General Info

[QUOTE=Helpmann]Have you been on the DR1 message boards? DR1 has tons of information in reference to living in the Dominican Republic.

-Helpmann :)[/QUOTE]What about a report of your last trip?

Looking forward your new adventures.

[QUOTE=Tom Gueguen]What about a report of your last trip?

Looking forward your new adventures.[/QUOTE]Trip report? There isn't much to say besides stating the obvious (drinking, dancing, and Dominicanas.)

My first night in town (Friday). I met up with an ISG member and his novia for drinks at El Conde. Saturday, I spent the night drinking and dancing with friends at a party in Santo Domingo. Sunday, I spent the day at the beach, drinking and talking with my spinner and an ex-pat friend and his wife at Playa Vista. Later that evening, my spinner and I drove to the capital to see the movie "Sanky Panky." By Monday night, I was on a flight back home.

With the exception of Saturday night, everything was a bit routine. Unfortunately, no pool parties or orgies on this trip. Nevertheless, it was a very good trip and I was busy throughout the weekend. I'm always on the lookout for a solid Wingman (a drinking buddy, who can party 24/7 and help me tag-team some of these girls); however, I'm still meeting way too many novia/wife-seekers.

I've vacationed in DR every month since July '06; however, I may slow it down a bit. I still don't have an airline ticket for this month. Nevertheless, things may change.

Cheers!
Helpmann :)

Hey man,

I am going in April if you are interested.

[QUOTE=Chily]Connect to DR1[/QUOTE]Try also : [url]http://www.sosuanews.com/index.php[/url]

[QUOTE=Johan007]Hi Jackson,

Could you please make a new forum thread inside the DR section about living in the DR???

I feel and know many of us want to live here and want to discuss certain matters about that on this noble board.

TIA


Johan[/QUOTE]


Johan,
Helpmann is correct there is tons of great stuff available on the DR1 website related to living issues, legal issues, residency isues, real estate matters etc.

I've also been respectfully asking Jackson to add a section on the DR board called "Living in the DR" going all the way back to 2003. I thought it would be helpful.

cheers.........

I have always traveled to the DR using only cash and an ATM card as back up. I was wondering if bringing travelers checks is practical or not. Can they be exchanged everywhere or are they too much of a hassle?

What do you guys think?

[QUOTE=Ponderosa]I have always traveled to the DR using only cash and an ATM card as back up. I was wondering if bringing travelers checks is practical or not. Can they be exchanged everywhere or are they too much of a hassle?

What do you guys think?[/QUOTE]

Brother P,

My initial feeling is that if you plan on cashing a traveler's check at a hotel, or other larger establishment, should be fine. I would be a little dubious about cashing at a restaurant, bar, smaller supermarket, etc.

[QUOTE=Ponderosa]I have always traveled to the DR using only cash and an ATM card as back up. I was wondering if bringing travelers checks is practical or not. Can they be exchanged everywhere or are they too much of a hassle?

What do you guys think?[/QUOTE]

Its a hassle. What Yanqui said is absolutely true - "cashing them at a hotel or large establishment should be fine".....he's right, it should be no problem, but it is.

Remember this is not the real world....this is the DR! :D

In the country where you get an automatic %26 tax & itbis on every hotel and restaurant bill (still drives me crazy) - you'll find that places give you all sorts of grief with Travelers Checks. Many hotels in the north coast won't accept them, the Intercontinental in SDQ won't accept them or change them.

The casas de cambio (exchange houses) will take them but you'll need to present your passport, they make a copy of it each time. Its a lot of effort, and continually presenting your passport and making the US government aware everytime you change money in a foreign country, may not be something you're entirely comfortable with.

The ONLY country that I've found that has more issues with Travelers Checks is Nicaragua - only accepted at certain banks, certain times of day, long lines......blah blah blah.

[QUOTE=Ponderosa]I have always traveled to the DR using only cash and an ATM card as back up. I was wondering if bringing travelers checks is practical or not. Can they be exchanged everywhere or are they too much of a hassle?

What do you guys think?[/QUOTE]

I personally never understood the appeal of travelers checks.

Traveling to San Juan, PR in the early 90s with a really nervous friend of mine, I was frustrated each time going out to eat having to sit and wait for the the same process to play out-- "do you guys accept travelers checks?" "Of course Senor." Then I would give cash to my friend for my share of the bill and he would pay the waiter in travelers checks. The waiter would then look at them, have him sign, leave, show them to the manager who looked at them with a confused face, then come back and say we have to pay a 1%-5% service fee for using them depending on the place and the mood of the manager. Then have a a gazillion other waiters look on in curiosity. We would finally leave feeling like we asked to pay our check in paperclips. I can only imagine what it would be like in the DR.

Not worth it for me. Kills the flow of things. I like to leave cash on the table, give a nod to the messero/a and jet.

What I strongly reccomend to all travelers is opening another checking/savings accounts so you do not rely on only one ATM card. The ATM card for my second checking accout came in real handy on a recent trip to California becasue my bank seemed to treat an online transfer I made to a brokerage account right before leaving as a cash withdrawal and deducted it from my daily withdrawal limit.

If I didn't have the extra ATM card tied to another account it would have been a real pain to get my hands on some cash on a Sat night. If you don't want to open another account, at least make sure you have a PIN on a credit card so you can take a cash advance at the ATM if you're in a bind.

MC

Greetings,

Travelers' checks were very useful in the days before ATMs existed, that is prior to about 1980, because the only alternative was to carry cash.

Today I would recommend taking

1) Some cash in large ($100) bills, changing half of it immediately and keeping the local currency in a different wallet or pocket. This money can be used to pay taxis and for advance payment of a hotel room. The rest should be kept as an emergency reserve fund in case ATMs are not working.

2) An ATM or debit card that can be used to make local cash withdrawals as needed.

3) A credit card which you should not use unless you lose your debit card and your cash, but as an extra backup.

Needless to say, the cash, ATM card and credit card should not all be carried together.

Next week, I will be returning to the Dominican Republic for a bit of drinking, dancing, and Dominicanas. Although, I'm always on the lookout for a solid Wingman (a drinking buddy, who can party 24/7 and help me tag-team some of these girls); my chica/friend network will be very limited. Why? Because I'll be in Sosua (only 2-days in Boca Chica)!! I haven't made a trip out to the North Coast in over a year.

Nevertheless, I have been receiving a steady stream of emails regarding my travel plans (and my pics ;)), so I just wanted to let you "single travelers" know.

Cheers!
Helpmann :)

Thanks for the info on travelers checks. I do have one question that I would like to present to the board.

On one trip to the DR I went to fill up my rental car before returning it and found a Shell station that had a Visa logo on their sign. When I went to pay with my Visa card they said they would not honor it because it "was from an American Bank" and they accepted only DR issued Visas. I argued but I was stuck. I had only USD and they took it at a favorable exchange rate to them. I thought this might be another DR ripoff, but maybe not.

Anybody else run into something like this?

PS: Helpmann, have a great time. I wish I was down there then and tip a few with you.

[QUOTE=Ponderosa]Thanks for the info on travelers checks. I do have one question that I would like to present to the board.

On one trip to the DR I went to fill up my rental car before returning it and found a Shell station that had a Visa logo on their sign. When I went to pay with my Visa card they said they would not honor it because it "was from an American Bank" and they accepted only DR issued Visas. I argued but I was stuck. I had only USD and they took it at a favorable exchange rate to them. I thought this might be another DR ripoff, but maybe not.

Anybody else run into something like this?

PS: Helpmann, have a great time. I wish I was down there then and tip a few with you.[/QUOTE]

BE SURE IT WAS A RIPOFF!!!!!!!!!! HOW'S YOUR SPANISH??? Dominicans tend to be less ripp offs if you speak decent spanish.
Visa is world wide ......and it doesn't make any differnce from what country your card or banc is!!!!!!!!!!!!

yes....sometimes the DR can be a pain in the *ss.


johan

[QUOTE=Johan007]BE SURE IT WAS A RIPOFF!!!!!!!!!! HOW'S YOUR SPANISH??? Dominicans tend to be less ripp offs if you speak decent spanish.
Visa is world wide ......and it doesn't make any differnce from what country your card or banc is!!!!!!!!!!!!

yes....sometimes the DR can be a pain in the *ss.


johan[/QUOTE]

That's kinda what I thought. It's not like it was for a huge amount of money, but it is a pain in the *ss and the principal of the whole thing.

My Spanish is improving and this was on one of my early trips. I am getting better at communicating and recognizing rip offs quicker. But alas, I am still a gringo.

Ponderosa,

Not that I have ever been to the DR (but I will soon)... But I do travel quite a bit to Brazil and Mexico and think you might not have been scammed.

Perhaps, the logo you saw meant Visa debit. Many retail places in Latin America have the Visa logo but that does not mean they take credit cards. Remember, the gas station told you they only take Dominican bank cards. What I think they meant was they only take the Visa debit cards sold in, or backed by, Dominican banks.


Then again, it could have been a rip off attempt.

TJ