Now that package holidays are available to more and more people around the world, we are all broadening our horizons from the usual spots and we can discover some hidden beauties.

One country that has seen more holiday bookings in recent years is the Dominican Republic, which is located in the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region.

The great weather, beautiful beaches and stunning scenery draw visitors from the four corners of our planet.

So if you are thinking about heading over to República Dominicana sometime over the next year, you will find the following tips quite helpful.

Key information

Timezone: UTC -4

Currency: Dominican Peso (DOP)

Language spoken: Spanish, English in large resorts

Capital: Santo Domingo

Population: 10.2 million

 

When to travel

When you need to take a break from work, the time you have for holiday is precious. That is why you want the weather to be as glorious as possible; who wants to be next to a beach when it is raining?

Luckily the Dominican Republic is renowned for beautiful weather: the northern shore has 300 sunny days a year, with average temperatures in the high twenties.

However if you aren’t a big fan of humidity, you might want to travel to the Dominican between November and April; daytime temperatures will still be around 27°  Celsius or 80° Fahrenheit.

It is worth noting though that the hurricane season is between June and September, but many people still travel at this time.

Travel information and advice

You will be required to have a valid passport to visit the Dominican Republic. Therefore it is in your best interest to check that yours won’t be expiring any time soon. If you do need a replacement, try to get it sorted now so you don’t need to panic closer to the time you want to travel.

There are also another couple of things you need to remember; one is a ‘tourist card’ and the other is your advanced passenger information (API). Firstly, you will need a tourist card when you arrive in the country. You don’t need to do this ahead of time; you can simply purchase one for ten dollars (US) when you arrive. Your API reminders will come from your airline, which requires details about your passport before you fly; this must be done before going to the airport.

Health and safety abroad

No matter where you visit abroad, you should always make sure to have comprehensive travel and health insurance, just in case something goes wrong and you really need it.

You never know whether you might pick up a bug or sickness from something you have eaten or had to drink. Of course, if you are concerned about the standards in your hotel, you should always speak to your holiday representative. It is their job to go about resolving holiday complaints that you might experience.

Aside from this, you should also try to get a Hepatitis A shot at least two weeks before you travel, however you can find out more about current health and safety information on the Department of Health’s website. It is always better to be safe than sorry.

With all this in mind, you can really focus on relaxing, having a great time, fully recharge your batteries and come back renewed!

Have you been the Dominican Republic?

Would you like to go? 🙂

 

Let us know in the comments!