Safety in the north coast of dr

1- no
2- yes can be
3- none of these options, bought a house in a community without security
4- i don't know, tried Santo Domingo and Sosua, no problem in both cases
5- for me no problem
6- never has problem on beach
7- make police your friend and sometime pay them 100 pesos for their gas !!!! :cheeky:

we are nearby a small town but fairly isolated. We have done our due diligence with property and personal safety issues. we own our house but rented for 6 months first. I wouldn't want to to be on a bycycle anywhere in this country,- a lot of drivers are eratic, and the roads are dangerous.Our police "extort " us,- small amouts and infrequently and with friendliness. In our Canadian town the police used to have fundraisers that everyone contributed to,---here the fund raising is a little different,--just go with it!

Bicycles are dangerous here. Agree with the previous post re police although in 16 yrs were asked for money once. We live a gated community in Sosua and feel safe. We are happy to be a little way away from the fumes, motos and general chaos of downtown Sosua. Peace and quiet can be elusive here. Don't buy anything or even put down a deposit without consulting a lawyer recommended by this forum. There are 2 good ones in town that most people use.

1. walking is fine; i cycle in costambar but going on main roads is not recommended until you are more familiar with driving here.
2. not recommended, see above.
3. it does not matter which options poster chose, many have been coming here for years before setting down, others have family here; for newcomers the best is to rent, if you have the budget try a condo, a house, change areas to see what you like best.
4. the biggest "town" on the NC has about 150k inhabitants "small fishing villages" are not likely to have reliable power, internet and water supply. not to mention that this is such a cliche and totally not what you paint it to be with those words
5. taxis are safe; personally i do not like motos but many love them here.
6. no problem
7. i never had issues but there are some people who seem to attract unwanted attention of every man in a uniform here...

Where are you from? Safety is a case of is it safer here than where you are from. If you are from Baltimore or Boston it is probably safer here, If from Bute or Billings probably safer there at home.
If you are from Miami or Memphis you'll find it safer here. if from Maplewood or Mendota it is probably safer at home. Many people here ilvein fear and cringe behind 12 ft fences and razor wire.
Normal people walk or drive down the street as if back home.
Der Fish

Bicycling in or around town (city) is more dangerous than walking around wearing jewelry.

pauleast said:

Bicycling in or around town (city) is more dangerous than walking around wearing jewelry.

Click to expand...

And no problem riding a motoconcho with a hot chica.

Take the parable of my dog. She was a German Shepherd that lived to chase cats. However, if a cat showed no fear and held its ground, she would just ignore the cat with a good measure of disgust. In her eyes, there was nothing worse then a cat that wouldn't run.

Take reasonable precautions, don't act like scared rabbit, and you'll be fine.

Been wintering on the North coast for years. Never worried about my safety in the cities or the countryside because I respect the culture and the people. I rent cars, use the local buses, taxis, etc. Never use motos. I see people bicycling in groups, mountain bikes, road bikes, etc. Rarely do I see non DRs peddling bikes on the road here.

fiocco said:

Survey just to understand before coming down in DR for inspection, how to manage the safety problem

Click to expand...

You can't manage it. Just take it as it is and enjoy the other side.

Lived two years in Charamicos, Sosua. Only danger I encountered was boredom.
Don?t walk (or ride) around anywhere on the north coast acting or looking like you
are wealthy and you shouldn?t have any problems.

1. No
2. Could be dangerous at night - if other drivers don't see you.
3. An upper floor condo with security is probably safest, but I guess that would apply anywhere in the world.
4. No - I wouldn't think so.
5. No probs, except possibly is you take a moto-concho in the middle of the night.
6. No
7. Unlikely

Don't believe everything the fear-mongers say. Just be sensible and you should be fine.

Don't talk about biking until you see the area, there are two kinds, an area where if you are assaulted you are on your own, Puertos plata, Sosua all have a very large amount of motor bike traffic, would you want to ride in this?

https://youtu.be/xpan78Tz6Mo?t=172

I'm not saying you can't do it, if you are near an AI you might have easy access to low volume roads, or your local neighborhood, might , might be ok, but judge for your self it does not take a genius to figure out where you can and can't ride.

FYI, house should be locked down before bed time. Avoid night travel as a general rule unless as a short trip with a group.

fiocco said:

5) Using taxi service (car or motorcycle) how safe is? Any issues about drivers? Robbery?

Click to expand...

It's frequently difficult to find the seat belt in the back seat of a Dominican taxi. If you consider being charged 25% or more more than what can be negotiated robbery, then yes, so talk price right away.

For bike riding, anticipate you will be sharing the road with this guy and lot's like him, every day. Would you want to ride a bike near any main road with the likes of him?

https://youtu.be/xpan78Tz6Mo?t=172

Salsafan said:

And no problem riding a motoconcho with a hot chica.

Click to expand...

only if she's got

ltsnyder said:

For bike riding, anticipate you will be sharing the road with this guy and lot's like him, every day. Would you want to ride a bike near any main road with the likes of him?

https://youtu.be/xpan78Tz6Mo?t=172

Click to expand...

Yes, I would be pleased.

ltsnyder said:

For bike riding, anticipate you will be sharing the road with this guy and lot's like him, every day. Would you want to ride a bike near any main road with the likes of him?

https://youtu.be/xpan78Tz6Mo?t=172

Click to expand...

At least we can add another location in the "Live Music Venues in Puerto Plata" thread.

Been riding a bike around here for the past three years,4500 Kms and so far, still allegedly alive.I do avoid busy times and the main roads as much as possible during periods of heavy traffic.Not fun at all, but many ride all day all over the island on the roads so it depends on ones tolerance level.

Common sense in all areas is an absolute necessity together with the knowledge that you have no rights at all as a cyclist and just live with the imbeciles and assassins of the street.
I don't carry any bling or a great big gun and not really had any problems other than needing very good brakes and fighter-pilot reactions sometimes.

Like everywhere,there are places you walk at night and others where it would not be a good idea but these are fairly obvious after a few weeks on patrol.In the day time I walk anywhere.
I personally will never ride a motoconcho again but that's a personal preference.

There is something about the world's cheapest motorbike,not,or horribly maintained,driven by an untrained suicidal and homicidal rumhead macho with no education or sense driving like a maniac whilst talking on the phone and listening to voices in his head whilst being catapulted into the middle of the Dominican particle accelerator, populated by random other homicidal maniacs, at light speed, called local traffic which puts me off.
Can't think why...

I prefer to have a large chunk of metal around me which I am actually controlling myself.

As for safety in living quarters,
It's not an easy answer.The richest places get done over and so do the poorer ones.I would guess that campo life would be safer if you could stomach it.
I don't feel at risk particularly here,but compared to,say,Switzerland,it's a tad more risky.
But that adds the spice..