The best of the DR is the people...
I have been to the DR twice on medical brigades into the bateys. I have also detoured into the city to see the sights and to different beaches. I think the beauty of this country is it's people. My favorite part of my trips have been stopping to actually look people in the eyes and find out more about their lives and their culture. I even took that approach with the street vendors. I set aside a little money that I would spend on select vendors, and spent time talking to them as well as buying a little something from them. I learned so much about the Dominican Republic as we talked. They are not vultures, but real people living in a special country who are trying to make a living. I have found that travel is more enriching as I get to know the people of the country. The sights are pretty, but each person turns out to be beautiful in their own ways and have such interesting stories. I guess if you are wanting to vacation because you are stressed and want to be alone, the vendors would be inconvenient. It may even be that a place like the DR is not where you would want to visit. But if you would like to know what the locals like to do, what their families are like, where they chose eat, what they think about their government, how they raise their children, and all kids of fascinating things about their culture, maybe you should actually seek out these vendors!
You just have to be clear and then you have no problems. In the past I was in Tunisia and Turkey and there it's much worse! But I can imagine that a lot of those vendors think we are so rich that we can buy everything. I wish it was true 