I haven't but just be careful there. Stay within the resorts from what I've heard. My ex-girlfriend was murdered there. No lie.

I've been there twice (Punta Cana) and it was fantastic. Obviously you'd be picking a higher end place like Iberostar which cut out the riff raff, and they are known for good food.

Didn't do any diving but when out on a party boat and shit and beautiful waters from what I saw.
EDIT: Reading the above post the place is dicey there's no doubt. You pass a lot of small towns with a lot of people paroling with shotguns and shit we never had any issues with resort set-up excursions.

I personally always wear water shoes myself so watch out for those foot worms.

I'm sorry? Ah yes I DID say foot worms

https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/30/health/worms-feet-vacation/index.html

I haven't been there for 20 plus years, but when I was there it was not the best area to explore off the beaten path. I have zero interest in going back. How about St. Lucia?

I went to Barbados years ago and explored. We drove around the entire perimeter of the island in a rental and had a blast. Only a couple of places I was told not to go to and most of the islanders were friendly and honest.

I go to Punta Cana twice a year and have for the last 8 years. I've never had a problem, not even once did I feel scared or intimidated. The whole family, wife and 8/10 year old girls feels safe. We were seconds from buying a place and moving, if the exchange rate didn't suck so bad, I'd be writing this from my Punta Cana deck....

20 years ago, it was a terrible place. Government changed, people changed. Its my favorite place in the world.

I lived there for 4 months in 1985 in a small village with a family. We had no running water, no electricity, and I taught healthcare and built latrines. It was one of the best experiences of my life. I travelled all around the country and always felt safe... but I was 18 and idealistic. It was the type of experience every American teenager should have to see another part of the world and people with completely different lives. The country is so much different today, I'm friends on Facebook with all the kids of the family I stayed up with now, they have so modernized. I'd love to go back!

Totally could be. It still just wouldn't be my choice island.

Funny, last time I was there was right around 1985 while on vacation. Cruise ship stopped there. Not much in the way of resorts at that time that I recall but my dad hailed a taxi and told the guy to show us his country. We checked out the baseball stadium and had a beer, Presidente (if I recall correctly), and had a great drive around the around. The cabbie was friendly and seemed to appreciate that we wanted to learn about his country. My dad has always been an explorer and likes to get off the beaten path of all the tourists.

Presidente indeed. Read some articles about it, more specifically, why it doesn't freeze, lol. Perfect beer for the weather.

You still have to be careful doing stuff like that though. Not saying you can't, but try go though someone reputable. I get off the beaten path quite a bit and have been robbed twice while traveling (Cabo San Lucas and Jamaica). Once wasn't exactly a robbery, but the guy made it pretty clear we needed to pay him a decent amount of money for his "tour" if we wanted to be shown the way back. The other time, I was mostly pissed that they took my shoes. I only had one pair with me on that trip. I'd still go back to Cabo, not super interested in returning to Jamaica.

I like Punta Cana and we've been there twice. It's a great place with the resorts. I never felt unsafe. If you want unsafe go to Jamaica and stay off the beaten path...

Totally agree, the thing is, where can you go that this "couldn't" happen?

We leave all our jewelry at home, put the girls in pony tails and baseball caps and I never bring excessive money with me. We always have caution on our minds but we are always happy and polite to the locals. We also learnt some Spanish, it helps alot.

Yep, I think you can get into trouble almost everywhere. We don't let that stop us and still travel and explore off the beaten path. I know a bit of Spanish, but my wife is fluent in both Spanish and French. I agree that helps a lot. The area we actually had the most difficult time communicating was in some Chinatown in New York. Seriously we needed some help and we couldn't find anyone that would reply to us. We tried 10-20 people and not a single person replied to us. We'd go up to people ask for help in multiple languages and they would just stare at us. No attempt to communicate though any language, pointing, or gestures. It was very eery.

Santo Domingo is beautiful, rich with ancient history, big local markets, and a very small island feel, smashed up to modern hotels, beautiful beaches, fantastic food and it's super cheap. The Northeast part of the country is where the club med and fancier places are if you are into the all inclusive style places. Seriously, I have a big heart of the Dominican people and the country, I never felt unsafe there. But sure, they are poor, don't do dumb stuff in poorer areas. But explore them! And feel safe in the more tourist areas.

I couldn't believe it myself. Her whole family was a bunch of NYC cops. Fitzpatrick. Cant get more of an Irish NYC cop than that

If going to DR check out la romana area. Diving there was ok. Much better water than Punta Cana area. That being said, just got back from Cozumel and the diving there is way better. I like BVI, but more logistics to get to.

I was there as a Mormon Missionary from 91-93 and had the same experience. Could not find a friendlier or happy people. I know a lot has changed but it is a beautiful place and I can't say enough about the wonderful people there. I too am Facebook friends with a lot of my friends there. One even sends me some Malta India from time to time!

Do go there. Hook worms.

Punta Cana or Santo Domingo proper are ok. Stick to the resorts however. The country has a lot of economic depression, bad neighborhoods, street crime etc.
Take trusted travel from the airport to the hotel.
Driving is very dangerois there, some of the highest traffic fatalities in the world.
You will see what I mean above.

I know you asked about the DR but I have to second this. Turks and Caicos is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. The hurricanes this past summer did some damage so be sure to check on this if you decide to go.

I've been to DR twice, both times to Punta Cana. Didn't venture off the resorts though so I can't attest to the safety of the country. However, I didn't get the feeling that it was unsafe, unlike Jamaica, which I really didn't like. I couldn't wait to leave that place.

Did Apple vacations all inclusive resort, north eastern end, about 8-10 years ago. Fantastic time. Wife lost diamond earring snorkeling with the fish, if you find it let me know. 1 carat. Gotta wear those diamonds when snorkeling, right? (That cost me another pair later!)

Took boy on deep sea fishing thru Apple excursions. 20 minute bus ride west, walked out to 20+ men in fatigues, with ar-15's, by ocean, walking out to boat. Just another day, right?
Wife took daughter to city sight seeing trip thru Apple, no issues.
Cheap vacation, prefer bvi.

Just got back from Punta Cana 2 weeks ago. It was fantastic. Not sure about the diving as those excursions and the deep sea excursions were cancelled for the week because of harsh conditions on the water. Took a Harley Davidson excursion and rode about 110 miles through the country, from one side to the other. Beautiful country!

13 hours to DR from Texas? Only take 7 from Calgary, Canada...

Maybe cause you usually have to stop in Florida on the way?

All this talk inspired me, just booked our next vacation to Punta Cana!

We have been mulitple times. I just took my mom to the Iberostar Grand in February.

Yes i doubt there is one. DR airport probably too small for big ass planes, so you have to switch to smaller planes in Florida.

I fly direct everytime. Air Transat airbus 310-330. Worst company ever but its the best choice.

You can fly Spirit down there and then have them go on strike the next day like happened to me

Oh Spirit is the worst, hands down.
So cheap, but you get what you pay for there.

Tough call I guess. I've had some bad times...

If we could have a time warp, I'd go with Northwest.

As a kid we used to fly Wardair to Hawaii every year. 2 level plane, super cool..

It's definitely worth paying a little more for a better company and flight. Even Frontier is better than Spirit.

Went there for honeymoon
Great in the resort. Airport is literally made of palm trees. People are typically very friendly.
Not so much off the resort
Went outside of gates with another big guy and his girl and we were safe to say the least but everyone there is just so so poor that it’s really sad
They tried to sell us souvenirs in this hut like strip from the early 1990s and were very forceful. Bought a few things but everyone is very skinny and any kind of money is a premium there; there huts have no power and they are literally yelling at each other over a few bucks and talking crap about each other’s items. Your better off just staying in the resorts and drinking for free and enjoying the beach
We did do some horseback riding thru the jungle and out on the beach. Very beautiful but again people are super poor and trying to get a few dollars and the dogs are lying under cars with bones showing.
Also we took a big party boat and did some surface snorkeling diving and it was amazing
The reefs and water are beautiful
Once back on the big beach there were troves of children begging for a dollar
It goes a long way there
I don’t have any plans on going back it is worth going to at least once but I’ll pay more for a different vacation next time
Just my experience

That's how travelling to any third world country in Africa, South America and Latin America is going to be. Most of the world is poor. And your tourist dollars really help their economy.