto, 16% European and 11% African. The average annual air temperature is +25 – +33C. Religion: Catholic.
Language
According to a2zgov, the official language is Spanish. But in the resort areas, English, German and Italian are used.
Time
behind Moscow by 7 hours. From the last Sunday of March to the last Sunday of October – 8 hours.
Currency
When exchanging, you are required to present your passport. We recommend either not to change dollars, or to change in small amounts, because. it is impossible to make a return exchange! The national currency is the peso. The exchange rate is 1 dollar – 35.5 pesos, so it is very easy to perceive all prices in rubles (almost 1 to 1 to euros)
. it is impossible to make a return exchange!

Credit cards
The main credit cards Visa, Master Card, American Express are widely used for payment. ATMs are available in every hotel, but they only give out local currency – pesos

Water
Drinking tap water is not recommended. For this purpose, buy bottled mineral water.

Electricity
Mains voltage – 110 volts. To use electrical appliances, you must have special adapters for flat sockets, which can be purchased at the reception or in the store.

Telephone and Internet
You can call any country in the world from a hotel or any pay phone. To call to Russia, you need to dial 011 – access to an international line, 7 – the code of Russia, then the area code + subscriber’s number. Russian mobile phones on the territory of the island work only if your telephone set is quite expensive for Russians (from 2.5 to 5 dollars per minute, SMS – up to 60 cents)
You can use a representative to purchase a local SIM card, or rent a local mobile phone if your phone does not support the US standard. With a local SIM card, incoming calls are free, and outgoing calls to Russia will cost 10 times cheaper. All telephone conversations from the hotel (even local) are paid. Each hotel has Internet access (up to $10 per hour), but it is not possible to connect to the Internet in the room.

The local population
is very friendly, responsive and love music and fun in all its manifestations. While serving you in a restaurant, they will sing and dance. Cases of theft in hotels are extremely rare, but they do occur. Therefore, we recommend keeping all valuables in a safe.

Tips
You will be expected to tip for almost everything, but remember that you don’t owe anyone. It is customary to tip everyone who serves you – maids, porters – about a dollar. Restaurants usually include an 8% state tax and a 10% mandatory tip on the bill, but in addition to this, it is customary in the country to tip waiters depending on their services. They also give tea to guides and drivers of tourist buses.

Alms.
On the streets of large cities, you will constantly beg for alms. However, by submitting once, you will gather a large crowd of people around you. So the best advice is to ignore it. You can save small sweets or other sweets for the children you will meet in the villages and cities during the excursions

Shops and shopping
Shops are open on weekdays from 09.00 to 12.00 and from 15.00 to 18.00. On weekends, opening hours depend on the profile of the store. From handicrafts you can find: hats, paintings, mahogany, wallets, amber and jewelry. One of the most popular souvenirs for Europeans is colorful paintings in the Haitian naive style. You can buy them on the beach and in the markets. Bargain: You will most often be able to negotiate a third or half of the originally advertised price.

Medical assistance
All visitors are provided with medical insurance. We advise you to carefully read the insurance conditions set out in your policy. In the event of an insured event, it is necessary to contact the 24-hour dispatch center of the service company, the phone number of which is indicated in the insurance policy, or contact the guide. We recommend that you bring any medicines you usually use with you.

Entertainment
Many entertainment centers are located in hotels. Every evening from 21.30 to 22.45 almost every hotel hosts an evening entertainment program, after which a disco begins. There are many discos on the coast, on Playa Bavaro we recommend visiting the famous MANGU disco, and for lovers of national rhythms – AREITO NEWS.

The Sun The
Dominican sun, like the rum, is potent, although you may not notice it at first. Use a high protection sun cream.

On the movement
of Taxi. Each hotel has a taxi rank, they operate 24 hours a day. Tariffs can be found at the parking lot. If the route you are going to take is not on the fare list, you will have to negotiate the fare before boarding the taxi.
Car rent. There are always representatives of well-known car rental companies in hotels. To rent, it is enough to have a driver’s license and a credit card. However, such a journey in the Dominican Republic is quite risky. Traffic rules are not respected, signs and traffic lights are practically absent. Among local residents, the accident rate is very high, tk. few traffic police. The mere fact that drivers are not tested for alcohol in the blood here makes one wonder. Therefore, car rental is not recommended.
Important: All airports in the 27 countries of the European Union must check passengers’ hand luggage and not allow liquids in excess of 100 milliliters, with a total volume of no more than 1 liter, to be carried on board aircraft. Medicines and baby food are checked separately and are not limited in volume. Perfumes, drinks, alcohol and aerosols purchased from duty-free shops at the airport and packed in sealed plastic bags can also be carried in hand luggage. BUT!!! If a passenger has a flight with a transfer, liquids purchased at the airport of departure will not be allowed on board, they can only be purchased at the transfer airport.

Dominican Republic Tourist Guide