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They love the US Dollar in the DR and people like YOU need to go see a Travel AGENT and not try to get free bad information here on a Travel GROUP.. and.. I have news for you.. you can get VERY SICK from a salad bar in the DR because some of the kitchen help forget to use bottled water to wash the raw veggies.. the sickest I have ever been was from a delicious looking salad bar in a 5 star resort.

Just go to one of the 55 Mega resorts in Punta Cana and you should be OK

Punta Cana has great Caribbean tropical weather -- it's perfect all year round if you don’t mind tropical humidity. The day-night variations in temperature here are greater than the seasonal ones; in the winter, every day's temperatures are in the low to mid 80's, and nights are in the low to mid 70's. Add 5 degrees in the summer months. Very comfortable.

Go to your local library, and borrow and photocopy just the relevant pages you need from the various tourist guidebooks. I own all of them, and there are usually only a few pages in each one that are useful to me.

The local people speak Spanish, but many of them in the tourist areas speak just enough English to communicate with you. I found the local people in the communities and shopping centers outside the resort, to be very friendly and helpful, even though I speak almost no Spanish. I recommend that you buy (Amazon.com) Lonely Planet's little pocket-size Latin American Spanish phrasebook and carry it with all the time while there. I had a Franklin electronic translator with me and I rarely used it because the Lonely Planet phrasebook was faster and easier for me.

The tap water is not safe to drink. This includes ice cubes, and also raw fruit & vegetables washed with tap water. There are numerous "tips" lists on the Internet about this topic (just Google it), but this website will pop your eyes wide open: http://www.simpsonmillar.co.uk/services/holidaycla...

So be cautious -- always drink bottled water, and ask your restaurant server if they use bottled water for the juice drinks and the ice cubes. But how can you prove it, if they say yes? So bring some Imodium (anti-diarrhea treatment) tablets with you -- chances are that you'll need them. I did.

Bring plenty of sunscreen lotion with you. It is expensive to buy there.

Money exchange: They accept US dollars everywhere, but they will calculate the exchange rate at the moment of purchase, and they are usually not using the best exchange rate (for you). If you're going to be there for a week or more, go to a bank (for the most favorable exchange rate) and exchange a few hundred US dollars (called USD or $US) into RD$ (pesos). Here's a tip you'll thank me for: Go to : http://coinmill.com/DOP_USD.html and print out the USD to RD$ chart and always carry it in your pocket while you're in the Dominican Republic -- when you shop for items priced in RD$, you'll be able to see how much it REALLY is in USD.

Some credit cards do not charge foreign transaction fees. Google this: no foreign transaction fee credit card.

There are no Post Offices in the Punta Cana area, but some of the gift shops sell postcards and postage stamps (I had to pay US$3 each for stamps – ouch!). You can mail the postcard at a hotel lobby receptionist's desk, or there is a real "mailbox" at the airport check-in area next to the "business center" kiosk inside the airport. I sent 4 postcards in JAN 2012 at the airport "mailbox" and four weeks they arrived in the USA.

Look at TripAdvisor.com for restaurant and hotel reviews. I am not really a mega-resort type of person, so I rented a beach condo, instead of staying in an all-inclusive hotel. Consider leaving the resort and being a" local" for a day (or two). Go to their shopping centers and restaurants.

Driving: The drivers really drive crazy there. You will see. If you rent a car, even if you usually decline CDW (collision waiver coverage) because your credit card covers it, I suggest that you pay for the full collision waiver coverage insurance. If someone bumps you (good chance) in Punta Cana or Bavaro, use your cell phone camera to take a photo of their Cedula (national ID card) so they don’t give you a false name, and then you also will have to go to the police station in Triusa and file an accident report -- they don’t speak much English there, and you will waste a day running around and doing paperwork.

Bottom line: I loved that place. I'm going back.

Dont Flush the T.P. if its a dimpy hotel.. lol

theres exchange houses all over the country, today the rate is 38.65 to 1 dollar.

dont get ripped off by some guy on the street, find an exchange house and the rate

will probably be more or less the same..

Have a good time! :)

Go to Puerto Plata, so you will find the best mix of everything.