Hi!
I am going to the Dominican Republic this summer on a volunteer program. I will be living and eating with other interns so my question is more about daily life. How safe is it to walk around in the city areas? Are there certain precautions that I need to take, especially as a woman? I speak Spanish, not like a native but pretty well, so just wondering how that would impact my time there. I don't know if this is going to make any difference but, I am Indian and in Mexico (where I was for 3 months), the locals mistook me for Mexican so I didn't really have that much trouble acclimatizing with the country. Any thoughts on how that could translate into the DR point of view?
Any suggestions, advice, tips, places to see, things to do, precautions to take, etc will be much appreciated!
Thank you!
How safe is the DR for women?
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I think safety depends entirely on the city. Some cities are much less safe than others. I don't think women are particularly more unsafe than men, but speaking Spanish will help.
I don't want to over or understate the importance of safety, however but crime is on the rise in the D.R., with some places being more dangerous than others.
What "city areas"? What city and what parts of those cities? Where exactly are you planning to go?
I don't think there is any one answer for an entire island. I've been in Sosua and Puerta Plata where I felt comfortable, but this was years ago.
My personal belief about personal safety, especially for women (and I will kindly disagree with Doug that it IS different for females traveling alone) depends as much on your own actions, as on the place you are visiting. I don't think speaking Spanish makes a difference one way or the other, with respect to the question of safety.