Checklist: Am I at risk in the Dominican Republic

6.Are you generally accident prone at home.
7.Have you ever woken up in the morning and not recognised the person next to you.
8.Are you a drug user

MerengueDutchie said:

5. Do you intend to sample the local night-life extensively. High risk. People who come to the DR to partake of the local nightlife (girls/boys) are running a risk. You must at all times maintain control of your senses and not give any opportunity to be drugged (sometimes this does happen) or robbed. Watch your valuables and never leave anyone unattend in your room.

Click to expand...

I disagree with this. It's location dependent and LOW risk in many places.

In 12 years of visiting bars and clubs in Santo Domingo, I have only ever seen 1 or 2 minor incidents. Actually, I honestly can't remember any of my friends (Dominican / Foreign) ever having a problem in a club or bar in Santo Domingo.

i think op meant sampling local puta spas rather than just plain bars

jrhartley said:

7.Have you ever woken up in the morning and not recognised the person next to you.

Click to expand...

This used to happen to my cousin every few days or so but he had Alzheimer's disease

I dunno...

dv8 said:

i think op meant sampling local puta spas rather than just plain bars

Click to expand...

I am leaning toward the actions of the traveller having greater influence on their safety than the entertainment venue. I've been to some pretty seedy looking bars in Santo Domingo (not "puta spas") that ended up being a great time, especially when Liga games are being televised. Safety (like sex) is 95% between ones ears.

The last violent crimes has happend inside the victims apartements.

In my next visit to Sosua will try to find a hotel or apartement in a safe area and with good securtity , will be more important than get the lowest price or best room.
And in my last visit was my door always closed, in the daytime could I easy open the door if anybody knock on the door, since I new it was people very close, but if anybody knock on my door at late/night would I first try to see who it was thrue the window or not open the door at all, just talk true the door and say I would wait with the matters to next morning.
it is also possible to buy a cheap hand alarm, that you can activate if you feel somebody try to force their way into your room, will sound high and long enough to get attention from the neighboors and scare the thief to leave.

If you get people inside your room,try to coporate and ask them to spare your life, as say you have small children.That the Haiti intruders saw a photo of his haitian daughter at his bed and that he could speak some few words in french saved the life to one foreigner last year in DR.
The intruders will ask for the combination for your safe and the pin number for your creditcard and say they will come back if you give them the wrong pin code. One idea could be to have a old creditcard with very little credit left in you safe, put the card in the top in your safe and maybe hide your 1 credit card in the safe or another place.

If you go to places like the scandinavian restaurant at the playa at night or go home from the city late at night , always use a motochone or walk with some friends. normally is one motochone visting the Scandinavian bar at late.

Newer walk with to much money when you go out, in cuba has we something could a dummy wallet, a old wallet for the back pocket, that you have very little moeny in case you are robbed or pickpocket. You can also hide bigger notes in othe places in your body or in other pockets, I always carry my wallet in my left front pocket in my jeans. When you pay at a bar, never flash with your money or show your pocket open and that people beside you can see how much money you have. I know from Cuba that the hookers always stayed at the bar and tried to see how much money the foreigner had in their pocket and they try to be the foreigner with most money.

if you take a girl with you home, always try to let the security guard keep her ID and write down her ID number, in stead of have money to pay the girl in the safe can you hide enough money another place to pay her and never let her out of sight, and hide your belonings as cellar and other things.

For two years ago was my son alone in a outdoor disco in cuba for 20 minutts while we other went out to find something to eat, when we come back was he drugged with sleeping pills, put in his beer can whe he was at the toilet.
If you are alone, go to regular bars where the staff and maybe some costumber knows you and also knows where you live, in case some try to drug you. So will they maybe help you if you start to sleep or act strange

Everytime you need money from the ATM, always go in the daytime and go fast home with your money and creditcard, never go out with your credit card. And In Sosua is it armed security guards day and night at Scotia and Popular bank.Never take to much money out of your credit card and never go out with to much money.

just some advice I have learn to use after some visites to Cuba and DR

What a headache. If you want to go somewhere you feel in constant threat then you deserve the hassles and headache all these little things like being mugged brings.
If a place has had recent reports of problems then avoid it, it isn't rocket science. The internet is supposed to open up information to make these decisions easier and help keep us all safe. Ignore the red lights then don't be shocked to end up part of the reports.

MerengueDutchie said:

You must at all times maintain control of your senses

Click to expand...

This pretty much sums it up.

The difference between the DR and 'the competition' is that the DR has DR1, which is an international window to what in 'the competition' remains local news/rumors/scandals.

So fine, if DR1 scares anyone from vacationing in the DR, then by all means have your Caribbean vacation on another island where you think you will be safer, but in reality probably not. Heck, forget the islands and go to Mexico, but CNN is doing quite a job with that place. Um, any Central American country sounds good (as long that you don't know that its the main drug corridor between Colombia and the US, with everything that implies). Hm, the situation is now dire. Try Brazil, oh wait, its populated by humans and stuff happens there too. Forget abroad, go to Miami, just don't look at the crime statistics because then you will know you are vacationing in one of the most dangerous cities in the US.

Stay home. After all, most injuries (including non-natural deaths) occurs within minutes from the victim's home.

In the mean time, the DR will continue to welcome over 4 million tourists from all over the world this year. Of those, perhaps 0.00001% might run into trouble, most of the rest will leave with memories of what they will consider heaven on earth.

Sometimes, not knowing is bliss because it keeps you sane, and most likely, safe. Why safe? Your chances are so slim of being a victim of any type of serious crime, that even in ignorance you will visit and go home worry free. Ok, maybe with a pound or two and memories; happy, good memories.

NALs said:

The difference between the DR and 'the competition' is that the DR has DR1, which is an international window to what in 'the competition' remains local news/rumors/scandals.

So fine, if DR1 scares anyone from vacationing in the DR, then by all means have your Caribbean vacation on another island where you think you will be safer, but in reality probably not. Heck, forget the islands and go to Mexico, but CNN is doing quite a job with that place. Um, any Central American country sounds good (as long that you don't know that its the main drug corridor between Colombia and the US, with everything that implies). Hm, the situation is now dire. Try Brazil, oh wait, its populated by humans and stuff happens there too. Forget abroad, go to Miami, just don't look at the crime statistics because then you will know you are vacationing in one of the most dangerous cities in the US.

Stay home. After all, most injuries (including non-natural deaths) occurs within minutes from the victim's home.

In the mean time, the DR will continue to welcome over 4 million tourists from all over the world this year. Of those, perhaps 0.00001% might run into trouble, most of the rest will leave with memories of what they will consider heaven on earth.

Sometimes, not knowing is bliss because it keeps you sane, and most likely, safe. Why safe? Your chances are so slim of being a victim of any type of serious crime, that even in ignorance you will visit and go home worry free. Ok, maybe with a pound or two and memories; happy, good memories.

Click to expand...

I agree with NALs.
Hold on, did I just type that?? aranoid: