Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Port Reviews

Santo Domingo is a very nice old City. the colonial zone is very historic with several museums and monuments. a plethora of restaurants with very modest prices and varied cuisine. The colonial zone has security now and almost every block. The Colonial Zone is very a good place to sit and sip on a coffee or beer and people watch. Uber is plentiful and it costs between three and five bucks to get almost anywhere in the city. There are few Mega malls about 15 minutes from the Colonial Zone. A very good restaurant overlooking the ocean is Adrian Tropical. A meal is about 8 bucks there. Also a good place to people-watch is at a cafe called Paco's aka Grand Cafe located at the edge of the Colonial Zone. Download Google maps before you leave the ship and pinpoint the locations. Many of the restaurants offer free Wi-Fi you just have to ask the waitress. Good as well to download Google Translate Spanish for offline use. Note Santo Domingo is not safe at night. Even most locals are in the house by 8 p.m. Daytime is not a problem. Still best to leave all your touristy looking gear on the ship. All restaurants take credit cards and cash. Dollars are not widely accepted but you can get change at the change bureaus throughout the colonial Zone. Most tourists stick out because they wear the tourist uniform like shorts, sunglasses and tank tops and backpacks. If you're trying to blend in you want to wear blue jeans and leave the backpacks cameras goofy mama gardening hats and purses on the ship.

My mom and I decided to walk around on our own. Several port police told us that it is extremely dangerous to walk around alone without a tour group due to the chance of getting robbed. We took a taxi to Los Tres Ojos which was fabulous, but this port was dirty and unsafe.

I enjoyed this port-Santa Domingo. There is tons of history to explore! Be sure to take an excursion-I did the day City Tour and felt safe.. otherwise you may not feel as safe.

Not a lot to do close to the ship.

Visited: Nov 23, 2003

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Stepping out of the terminal into the streets was interesting to say the least. There were armed guards everywhere you looked. However, my husband decided he wanted to walk around anyway. We took a horse drawn buggy ride/tour from one of the local guides and we were not disappointed.

Enjoyed the buggy tour with Carlos - a new offering by Carnival. Got a good look at the people and homes of the DR. Felt safe at all times. Recommended.

We got off boat to walk and do some shopping, unless you take a taxi there are very few shops near by to visit and shop.

Visited: Dec 23, 2017

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A dump! Stay on the ship. The filthiest port I have ever seen. Beware - shop owners carry shotguns and rumor has it (a very reliable source) there were dead bodies floating in the water.

This was my favorite as far ports go. Need to clean up the shoreline. But loved,loved the town.

Visited: Jan 21, 2017

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Nothing to do right at the ship. We took the free bus to downtown/ fort area. Found a local tour guide to walk us all around the area and took us to the tourist spots. He never said how much he wanted till the end when we got back to the bus. He said 25 a head bc he paid for use to enter a church and another place. I believe we averaged like 15 a head. We were a large group and he didn't argue bc I saw the receipts for the places and I knew the exchange rate. We had a good time.