March and October are the sales months. But there are many outlet type stores with attractive prices all year round. The Dominican Republic manufactures several of the world's major brands in its industrial parks, and thus lots of these garments can be found in Santo Domingo stores for attractive prices. Likewise, foreign currencies stretch a long way in the DR.

At the beach destinations, shopping areas have been set off primarily offering a wide selection of arts and crafts, jewelry, tropical food products and cigars.

Jewelry
Dominican amber, brought to world acclaim in the hit film "Jurassic Park" is one of the best buys, along with larimar, the sea-blue, semi-precious stone found only in the Dominican Republic. The amber museums in Colonial Santo Domingo and downtown Puerto Plata offer special opportunities to understand this stone's capacity to perpetuate history. In the East Coast, Palma Real Village is the leading shopping area.  
Another option in the jewelry area are the original medallions found on the Concepcion, a Spanish treasure ship which sank in 1641. The coins are mounted on gold and silver and sold as fine jewelry either with a chain or as a brooch.

Furniture
Rocking chairs in multiple colors are pre-packed for easy assembly.

Dominican and Haitian Art
Note that the colorful paintings that are sold as Dominican art on city streets are actually variations of famous Haitian paintings using house paint. But their wonderful colors make them a popular purchase by all visitors.

Dominican Art is sold primarily in art galleries and is pricey. Paintings will range from a minimum RD$4,000 for a starting artist to upwards of RD$40,000 for recognized names.

Arts and Crafts
Faceless ceramic dolls. The dolls depict Dominican country life with the dolls balancing baskets or pots on their heads, some milling coffee and some holding bouquetes. Mugs, plates, vases and containers. 

Music box. A ceramic piece very much in vogue is a music box crafted in the shape of a typical Dominican house. The music played is spam classical or contemporary merengue. 
Dominican-crafted leather goods are also popular items. They are well-made, and fashioned in current styles and designs. They are available in the larger shopping centers.

Taste of the DR
Dominican coffee, rum, prepared food items and cigars. These items can be purchased in any large Dominican supermarkets, such as the Nacional, Pola, La Cadena, or Bravo. 

A true pride and joy of the Dominican people is their richly-flavored coffee. Most Dominicans love their coffee black in a demitasse cup with lots of sugar. Some prefer it in a full-sized cup with two parts boiled milk. The Cafe Santo Domingo coffee can be purchased in small four-cup size bags for individual coffee preparation or in tin cans. Choose the bags if you will not be consuming the coffee within a month's time. 

To take back the tastes of the Dominican Republic, you can purchase local products such as Bon guava, pineapple or passionfruit marmalades sold at any supermarket. While you can't take them back with you, make sure you visit a Bon Ice Cream shop to sample rum raisin, macadamia, organic chocolate, sweet milk, corn pudding, bean sweet icecreams. Or tropical sherbets made with passionfruit, lime, coconut and many more. 

There are also sweets and candies known as "dulces." These are similar to fudge but flavored with pineapple, coconut or guava, and can be found at specialty shops or supermarkets.

Almost everyone appreciates a good bottle of rum, and in the Dominican Republic, you have abut 36 variations of this gold-colored drink. There are six distilleries which produce hundreds of gallons a day.  The top lines of the main brands are known as Brugal Cien Años, Barceló Imperial and Bermúdez Aniversario. The taste of these rums will remind you of fine brandy. 

Cigar lovers worldwide know that the Dominican Republic has replaced Cuba as a prime exporter of cigars. Tobacco is the D.R.'s oldest crop. It was already being cultivated by the Tainos when Columbus arrived, and it has long been a stable agricultural export. The U.S. is the D.R.'s number one importer of cigars, but they are also sold to Europe in large quantities. Equal in quality to the famed Cuban cigars, the three main Dominican brands which can be found at supermarkets are: Aurora, Habanera and Cerdan. Note, though, that because most cigars are manufactured in duty-free shops for export, you may get better prices abroad than in the DR.

The beat of the DR
Take back the sounds of the Spanish Caribbean. CD and cassette stores abound in Santo Domingo at the malls or shopping centers. Take back the music of this land to remind you of the good times whether you prefer lively upbeat merengue, slower bachata or sexy salsa. The beat is your choice. Names to remember are Juan Luis Guerra and Chichí Peralta.