Dominican Republic

[IceAlisa]

My husband and I had spent a delightful 10 days there in 2014. But the DR has been on the news for all the wrong reasons lately. Would love to hear opinions, theories, and read other relevant news.

Dominican Republic faces tourist backlash after David Ortiz shooting, multiple deaths

The Dominican Republic has been in the news for all the wrong reasons ⁠— and it's concerning potential tourists.

www.usatoday.com

 

[Scrufflet]

We went last Nov. to a resort where several died (Bahia Principe Bouganville). It was one of the cleanest places I've ever been in. Sidewalks were scrubbed several times daily, maids always in the halls and groundskeepers everywhere. I suspect overuse of pesticides, some close to air-conditioning units, to be the cause of some deaths. Tourist spots go overboard trying to please tourists who are really fussy about bugs of any sort. Hard to find the right balance I guess.

 

[allezfred]

Side note - I can’t believe newspapers are now using quotes from random anonymous twitter users in articles.

 

[rfisher]

We went last Nov. to a resort where several died (Bahia Principe Bouganville). It was one of the cleanest places I've ever been in. Sidewalks were scrubbed several times daily, maids always in the halls and groundskeepers everywhere. I suspect overuse of pesticides, some close to air-conditioning units, to be the cause of some deaths. Tourist spots go overboard trying to please tourists who are really fussy about bugs of any sort. Hard to find the right balance I guess.

And, apparently, locally made alcohol that isn't safe for human use has been put into minibar bottles. That was on today's news. Maybe it is safer to drink the water.

 

[Jimena]

The alcohol issue has also been reported in Mexico. And there was a big pesticide-related case in USVI a few years back.

We went to the DR last year and had a wonderful time.

 

[Winnipeg]

I'd rather go to Hawaii

 

[gk_891]

It's really diverse in DR too. While the majority are mixed in some way (mestizo, mulatto, or zambo), I believe they have the largest Chinese population in the Caribbean as well as pockets of people who are of Lebanese and Japanese descent. I once had a classmate who was Dominican and when looking at him, most people would assume he was of Black African and European descent but his last name was Wu which came from his Chinese grandfather. He told me that his type of mixture was actually not uncommon in DR because intermixing was and still is very common.

I've had nothing but great experiences when it comes to interacting with people from the Caribbean. There's a real warmth to them that's very appealing to me. That being said, there is definitely violence in many of these countries. One of my friends who's from Trinidad basically told me that Caribbean people are extremely friendly and hospitable 'until we're not'.

 

[flyingsit]

We have a trip to the DR in 3 weeks (with friends), which was booked a number of months ago. We are going to the resort where the woman was beaten in January, so my husband has been saying that nobody should go anywhere alone while we're there, which seems a little paranoid to me. I don't think anyone needs to go to the gym with me if I decide to go work out, etc. But we'll see.

 

[Winnipeg]

Don't go alone; be aware of surroundings; don't wear bling; don't get loud and out of control; stay in lit areas where you know

 

[PRlady]

The Wash Post has this story this morning: https://www.washingtonpost.com/trav...know-about-canceling-trip-dominican-republic/

 

[flyingsit]

We got back from our DR trip last night. Had a really good time; the resort was nice, the water was amazing (the seaweed isn't as bad as on the Riviera Maya in Mexico), and the people were very friendly.

Our flights to/from were half full at most, though. I think the US publicity is really hurting -- our friends flew via Toronto and their flights were packed.