Dress
by el_ruso
If you don't want to stand out too much from the people, very few people wear a t-shirt, and noone except for a couple of odd tourists wears shorts.
Men wear either a polo or a botton-down shirt, often untucked, and jeans. Women dress very provocatively, but never sleezy or cheap.
Try speaking a little spainish
by hawk460
On arriving at the dominican republic,,at the hotel desk at check in,,,I tried my crude spainish,,and with a great surprise,,they were amused at my effort,,,and started speaking english to assist me on my check in,,it was that way everywhere,,,they are great people to be around.
Jugo de caña
by marielexoteria
Jugo de caña means sugar cane juice and it's delicious! The way to get the juice is to grind the sugar cane, and they usually do it in front of you when you order your juice. The juice is sweet and also an excellent diuretic!
I recently bought a glass of sugar cane juice for 25 pesos (a little less than 1 US) at La Sirena on Ave. Venezuela but there's street vendors in some places.
botanical gardens
by willy_wonka
the jardin botanico nacional are an oasis in the calm of a city with over 2 million people. the day i was there it was humid as hell, and about to storm, and i think i was the only person in the whole of the gardens, apart from the old men who were working on the pruning and upkeep of the gardens.
the gardens were fascinating, with many different styles. the japanese garden was my most favorite, but i also enjoyed seeing the many flowering species. the succulents and cactus section was pretty cool as well.
located on ave. de colombia, admission approx US$2.50 and open every day of the week.
Serious taxi companies
by marielexoteria
Taxis in Santo Domingo, as well as the whole Dominican Republic, don't run by the meter. All serious companies have pretty much flat rates. How it works is that you call the company, ask for a cab to your home/hotel/place to pick you up, then when you come to your destination the driver calls the dispatch (called base amongst them) and they will give them the rate and all the parties in the car will hear it loud and clear.
Some reputable taxi companies I've used are:
Excelente taxi: (809) 593-8000.
Apolo taxi: (809) 537-0000. They also have limos for rent.
Taxi Anacaona: (809) 530-4800.
Aero taxi: (809) 688-3131, (809) 688-1212.