| Go shopping in Dominican Republic with recommendations, reviews, tips and photos posted by real travelers and locals. Map |
 | Dominican Republic Shopping | Tips 1 - 10 of 51 |  |
 La Marina Shopping &
Restaurants by starship
I did not find anything particularly indigenous to this country while shopping here. I imagine that you would find more selection in Altos de Chavon and the capital city of Santo Domingo if you were looking for native arts & crafts.
Expect bathsuits and the like to be in the $50 & up range. Tops and beach coverups $25 and up. Leave a Comment Theme: Women's ClothesDirections: La Marina in Casa de Campo and fairly close to Altos de Chavon.
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 My Lonely Larimar Earring! by Firestar24
We went to the Museo Mundo de Amber for a tour and although I didn't intend to buy anything, we felt obliged to do so as we left via the gift shop. So I chose a pair of earrings that weren't too expensive. It turned out well for me though because they quickly became my favourite pair - until I lost one in Manchester one weekend :(
So Sad!
While you're in the Dominican, you should definately splash out on some Larimar jewellery. Larimar is a pale blue stone which is unique to The Dominican Republic. YOU CANNOT BUY IT ANYWHERE ELSE!! - believe me - I've tried! It resembles turquoise but has faint white marble effect running through it. Looks great set in silver.
Jonathan bought me the pair of earrings shown for about £28. He paid in pesos but I can only remember the English price since we converted evertything before we bought. The gift shop at the museo mundo de amber have a handy calculator for those tourists who are particularly bad at maths (me!) Leave a Comment Theme: JewelryAddress: Zona Colonial, Santo DomingoPhone: 809 682 3309
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 by quartinb
lots of handycraft and paintings, mostly, are the main atraction. acrilic paints made almost by the dozen but u´ll be able to find 2 or 3 suitable to buy, and with the proper frame hang it on yur living room back home.
i asure u that paintings are the main feature, regallitos wise that u can bring from RP.
everybody brings one... Leave a Comment Theme: Local Craft
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 Shopping district in Santo
Domingo by Calor
You may even think a 10% discount is a bargain. Rest assured apparently the prices are marked up by 100%. Personally I was always willing to pay the full prices that was quoted, but the truth is be prepared to pay ONLY 50% and less that the price quoted.
My signature vacation rep told us about this and it is amazingly true, for eg. we bought a piece of artwork that was quoted at 150 USD. The guy immediately dropped the price by 20% just for "us", when we decided we were leaving, the $150 artwork was suddenly worth $25USD.
As poor as the Dominicans are, haggling is a WAY of life and is expected.
Art work, local and Haitian art.
Jewellery. Leave a Comment Theme: Jewelry
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 View from top of Plaza Central by Firestar24
Plaza Central is a 5-storey shopping mall in the middle of Santo Domingo. It has furniture shops, art shops, perfume shops, a whole floor dedicated to eating (KFC, McDonalds, Taco Bell and Burger King sit next to funky coffee shops and chinese takeaways), a cinema, and best of all - hundreds of clothes shops! You can buy anything here from Gucci sunglasses to J-Lo's latest collection.
This is where the rich Dominicans go. Jonathan and I got talking to a local lawyer in one of the coffee shops and he was telling us how bad the economy actually is. He explained that someone working in a bar could earn more than he does because of all the tourists tipping in foreign currency.
On the ground floor of Plaza Central is an Oscar De La Renta clothes shop. This Dominican born designer and his designs are popular Worldwide, particularly on those lush red carpets!
The range is beautiful and I would definately recommend a visit (with a credit card!).
There' s also a lovely little accessory shop - I think, on the third floor, with the coolest bracelets, handbags and scarfs I ever saw - extra luggage room needed!
Prices are pretty similar to the UK - roughly £30 for a shirt, £25 for a skirt and £40 for a pair of jeans. Leave a Comment Theme: Women's ClothesAddress: Avenida 27 de febrero esquina Av. Winston Churchil
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 Altos de Chávon by micas_pt
In regular shops, such as hotels, you are not supposed to argue the price, ... Leave a Comment Theme: Local Craft
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 Restaurant at the beach by micas_pt
All over DR you will find colourful paintings of local customs (or not). Watch out for the vendors. They will try to persuade you that they are canvas with oil paintings and to demonstrate they will throw water at it without damaging. Not true in most cases. They use some kind of fabric and use water paintings, and then apply varnish on it so it looks like oil paintings. Just bear in mind this when bartering the price. I bought some paintings, not for the real value as "work of art" but because I liked their colourful designs (I usually buy something for my home when travelling). Leave a Comment Theme: Local Craft
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 Beach by micas_pt
There are lots of wooden goods, mainly some sculptures (Taino Indians replicas) that represent fertility, happiness and other "wishes". They all have a handmade look.
There are also animals carved on wood, as well as people. Some of them are just plain wood, some other are painted in some bright colours. The advantage of this kind of recuerdo is that this wood is light weighted and easy to carry. Leave a Comment Theme: Local Craft
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 Altos de Chávon by micas_pt
There are numerous objects made of varied stones, mostly statues of people and animals. It's very common to find in DR lots of statues made of a green stoe, called river stone. The form in which the statue is “finished” varies – polished or not polished, being that some pieces alternate on both giving it different colours.
These stone objects, although nice, are heavy and more difficult to carry home. Leave a Comment Theme: Local Craft
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Wood carvings make really good buys.
Before buying make sure the carving doesn't has any even small perforation as it will turn to the big one soon (especially when you take this to place with completely different climate conditions).
Price depends on the size of carving and quantity you want to buy, but remember that you can always negotiate (negotiations at Dominican Republic are expected and very welcome) Leave a Comment Theme: Gifts
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