Booked for Dominican Republic- A couple of Q's

Miró

Am soooo excited...spur of the moment thingy....booked today to go to Dominican Republic :j Never been to Caribbean before Now reading the blurb...ermmmm????

Do you need a visa?? Or is it a travel card thingy when travelling from the UK? Can you get one on arrival or do you have to get it from the Dominican Republic Embassy beforehand??

And then there's the jabs to think about...(ouch!). Made an appointment to see GP but what is usual?? And can whatever is needed (I'm thinking anti-malaria) be got online cheaper than a private prescription....any recommendations please from seasoned travellers???

Davidboy

Hi - we went to DR last year.

Injections etc. as long as you are upto date with the usual ones, but check with your doc for up to date info.

Anti malaria - we did not use prescription from docs, bought the same thing over the counter at Boots for pence. As of last year only the mild ones needed again check with docs, warning...they taste bl00dy aweful have a sweet ready to suck straight afterwards.

We have a British Passport and did not need visa's, you fill forms out on plane.

When you land, you go through customs etc. and you are taxed straight away, $20 each I think or was it $10....can't remember, make sure you have some US Dollars at the ready in your hand luggage. Also when you leave you pay a departure tax, but for us it was included in our package price check with who you booked with. The arrivals tax is not and everyone has to pay. We only took US Dollars and was accepted everywhere, you get change in local currency.

Will be very hot take loads of sunscreen. :cool:

We were shocked at how poor the people were, once you go out of the hotels compound you seem to go back hundreds of years. Most people ride motorbikes, the most we counted was 4 on one bike (the whole family!!):eek: the average was two to three people. No helmets and generally wearing flipflops. :rotfl:

We had a brilliant holiday (my 50th birthday) and sure you will too. The local people are very friendly, can't do enough for you.

Enjoy the experience. :T

D

littlestar1981

You'll have a great time, I came back from the Dominican last week!!

Visa - you fill in a form on the plane then when you arrive you hand this in and pay $10 per person for a tourist card which you have to hand in to someone 10 metres further up the airport (seriously!) and then when you leave you have to pay a $20 per person departure tax. Cash in both cases and nothing but US dollars!!

You can use Euros, Dominican Pesos or US dollars but US dollars was by far the easiest, and the Euro particularly has a seriously bad rate. Some excursions had a rate of 1 US dollar = 1 Euro! Domincan Pesos were all would we could get when changing travellers cheques at the hotel reception but the UK tour operator (who we didn't book with but was still helpful) changed into US dollars for us.

Health - Anti malarials are officially recommended, you need Chloroquine (on the box it says Avoclor). Tesco and Asda did this for £2.16, Boots £4.60! You start taking them a week before, one tablet a week until 4 weeks after you return. they do taste vile though, wash down with lots of strong cordial I suggest!! No prescription needed just ask at the pharmacy. You need Hepatitis A, and normally Diptheria and Polio go alongside these.

I agree with Davidboy, take a lot of suncream and reapply it more than you think you should...also be aware of what you are eating and have good insurance, I ended up with gastroenteritis, which resulted in introvenous drugs at 5am on flying home day and lots of antibiotics... I wasn't shocked at getting this as it is common, but I just went for the cheapest insurance which meant my excess for medical treatment was almost the same as the cost of the treatment (£150)

Agree again with Davidboy the people can't do enough for you, but they are so poor themselves. If you are planning on any trips to see the real Domincan take some little gifts for the children (crayons, pens, notebooks), the children chase after the trucks hoping someone will give them a pen so they can go to school, bless them.

One other thing I'd highlight - bartering. Go in shops outside your hotel and the price tag of everything says zero, so that they can throw a price at you to haggle with. Always try to get 40% less, and remember the phrase 'i'll come back tomorrow' :-)

Have a great trip though... mine was truly memorable and I'd go back in a heartbeat.

Miró

Ooooh...thank you Davidboy and littlestar1981 for all that useful information :T

Just been looking on TripAdvisor re our hotel and resort, (Sunscape, formerly Allegro in Punta Cana), some very mixed opinions!!!!! Oh well, we are usually easily pleased!

littlestar...as you have recently been there....what was the weather like??

Re the anti-malarial stuff....I've seen on the net a combined Travel Pack of Paludrine/Avoclor (approx £15) and was wondering if this would be better than Avoclor alone. (Will be asking GP but wondered what others thought). I do get bitten by mozzies something horrid usually, no matter what I do!

pattycake

I am a veteran traveller to the DR (over a dozen trips in the last 10 years) and love it there. I keep up to date with Hep A, typhoid, tetanus, polio jabs. We do not use the malaria tablets and never had done. We do protect ourselves from being bitten by using a good insect repellent. Mosquito Milk is my favourite. It costs £6.95 a bottle but is a roll-on and you only have to use stripes not a complete coverage so is quite economical.

The info given above regarding the Tourist Card is correct. Make sure you have US dollars available and take plenty of small bills ($1) to use for tips. My biggest tip would be to be sure to take everything you might need with you in regard to toiletries or medication. You can buy there but it is horrendously expensive. You will need tons of suncream. It is very hot and humid. I do not know when you are going but you will probably get some rain. It is usally short-lived but extremely heavy. It is the tropics after all.

Check out Debbies Domincan Travel website. It is excellent and someone on the forums will answer any questions you have and no doubt you get more information on your particular hotel. Punta Cana is gorgeous. The beaches fabulous. I go back on just over six weeks and cannot wait.

arealhighlander

We had 2 holidays to DR at the end of the 90's. Both holidays were great but DR is not somewhere I would recommend to a friend. You could have water or electricity - but not necessarily both at the same time! People go there thinking they're going to Spain - it is a very poor Third World country.

The people are very poor, most holiday makers go over and stay in all inclusive resorts and dont get out into the local population - which isnt always a bad thing.

Do not hire any jetskis. Our tour rep recommended people didnt hire them but if you did, make sure you take out the ski companys insurance. A family from Manchester did just that, but their 15 year olf son was hit by someone else on a jetski. All of a sudden the insurance wasn't valid and they wanted £2000 or they woudl take their passoprts off them. The tour company shrugged and said theres nothing that can be done.

Several families were all over for a wedding, the twin blonde 16 year old daughters couldn't go out of teh resort as they drew too much attention and their uncle was offered £3000 for them!

A mother and her 12 year old ginger haired boy was asked if he could go and make some ginger haired babies with some of the locals, they would pay as well. He was up for it of course

They used Haitians to do the menial labour as Haiti is even poorer than the Dominicans. They use them to gather the sugar cane from teh fields, because the fields are full of snakes and dozens of them dies each year after being bitten.

As I said, we had 2 great holidays but dont treat it as a normal country. Take extra care. You definately need good travel insurance, if you have an accident, you will not get any medical help unless you can prove you can pay for it. Food poisoning was common when we were there. The buffet breakfasts look nice, but when you see the local birds come down and peck at the dishes you understand why it happens!

littlestar1981

The weather was fab Miro, really really hot and quite humid every day. You really feel it when you get off the plane!!

As Pattycake says, being the tropics you will get rain... though luckily for us it was just an hours worth one morning (but very very heavy) otherwise it was glorious. We went to Punta Cana too (Sirenis Tropical Suites in Uvero Alto), I think a lot of mixed reviews on hotels are centred around food so I just think you just need to be aware of what you are eating. A place someone hates will be the best thing since sliced bread to another!!

I'd also agree with Pattycake about the malaria.. I just used loads of insect repellent (still the odd bite grr!) and abandoned the Avoclor. However I wouldn't want to suggest this is an idea suitable for everyone, it's just that for me I took the tablet a week before I went and within hours had horrible flu that lasted a week... probably just a coincidence, but enough to stop me taking them.

pattycake

There is a lot of truth in what Arealhighlander says although things have moved on quite a bit since the 90's. For example, jetskis are now banned because of the accidents which were caused. We have had very little problems regarding lack of water or electricity. We always use very good quality hotels.

I have never been affected by any sort of food poisoning. (Touching wood now:rotfl:). Again, I would reiterate, we use good hotels, but we also sensible. Make sure the hot food is hot and the cold, cold. Wash your own hands well and frequently. Another mistake some people make is to over indulge in the free booze. That together with as much food as you can eat and a very hot and humid climate is a recipe for diasaster IMHO.

The first time we went to the DR in 1997, we took our 16 year old daughter and she did receive a lot of unwanted attention. Mainly from the Activity Staff on the resort. Since then we have found things improved as the hotel management have become aware that guests do not welcome such attention, in the main.

Last year I was unlucky enough to get an eye infection. I saw the hotel doctor who was literally on site 24 hours a day. He spoke excellent English and I was very well treated. I had an £35 excess on my annual worldwide travel policy and the total cost of my treatment was around £100. I used my credit card and had no trouble claiming when I got home.

In short, use your common sense. Yes, take out good insurance and make sure your jabs are up to date. Do your research and do not make the mistake of thinking the Dominican Republic is like Spain or Portugal. It is not. It is still a third world country but generally the people welcome tourists for the money they bring.

arealhighlander

Glad to hear things have improved in the DR. We had a good laught when we were there but that was because of the company of the other holidaymakers (and the 151 proof local rum that you could run your car on!)

kittykat100

Hi!

When are you going... we are going out this Thursday and staying at the Sirenis Cocotal in Punta Cana.... we can't wait either... hey.. its got to be better weather than the UK lol !!

Kittyx

Miró

kittykat100 wrote: »

Hi!

When are you going... we are going out this Thursday and staying at the Sirenis Cocotal in Punta Cana.... we can't wait either... hey.. its got to be better weather than the UK lol !!

Kittyx

Still 32 sleeps for us We travel on 6th June from Manchester. Been and bought a load of beach wear today from M & S's sale:D Am half-hoping for a little hurricanette as we were told that June is the start of the hurricane season....only a little one mind! Would love to hear how you get on......are you planning on doing any of the 'excursions'???

(Ooooh just had a squiz at the Sirenis Cocotal......get you...five stars!!!!!)