If you must drive, carry a detailed map and consult your hotel beforehand for preferred routes. Gas stations are scarce in rural areas, so fill up beforehand. Most car rental agencies like National and Budget have outposts in major cities in the D.R. Renters must be at least 25 years old.
Explore the island
Visitors who remain in all-inclusive enclaves miss out on the country’s other natural riches. Your best bets for exploring are intra-island flights on a charter airline like Air Century (www.aircentury.com) or privately-owned, air-conditioned buses run by a company like Metro Bus (www.metroserviciosturisticos.com).
Zero start
Gas attendants have been known to cheat tourists, so when you fill up, watch to ensure that your meter starts at zero.
Eat smart
Except at the best resorts, always drink bottled water and avoid salads; sidewalk food vendors are tempting but dicey until your GI tract has adjusted (for most people that takes about 3 days).
The "H"-test
Especially outside resort areas, ask if restaurants received an “H” certificate for hygienic food handling before you dig in.
Habla Español
Though most staff in Santo Domingo and major resorts habla inglés, it’s limited elsewhere. Regardless, Dominicans genuinely appreciate efforts to speak even rudimentary Spanish; you’ll be rewarded with smiles and perhaps even dinner or party invitations.
Amber alert
Watch out for dishonest amber dealers – many sidewalk and beach vendors try to pass off cheap, plastic rip-offs as the real thing. For genuine amber, the shop at the Amber Museum is your safest bet.
History
The indigenous Taínos left the imprint of nearly five millennia in petroglyphs throughout the island. Christopher Columbus claimed the D.R. for Spain; his brother, Bartolomeo Colón founded Santo Domingo as the New World’s first “Western” city in 1496.
Merengue
The traditional instrumentation of the D.R.’s infectious music/dance genre – African double-headed tambora drum, Taíno-influenced güira (perforated sheet-metal cylinder strummed with a brush), and diatonic accordion introduced by 19th-century German traders – symbolizes the country’s three heritages.
Annual festivals
Carnival (the apex of Pre-Lenten celebrations) is known for spectacular floats and dance groups parading down Santo Domingo and Puerto Plata’s Malecóns (waterfront). Merengue and Jazz Festivals attract thousands of fans in late July and October, respectively.
Rum
Though the silken Dominican rums aren’t well-publicized, aficionados appreciate such brands as Brugal (whose Puerto Plata distillery offers tours), Bermudez, and Barceló.
Cigars
Connoisseurs rate Dominican cigars as highly as Cubanos, particularly the Fuentes robustos, handmade in Santiago. Other leading brands include Montecristo, Cojimar (sugar-tipped in such flavors as vanilla and amaretto), Romeo y Julieta, and Léon Jimenes.
Regional cuisine
Aside from fresh fish, regional specialties include sancocho (a thick sultry stew, made from up to seven meats), tostones (fried green plantains), and arroz con pollo (rice with beans and chicken).
