You are already packing your bags and thinking about things to take to Dominican Republic. Read on for useful tips to help you save time on your vacation or some money. Therefore, I will not write about a T-shirt, shorts, swimwear – you will put it in your bag without my help. There will be another useful Dominican Republic packing list.
Table of contents:
- Dollars (not Euro)
- Phone charging cable 3m or power strip
- Travel adapter for Dominican outlets
- Mask for snorkeling, coral shoes
- Flashlight
- Your national chocolate or other small sweet gift for locals
- Sneakers
- Sun cream
- Extended insurance
- First aid kit
- Mosquito repeller plug
What to bring to Dominican Republic?
Below is a Dominican Republic packing list of those things and items that will help in the journey, and they must not be forgotten. And a few life hacks may be useful to you later in life on your next trips.
Things to take to Dominican: US dollars or Euro?
If you look at the world map and where the Dominican Republic is located (more on this in a separate article), you can see that the US coast is not far at all. All the countries of this region somehow fell under the financial dependence of this country.
Although the national currency in the Dominican Republic is the Dominican peso, American dollars will be accepted almost everywhere along with it. Moreover, dollars will be accepted at the grocery store, and at the hotel, and taxis, and for souvenirs, and for excursions, and even in municipal structures, for example, paying a toll road or tickets to a museum.
About all this in detail and about the exchange rate and where to exchange, in the article the currency of the Dominican Republic. But here are a couple of facts and literally one advice:
- Euros are not exchanged here everywhere, and in tourist areas the exchange rate for the euro is not very profitable.
- With dollars here you can live almost fully without even exchanging them for pesos. There are a few subtle points that you will read about at the link above.
- Tip: exchange a couple of hundred dollars in advance for small denominations of $1-5-10. Will greatly help with payment in the Dominican Republic.
Phone charging cable 3m or power strip
What other things to take to Dominican Republic? For example, I arrived in a new country, settled in my apartment, sat down to rest, and the outlet is nowhere to be found. The problem with power outlets in the Dominican Republic is very noticeable. There are either no sockets, or few, and they are located in extremely unfortunate places. With your 1-meter cable, you can charge your phone while sitting on a chair in the corner.
When you need to charge your gadgets, the 3m cable can help you out. I can also recommend taking an power strip if you have several gadgets and have free space in your luggage.
What to bring to Dominican Republic: travel adapter
The travel adapter is not the most urgent thing, since you can find it here in many places, but it can deliver problems without it.
In the Dominican Republic, power outlets are like in the USA or China. And the mains voltage is 110V, not 220V. What you need to know about it:
- All your phone, tablet, laptop chargers will work on 110V.
- In a Dominican socket you will only insert a Dominican plug.
- If you are flying from the USA, then you will not have any problems. Outlets in the Dominican Republic and the United States are the same. But the Europeans need to take care of this in advance.
- But do not worry, you are not the first tourist here and not the last. Adapters for a European plug are sold here in many places. They cost from $0.5 to $1. Often they can be in your hotel or apartment, you can ask – they will give.
But keep in mind that they will give 1 or 2 adapters. And after a long journey, you need to charge two phones, a tablet, a battery for the gopro, plug the mosquito repeller into a power outlet, and so on. And if there are no adapters in the apartment, and you arrived at night? In total, I recommend having 3-4 of them with you.
In the article what sockets in the Dominican Republic you will read all the necessary information.
It is important to know:
Since the voltage of the Dominican network is 110V, then all your devices will be charged more slowly than at home. Just keep that in mind.
Mask for snorkeling, coral shoes
99% of tourists come here for a beach holiday. There is both the sea and the ocean. And not all beaches have fine sand, some with stones. Therefore, coral shoes may come in handy for you.
If not, then no problem. Dominican shops have a large selection of swimming products. Even grocery hypermarkets have a choice of two dozen masks for snorkeling and coral shoes.
Minuses:
A set of mask+coral shoes will cost $30 – 40 in the Dominican Republic. These are little things to take to Dominican Republic. Otherwise you can spend another $ 200 for a vacation.
Flashlight
If you like to meet the sunset, walk along the beach late at night. Or if you plan to conquer the highest peak of the Antilles, then a flashlight is a must.
Our personal experience about the conquest of Pico Duarte in the article at the link.
On the beaches of the Dominican Republic in the evenings and at night, only the stars and the moon shine. What if it’s cloudy? I also really like to chase crabs on the beach with a flashlight at night. The flashlight on your phone will replace the normal flashlight, but the brightness may not be enough. Still, it’s better than no flashlight at all.
National sweets or chocolate as a gift for locals
This can be included not only in the Dominican Republic packing list, but in any trip. And we have been doing this for the last 8 years already. I explain why.
When traveling to a distant country, we typically bring along 5-6 chocolate bars, each weighing 50g, as gifts for the locals.
- Upon checking into our accommodations, we offer one to the host.
- When renting a car, we give one to the manager who helps us with the arrangements.
- Anyone who offers us small services or assistance in an unfamiliar country receives a chocolate bar.
- However, for children in developing countries, it’s preferable to give them a pen or a notebook instead of sweets.
The locals will be delighted to receive a gift from a distant country. Therefore, you will instantly win their favor, and they will treat you differently. And remember, you are giving the chocolate not to get something in return, but simply as a gesture of attention and gratitude. And this will pay off for you when you least expect it.
Sneakers
If in the Dominican Republic you plan not only to sunbathe on the beach. But you also think about hiking, for example:
- through the jungle to Fronton Beach
- or Madama beach
- or maybe to the El Limon waterfall or a cascade of 27 waterfalls
- the conquest of Pico Duarte, which I wrote about above?
Another things to take to Dominican is sneakers. You can’t run far in beach shoes.
What to bring to Dominican Republic: SPF sunscreen
This also applies to almost all countries with a beach holiday. Yes, there are as many of these sunscreens in stores as you want. Yes, it doesn’t seem expensive. But there are a few points:
- First of all, when we arrive at the sea, what do we do? That’s right, we run to this sea, and not to the store for sunscreen.
- And we all know that we always burn out, just at the very beginning of the holiday, when the skin is not ready for such a portion of ultraviolet radiation.
- Well, to the question about spending $ 200 for the rest on the little things that are at home. This is one of them.
Advice:
Always carry at least a small tube of essential sun protection. Because on the first day they are most needed, and on this day you definitely will not look for it in the store.
Extended medical insurance in the Dominican Republic
We will not stop on this point in detail, since all the information is in the full article. But I’m sure everyone understands the importance of having insurance, especially in such a distant and not cheap country.
$50-100 for insurance will not protect you from any incidents, but it will definitely give you peace of mind and confidence, and in which case you will save thousands of dollars. You can buy life insurance for every trip, and at one time it will pay for itself many times over.
Today, insurance not only guarantees compensation and payment of expenses for:
- covid-19 treatment
- flight cancellation
- sunburn
- doctor call for poisoning
But do not forget that the Dominican Republic is a tropical country, which means there is:
- Malaria
- Dengue Fever (By the way, in Singapore we were cured of this fever for only $5,000)
- Zika virus
- and so on
It is important to know:
Today, all these diseases are diagnosed and quite easily treated. There are almost no lethal cases. We are talking about normal countries with normal medicine, like in the Dominican Republic. But it all costs money and not small. Therefore, medical insurance is mandatory for any trip.
A first aid kit must be taken with you to the Dominican Republic
The temperature has risen, the head hurts, poisoned – in the first-aid kit you should always have the necessary medicines with you. Just put a band-aid, peroxide and iodine there.
It is important to know:
Between Europe and the Dominican Republic, the difference is 4-7 hours. And most tourists have Jetlag.
Jet lag is a disease that appears due to frequent changes time zone, when your internal clock is thrown off. The body does not understand the day now or the night, to sleep or not to sleep. The symptoms are different for everyone, read it first on the Internet. But the most common are:
- temperature
- headache
- weakness
And have the necessary pills in case of emergency.
Good to know:
Are you planning an excursion in search of humpback whales? Don’t forget the pills for motion sickness.
Mosquito repeller plug
Above, you obviously read about the fact that in the Dominican Republic there is malaria, Dengue fever, Zika virus. All these diseases, although not fatal today, and there are not very many cases, but they do exist. And most importantly, what are carried by mosquitoes.
And even if mosquitoes are not carriers of any disease, they still interfere with sleep and definitely do not add comfort to rest.
Interesting to know:
In the Dominican Republic, where it’s summer all year round, there are apartments where instead of glass on the windows, there are only mosquito nets. And if there’s a small hole somewhere, the mosquitoes, which are very tiny, can swarm into your room at night.
You checked in, plugged mosquito repeller into the outlet. This helps a lot. But remember, the sockets are not like ours, and now you need one more travel adapter. Therefore, it is better to have your own adapters.
In conclusion: what to bring to Dominican? The Dominican Republic packing list of things is not so big and will fit into any suitcase. But these little things will greatly simplify, save time and money. These are the most important things to take to Dominican with you: dollars, insurance, first aid kit, a long charging cable or power strip with travel adapter, SPF cream, a mask, mosquito repeller plug.
Remember that you still need to leave space in your bag to bring gifts back!
Resources to help you plan your dream trip to Dominican Republic
- Flights at the best prices with discounts
- Car rental: DiscoverCars – a largest international resource
- Hotels and apartments:
- Vacation packages:
- Tours, excursions and extreme activities:
- GetYourGuide – more than 800+ tours and water activities.
- Viator – 3500+ tours and excursions in Dominican.
- Comprehensive travel insurance: EKTA
- Internet and Calls:
- Airalo – eSIM with internet package.
- Drimsim – universal SIM card (or eSIM) in any country in the world.
- Taxi and airport transfers: Intui.Travel
For many, many years, I have been carrying an electric EXTENSION with me on trips, which is also a splitter.
And all devices can be charged, and from any corner you can reach the bed,))
And you need ONE adapter!
Although, of course, you are right, a separate one is needed for the mosquitos repeller plug-in, otherwise the liquid will spill out.
I also carry a kettle in a mug and tea bags with me.
It happens that it doesn’t come in handy, but it happens that I brew at the airport.
And a question for you, as an expert on the Dominican Republic: what about tap water?
Somewhere they write that you can’t brush your teeth, but you don’t mention it anywhere
Elena, the situation with water here is standard, like in many places in this region. We brush our teeth, but we only use bottled water for food. For example, in the Dominican Republic I wash fruits with tap water, but my wife does not :).