Dominican Republic Description
Currency: Dominican peso
Language: Spanish
The Dominican Republic is an exotic land of luxurious nature, hundreds of kilometers of snow-white beaches, the richest coral reefs, a picturesque landscape, clean rivers, an original culture and a friendly population. Christopher Columbus, who discovered Hispaniola (as he called this island) in 1492, considered this land to be the most beautiful of all that a human foot had set foot on. And today it is one of the most rapidly developing resort areas in the Caribbean, annually receiving hundreds of thousands of tourists.
The three highest peaks of the Antilles are located in the Dominican Republic – Peak Duarte (3175 m).
Santo Domingo is home to the oldest buildings in the region – the first cathedral, fort, street, monastery, hospital, university and palace of the New World.
The shortest river in the world is the two-hundred-meter Los Patos, which connects the lake of the same name (40 km from Barahona) with the ocean.
Capital: Santo Domingo.
Geography:
The state with a total area of 48.7 thousand square meters. km is located in the West Indies, in the center of the Greater Antilles, occupying the eastern part of the island of Haiti (another name for the island is Hispaniola).
In the north it is washed by the Atlantic Ocean, in the south by the Caribbean Sea, in the east the Mona Strait separates the country from Puerto Rico, in the west it borders on the Republic of Haiti.
The relief of the island is very diverse. More than half of the country’s territory is occupied by 4 mountain ranges that cross the island from northwest to southeast, as well as the Sierra de Baoruco plateau in the southwest. The highest point of the country is Duarte Peak in the northwest (3175 m). The coastal zone and intermountain valleys are occupied by extensive savannahs (most of them have long been used for farmland) and tropical forests.
Climate:
Tropical trade winds, maritime. The average monthly temperatures in the lowlands fluctuate slightly – from +25 C to +27 C. The hottest month is August (up to +31 C), but sea winds blowing from the northeast soften the heat even at this time. The “coldest” is January (about +22 C).
The altitudinal zonality is relatively poorly developed, but nevertheless, in mountainous regions, the temperature in winter can drop to a minus mark.
The local climate is characterized by high humidity – from 65% to 80%. Precipitation falls from 1000 to 2000 mm per year. The rainy season lasts from May to August-September, when tropical air masses bring showers to the island. Frequent but short showers are also possible in November-December. The rest of the time, dry and warm weather prevails.
Language:
Official – Spanish, English, German and French are also used in the tourism sector.
Population:
About 8.7 million people. The bulk of the population (73%) are blacks, mulattos and creoles, there are also many immigrants from Europe (up to 16%) and Africa (11%).
State system:
Democratic presidential republic. The head of state and government is the president, elected for a term of 4 years by universal direct secret suffrage.
Religion:
The main population is Catholics (95%), Protestants and Jews live in small numbers, but still many people in the country practice local animistic cults.
Money:
Dominican peso (RD$ or DOP), equal to 100 centavos. In circulation are banknotes in denominations of 2000, 1000, 500, 100, 50, 20 and 10 pesos, as well as coins of 1 peso and 50, 25, 10, 5 and 1 centavos.
Currency exchange:
Only the national currency is officially accepted in the country, but foreign tourists are paid almost everywhere in US dollars. Foreign currency can be exchanged at the airport, hotel or commercial banks. In tourist areas, the rate is greatly underestimated. In private institutions, dollars are accepted everywhere, but change can be returned in pesos. If prices are set in dollars, the conversion rate must always be specified in advance.
Estimated exchange rate
Dominican Peso (DOP) / United States Dollar (USD)
1 USD = 37.31 DOP
100 DOP = 2.68 USD
Dominican Peso (DOP) / Euro (EUR)
1 EUR = 50.98 DOP
100 DOP = 1.96 EUR
Time:
Behind Moscow time in winter – by 7 hours, in summer – by 8 hours.
Official holidays and days off:
January 1 – New Year.
January 6 – Epiphany (Baptism).
January 21 – Our Lady of Altagracia.
January 26 – Duarte’s birthday.
February 27 – Independence Day.
March-April – Easter.
May 1 – Labor Day.
end of May – beginning of June – Feast of the Body of the Lord.
August 16 – Restoration Day of the Republic.
September 24 – Our Lady of the Mercedes.
November 6 – Constitution Day.
December 25-26 – Christmas and New Year.
Communication and communications:
To call Cuba, dial 8 – 10 – 809- “subscriber’s number”.
Communication standard GSM 1800/1900. Roaming is available to subscribers of major Russian operators.
Electricity:
Mains voltage 110 V., 60 Hz. Flat sockets, American standard plugs. To connect electrical appliances, you need an adapter (usually sold in hotel shops). Power outages happen quite often, but most high-end hotels have their own generators.
Tipping:
Tipping is partly already included in the cost of service in hotels, while in restaurants it is customary to leave 10% of the order value to the waiter. Maid and porters are usually entitled to 1-2 USD.
