Dominican Republic Safety

Has anyone encountered any problems while in the DR? I recently read that someone had armed guards on their excursion. We are booked on an ATV excursion and I'm considering cancelling it. I read on the US Dept. of State website about safety and security, and in all honesty it kind of scares me. I'm not sure if they just post the worst that can happen. (kinda like when you go to the dentist for a filling and they tell you that in "rare" cases having a cavity filled can cause death) or is it overall pretty safe. I don't want to be put in a situation where we can put ourselves in harms way. Am I just being paranoid?

Has anyone encountered any problems while in the DR? I recently read that someone had armed guards on their excursion. We are booked on an ATV excursion and I'm considering cancelling it. I read on the US Dept. of State website about safety and security, and in all honesty it kind of scares me. I'm not sure if they just post the worst that can happen. (kinda like when you go to the dentist for a filling and they tell you that in "rare" cases having a cavity filled can cause death) or is it overall pretty safe. I don't want to be put in a situation where we can put ourselves in harms way. Am I just being paranoid?

Wouldn't armed guards on your excursion make your feel safer rather than less safe??

Wouldn't armed guards on your excursion make your feel safer rather than less safe??

I would not even put myself and my family in a situation where we would need the protection of an armed guard.

I too am booked on atv Excursion in July. I'm more worried about the Mosquitos as we will be riding through mud, sugar cane fields etc.. I don't think the cruise ships would go to these ports if the danger was a significant threat...at least I wouldn't think so.

We did a beach excursion in the DR in 2006 -- that was a long time ago, of course, so I am not up on the current situation. The bus trip was about an hour from the Casa de Campo port -- only saw poverty and a lot of kids playing sandlot baseball. It would never have occurred to me to be afraid, though I had read all kinds of warnings about the DR even then. But again, we did a beach excursion at a resort. And I agree with b_cruise that a cruise line is unlikely to be offer excursions, or even call at a port, where its passengers would be put at undo risk.

When I lived in Senegal in the 1980's, lots of my African friends were afraid to visit Chicago because they thought they would be gunned down by mobsters. I often read posts about fear of violence at Caribbean ports. Sometimes when one probes a little one finds out that the fear is based less on facts than on xenophobia. I would probe a little more into the report of armed guards, and check on roll call posts for cruises that have recently returned from the port you are concerned about. Ask folks who have just gotten off the ships what they experienced. I cannot imagine that if any situation had occurred with cruise passengers in the DR it wouldn't make the boards, surely, and the TV news.

Just my opinion.

Just did the Seavis tour to sanoa island last week and it was AWESOME. We had a knowledgable and experienced guide who seemed well respected by the locals. We felt safe for the most part and wore our bug spray with Deet. You only live once! Don't let fear get in the way. I was afraid too and thought about canceling. So glad we went!!

Belle2 how were the Mosquitos? Anyone you know on your cruise have any illness associated with bites. I may Change my atv excursion to seavis cause with the atv, there may be more mosquitos?

My daughter(27) and I are booked on ATV excursion off the Breeze in July. We usually book off ship tours but traveling alone (2 females) decided it was safer to go with a cruise ship vendor. I am cautious and will use common sense when off the boat but we are going on with the excursion. I too am more concerned about mosquitos and will use repellant at all the ports.

No tour operator in the Dominican is going to take you where you can get hurt. I don't know where these rumours come from. They are very unfair to the country.

I have been going to that country for more than 25 years, most recently in June of 2013 for a local wedding. We stayed in a villa, walked around to do our shopping, and took taxis to the beach and other places. Dominicans are not violent people. They don't want to hurt you. They do want to do a deal where they help you part with some of your cash, and they are hard bargainers. So be it - you don't have to buy anything you don't want.

Yes, there are a few bad guys. Don't go around walking in dark places at night. Don't go someplace and drink yourself so blind you can't see straight. Just like at home, if you do that, you can get yourself in bad places.

As for the mosquitoes, those insects like dark, shady, airless, damp places. If you stand around in places like that, yes, a mosquito may find you. If there's a breeze, they can't fly in the wind. If it's hot and the sun is shining, they won't be anywhere near you. If you're on an ATC, you're fine. If you stop your bike in a boggy, airless place, you might see some.

By all means, pay more for the ship excursion if it makes you feel safe enough to experience this remarkable, beautiful country. But you'd also be fine with local operators - these are business people with a reputation to protect.

As for the jerk who brought armed guards on the tour, my guess is he was fencing in HIS tourists. He intended frighten them so he would get all their money, and leave nothing on the table for anybody else local who might have made a sale of a bead necklace or something. Where do you think he got those armed guards? They were probably his brother and his cousin, and I bet he took the tourists to his auntie's place where they paid for lunch because he told them the food was bad everywhere else.

The Dominicans are really savvy business people. They do not hit people over the head and steal their money - they trick them into parting with it. You've been warned. Enjoy all that is good about the country - it's lovely. But they love to scam.

Thank you wassup4565. We were in the DR about 10 years ago and had no trouble. Someone on our roll call posted that a friend of theirs had guards on their excursion, and it made me nervous. Your post has reassured me that the DR is safe, but just like anyplace else use common sense.

I think it is all about being at the wrong place at the wrong time. I was in punta Cana In a April, 2014, I went off the resort in an open air flea market that we were advised was safe but aggressive and there was an attempted robbery on me. I know the cruise ships go into la romana. I am going on a cruise stopping in la romana in 2 weeks from now. I was leaving the flea market on a 100 Metre walk to the gates of the resort and some individual came up to me and stated give me your watch. It was a cheap Walmart watch - nothing fancy or flashy. I said no. He then lowered his voice and demanded that I give him my watch. I am a big gentleman - 6 foot 2, 350 lbs. I was furious - I told the crook to go f..k himself and I lowered my shoulder and walked right past him. I was lucky he did not have a gun, knife or backup. This is just an example. This could happen in any city/tourist town. Just don't be as stupid as me. Be smart.

Take care

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Wouldn't armed guards on your excursion make your feel safer rather than less safe??

Carnival had the armed guard on an excursion to the countryside. My husband works with a man who was on the Breeze around 6 weeks ago, I think, and he told him about the armed guard on their bus.

Wouldn't armed guards on your excursion make your feel safer rather than less safe??

We've had armed guards with us when on excursions in many different countries. Having them certainly made us feel very safe. :)

LuLu

Interesting, because the countryside is generally safer than the urban areas in the Dominican. It's not as affluent as the cities and tourist areas, so not as lucrative for thieves and bad guys (there are some in the DR as there are most places). We have motorcycled a lot in the DR countryside, and the people we met were kind and welcoming. Never felt unsafe and never had any bad experiences with local people.

It doesn't make sense to me that a major line like Carnival would arrange a shore excursion that needed an armed guard. Why would they take that risk when there are lots of places to go in the DR that pose no risk?

Lulu, probably armed guards are needed in some countries. I doubt cruise lines are taking thousands of passengers to those places, however.

[quote name=wassup4565;43467292

Lulu' date=' probably armed guards are needed in some countries. I doubt cruise lines are taking thousands of passengers to those places, however.[/quote]

Cruise lines have thousands of passengers when they stop in some ports that do require armed guards.

It's quite nice to have armed guards when going to the pyramids in Egypt.

I've been happy to have them following in some ports on the Pacific side of Central America and other ports stops as well. :)

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Also ....

As most of us know, Dominica and the Dominican Republic are two entirely different port stops.

LuLu

My family and I have visited he Dominican Republic several times but we stay in the resorts. There are armed Guards at the docks and on most excursions so there is a safety issue

Lulu, I know very well that Dominica and the Dominican Republic are different places. I've been to the Dominican Republic almost yearly for over 25 years. Traveled widely throughout the country, sometimes on motorcycle, sometimes on local buses. Stayed in resorts, rented villas, and with friends who live there full-time. And Baby, I know it's not Egypt either, not remotely alike.

The country has changed enormously in the 25 years I've been going there. There is a well-educated, affluent middle class now, professionals who shop on Amazon and watch HGTV for tips on what finishes to install in their kitchens. They buy Chobani yoghurt in their Costco, and think about the nutritional value of kale. To portray them as a nation of thieves waiting to rob Americans is a joke - they know more about you, by far, than you do about them. They watch your TV and buy your designer labels. Although they're usually smart enough to get good knock-offs from China.

The tourist industry in the DR has always preyed on foreigners' fears. They fence in the resorts and post guards with guns to keep the tourists scared in the resorts. That way they can charge tourists ten times as much money for coffee and rum as the local grocery does. They tell you to take only their authorized taxis and excursions - because they get a cut on that.

Yes, there are bad guys. Leave the flashy jewellery at home. Don't drink yourself stupid. Don't wander around in a town or a city into a place that looks iffy, especially after dark. Don't flash the cash around. Kind of like anywhere? Right? Commonsense.

But armed guards on a Carnival excursion in the DR? Makes no sense. Unless the tour operator wanted to make sure his tourists spent all their money where he wanted them to.

Lulu, I know very well that Dominica and the Dominican Republic are different places. I've been to the Dominican Republic almost yearly for over 25 years. Traveled widely throughout the country, sometimes on motorcycle, sometimes on local buses. Stayed in resorts, rented villas, and with friends who live there full-time. And Baby, I know it's not Egypt either, not remotely alike.

 

The country has changed enormously in the 25 years I've been going there. There is a well-educated, affluent middle class now, professionals who shop on Amazon and watch HGTV for tips on what finishes to install in their kitchens. They buy Chobani yoghurt in their Costco, and think about the nutritional value of kale. To portray them as a nation of thieves waiting to rob Americans is a joke - they know more about you, by far, than you do about them. They watch your TV and buy your designer labels. Although they're usually smart enough to get good knock-offs from China.

 

The tourist industry in the DR has always preyed on foreigners' fears. They fence in the resorts and post guards with guns to keep the tourists scared in the resorts. That way they can charge tourists ten times as much money for coffee and rum as the local grocery does. They tell you to take only their authorized taxis and excursions - because they get a cut on that.

 

Yes, there are bad guys. Leave the flashy jewellery at home. Don't drink yourself stupid. Don't wander around in a town or a city into a place that looks iffy, especially after dark. Don't flash the cash around. Kind of like anywhere? Right? Commonsense.

 

But armed guards on a Carnival excursion in the DR? Makes no sense. Unless the tour operator wanted to make sure his tourists spent all their money where he wanted them to.

Agree with most of this except about going out after dark. Have been to Dominican Republic over 20 times with most recent visit last month. To all parts of the Island, Sosua, Santo Dominigo, Puerto Plata, Higuey, Bayahibe and Punta Cana.

Never an issue off safety. At times we are out very late 2/3am in towns at local bars. Besides a bit of a language barrier it is no different then following safety precautions back at home.

Anyone afraid is truly missing out on amazing memories. You can't say you been to República Dominicana if you stay on a boat or at a resort :D

Go enjoy yourself and don't worry.

If your doing ATV excursion bring bandanna's to cover your face. Can get dusty. Or buy one from them at tourist price $5 or so :cool:

Booking direct with companies that offer trips will always be cheaper then a cruise line price.

Thank you, jb456. For the record, I didn't say don't go out after dark. I said don't go out after dark in a place that looks iffy. As if anyone with a brain would do that, even in their hometown.

It's a beautiful country with much to appreciate. Yes, there are hucksters who try to glom onto tourists. But they are a nuisance and don't present any harm.

Hi Wassup4565, I am so glad to hear you talk so positive about the Romana. I am due to go next year and truthfully I don't do beaches my plan is to try to get a van, we are a group of 9 people, and just drive around the country side and go into town and eat at a nice Spanish restaurant. Any recommendations and do you think it is do able. All

your help is greatly appreciated. After reading all these comments I feel go about my plans.

I don't know about the Romana area - the Dominican is a big country, but I think you will be fine. Especially near Romana - very established tourist area - tour operators will be experienced and will want to show you a good time and protect their reputation.

You will not find Spanish food there. This place was a colony of Spain a long time ago. But the local cuisine is very good. Just go with the flow, they have their own cuisine and it's very tasty and good.

We recently had a Costa stop in the DR. We decided to take a tour to the local falls on a motorcycle with a cart that held 4 people. DON'T ever do this. He charged $25pp. He stopped at a grocery store and someone with us bought a large beer and found out after he sipped it that it was an $8 beer.

The men started out facing backwards towards the highway. The motorcycle couldn't handle the weight distribution, so the other women and I changed to the back and were hanging on for dear life. We were breathing black smoke from the motorcycle, cars were in our face impatiently trying to pass. There were no seat belts, so we had to brace our feet, hold on to one arm rest and lock our other arms. The areas we rode through were horrible. We have been to Sri Lanka and India, and this was right up there with the worse we has ever seen.

Definitely a horrible experience.