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The tourist card is a document that can be obtained at the same airport or at any port of entry to the country, at the Dominican embassies or, sometimes, is included in the price of the vacation plan offered by the travel agency. There is also the possibility of acquiring it on-line through the page of the General Directorate of Internal Taxes: http://www.dgii.gov.do/tarjetaTuristica.
On the other hand, the Dominican Republic issues different types of visa depending on the objective of the visitor. In other words, there is a business visa, a student visa, a tourist visa (valid for up to 60 days), a residence visa, etc. Each with specific requirements and fees that you must request at the embassy of the Dominican Republic that is in your country.
And, on the other hand, those who travel with their own aviation can enter the country as long as they meet a series of requirements: that the ship weighs no more than 30,000 pounds and that it does not have a capacity of more than 12 passengers; and the objective of the trip must be for leisure, business, tourism or sports.
Know the official language of the Dominican Republic and find out about the variety of languages spoken
The official language of the Dominican Republic is Spanish, used together with the Antillean form in the everyday language. In his lexicon you can find African influences (Africanisms), foreignisms coming essentially from the English of the United States and also neologisms that collide with the maintained archaisms of Old Spanish. As for his accent, it is reminiscent of Canarian Spanish.
In addition to Spanish, you can find enclaves where Haitian Creole is spoken, whose extension throughout the country is due to immigrants from Haiti and their descendants. Also English, not only because of the strong American influence, but also because of the presence of native Dominicans descended from American slaves in the 19th century. And finally, you can listen to French, a language widely spread throughout the island.
Find out about the characteristic tropical climate, its temperatures and rainfall, of the Dominican Republic.
The Dominican Republic's climate is warm tropical, with a fairly stable temperature throughout the seasons, which ranges between 25 and 35 ºC. The highest temperatures are reached in summer between the months of July and August, while from November to January they change slightly, decreasing to 18ºC, in high-altitude regions, and 24ºC in the rest of the country.
When located in the northern hemisphere, the seasons of the year coincide with those of the entire European continent, North America and the South America area, which includes Panama, most of Colombia and Venezuela; while countries located in the southern hemisphere, such as Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay or a large part of Ecuador, will go the other way round, since summer runs from December to March and winter from June to September .
Know the official currency of the Dominican Republic and the different payment options you can make.
For the monetary exchange there are coins of 25 and 50 cents, which are hardly used; and 1 and 5 pesos. As for the tickets, there are 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000 and 2000 pesos. It is also possible to use the US dollar as a second currency, since it is admitted in any establishment aimed at tourism. In addition, both US dollars and euros can be exchanged for pesos at any bank, exchange house and in many hotels.
Accepted credit cards and travelers checks:In relation to credit cards, Visa or Mastercard, and travelers checks, both are accepted in most establishments, but in the case of cards you have to be careful to avoid their subsequent fraudulent use. , either in duplicate or by copy of number.
Know what type of plugs and voltage I will usually find on my trip to the island of the Dominican Republic.
An important fact to keep in mind before leaving for your trip to the Dominican Republic is that the sockets are of the American type: 110-120V / 60Hz. If you come from a country where this type of plug does not exist, such as Spain or Argentina, you must purchase an adapter to be able to use your electronic equipment.
In relation to electricity, power cuts are part of daily life throughout the country and the only way to cope with them is to have a little patience, since they usually last for several hours. However, hotels, public centers and restaurants usually have their own emergency generator so as not to depend on constant electricity jumps.
Know the most important prefixes to communicate by phone with, from and in the Dominican Republic.
In the Dominican Republic there is an international prefix to call the country: 00 (international prefix) + 1 + 809 and then the place number; Conversely, from the island to a foreign country, it is 011 (international prefix) + country prefix and the number of interest.
For example, the number of the embassy of Spain in the Dominican Republic would be: (00 1 809) 829 535 65 00, while the number of the embassy of the Dominican Republic in Spain is: (011 34) 91 431 53 95.
Find out about the documentation you need to travel with your pet to the Dominican Republic.
To introduce dogs or cats a veterinary certificate is required, with a maximum date of 15 days before the trip, generated by an authorized veterinarian in the country of origin. The document must confirm that the animal comes from an area where there have been no serious illnesses in the last three months and that it is in good health. In addition, the animal must have been vaccinated against rabies between one month and one year before travel, including the name and serial number of the product on the certificate.
In the case of other types of pets, a permit generated by the livestock director of the Secretary of State for Agriculture of Santo Domingo will be necessary. In this case, the authorization must set the quarantine period that should apply, should the situation arise. The consequences of not complying with these import regulations are: either slaughter the animal or deport it back to the country of origin, and the expenses will be borne by the traveler himself.
On the other hand, any type of bird must remain in quarantine for a minimum of 10 days.The last step for the formalization of the documents is to speak with the person in charge of animal control inside the airport to finish filling in the permission forms and who has a charge of US $ 10.
For more information visit the page of the General Directorate of Livestock: http://www.ganaderia.gob.do/ or call their contact telephone number 1 809 535 9689.
Find out about the most important holidays for Dominicans and the events that are celebrated.
Throughout the year the Dominican Republic has an extensive list of holidays. In this sense, it is worth noting that non-working holidays cannot move, that is, they never change the day; while those holidays that are movable, will be celebrated on their official day when it coincides with Saturday, Sunday or Monday. If it corresponds to Tuesday or Wednesday, it will be held the previous Monday, and if it is Thursday or Friday, the following Monday.
January:January 1: New Year (NL).January 6: Three Kings Day (NL).January 21: Our Lady of Altagracia (NL), protector of the Dominicans.January 26: Day of Juan Pablo Duarte (NL), anniversary of the birth of the Father of the Fatherland.February:February 27: National Day. Independence Day of the Dominican Republic (NL).March and April:Easter (NL in education, but working in other sectors, except Good Friday).April:April 14: Pan American Day.May:May 1: International Labor Day (M).Last Sunday of May: Mother's Day.May and June:Corpus Christi (NL Corpus Thursday).July:Last Sunday of July: Father's Day.August:August 16: Restoration Day (NL).September:September 24: Our Lady of Las Mercedes (NL), patron saint of the Dominican Republic.October:October 12: Discovery of America.November:November 1: All Saints' Day (NL).November 6: Constitution Day (M).December:December 24: Christmas Eve (working until noon).December 25: Christmas Day (NL).December 31: New Years Eve (working until noon).* M: Movable.NL: Non-working.
Know all the necessary information about your country's embassy on the island of the Dominican Republic.
All embassies and consulates are located in the city of Santo Domingo. Below you will find the data of each one of them.
Embassy of Spain:Address: Av. Independencia, 1205 (Santo Domingo).Telephone: (001) 809 535 65 00.Hours: Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.Email: [email protected]Web page: http://www.exteriores.gob.es/embajadas/santodomingo/es/Paginas/inicio.aspx
Embassy of Chile:Address: Av. Anacanoa, 11. Mirador Sur Park (Santo Domingo).Telephone: (001) 809 797 24 33/809 797 28 89.Hours: Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.Email: [email protected]Web page: http://chileabroad.gov.cl/republica-dominicana/
US Embassy:Address: Av. República de Colombia, 57 (Santo Domingo).Telephone: (001) 809 567 77 75.Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.Web page: http://santodomingo.usembassy.gov/index.html
Embassy of Peru:Address: 31 Mayreni Street. Los Cacicazgos Urbanization (Santo Domingo).Telephone: (001) 809 482 33 00/809 482 33 44.Hours: From 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.Email: [email protected]
Canadian Embassy:Address: Av. Winston Churchill, 1099. Citigroup Tower at Acropolis Center, 18th floor, Ensanche Piantini (Santo Domingo).Telephone: (001) 809 262 31 00.Email: [email protected]Web page: http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/dominican_republic-republique_dominicaine/
Learn about the measures being worked on the island to offer the best services to the disabled.
In the Dominican Republic, the National Council on Disability (Conadis) works intensively to empower the island and its accommodations for people with disabilities.
At the moment, they already have some hotels and around 19 beaches with ramps that allow wheelchair access to the beach. Work is underway to enable flat areas in order to better accommodate a population sector that also has the right to enjoy the Dominican Republic.
Learn about the Dominican Republic's political regime and find out how its powers work.
The Dominican Republic has a presidential parliamentary system of government. It is a representative democracy divided into three constituent powers: the executive, the legislative and the judicial.
The legislative power is developed in the National Congress, formed by the Senate, made up of 32 senators representing the 31 Dominican provinces plus the National District; and the Chamber of Deputies. All also elected by popular vote to carry out their functions in a period of 4 years.
Find out which is the most practiced religion in the Dominican Republic as well as other very relevant ones.
The most practiced religion is still Catholic, since more than 50% of Catholics are counted among the Dominican population. Evangelical religion and atheists follow. In addition, you can also find religions such as Buddhism, Judaism, Islam or the traditional Chinese religion, among many others.
Despite the fact that the Catholic religion began to lose weight among the population at the end of the 19th century due to lack of financing and support programs, Dominicans still have two important religious figures: the Virgen de las Mercedes, as patron saint of the country, and the Virgin of Altagracia, as its protector.
Discover the flag of the Dominican Republic and the revolutionary meaning it has for Dominicans.
The national flag of the Dominican Republic is one of the main patriotic symbols of Dominicans.Created during the Independence period, it was born from the idea of the Dominican liberal politician Juan Pablo Duarte, and was carried out by Concepción Bona and María Trinidad Sánchez. It was first hoisted in 1844 by the Dominican activist Francisco del Rosario Sánchez.
Regarding the upper rectangles, the left one, placed next to the pole, is stained ultramarine blue; while the right is vermilion red. The lower ones are opposed, being red the one on the side of the pole and blue the right rectangle.
An alternative theory considers blue as an expression of the liberators' struggle to bequeath a free nation to future generations, while white signifies God's care for the nation.
Discover the coat of arms of the Dominican Republic and discover the national meaning of each symbol.
Created at the time of Independence, like the flag, it has been altered over time on countless occasions. The current form was designed by the Dominican politician Casimiro Nemesio de Moya in 1913 and is included in article 32 of the Constitution.
Thus, red recalls the blood of the combatants during the struggles for independence; blue symbolizes the firmament that covers the country and from where God protects the nation and its ideals; white expresses peace and union among Dominicans.
In the center of the shield is the open Bible in the Gospel of Saint John, 8, 32. On it stands a cross that, next to the holy book, emerges from a trophy consisting of two spears and four national flags without a shield.