Tours in the Dominican Republic will take you to the fabulous world of amazing in its beauty beaches. Sand color from white to dark gold color, clear water with a turquoise shade which can not fully convey no camera.

Thrill and speed are chosen as surfing or windsurfing holiday in the Dominican Republic - it is a huge adrenaline rush and union with the water element. Choosing a snorkeling or diving, transported to another dimension, in a state of almost weightless with his head into the fantastic underwater world. And this is only a small fraction of the impressions that you may offer tours to the Dominican Republic. Now imagine that the sheer heaven on earth is just a day's flight from Kiev.

Famous nature reserves and national parks in Dominican Republic, rafting on a mountain river through the jungle excursions to waterfalls, horse riding on the ocean coast, as well as cuisine and tradition, kindness and hospitality of the island - it's experience that will give tourists vacation in the Dominican Republic and from Kiev other cities of Ukraine.

Tours to the Dominican Republic offer recreation for every taste. Lovers of water sports and outdoor activities will love Punta Cana, Cabarete or Boca Chico, a town 30 minutes from Santo Domingo. In June, Cabarete is the World Championships in windsurfing. Numerous bars and discos in Santo Domingo will impress any fan of night life and entertainment. Lovers and families are all conditions in the resort of Puerto Plata, rich excursion program and rest on the beach will relax and feel one with nature, as well as touching stories since Christopher Columbus.

Excellent service, hospitality of the people, holidays for all tastes, as well as the policies at a relatively inexpensive cost vacation in the Dominican Republic will give a lot of unforgettable experiences and energize the whole year.

For a trip to the Dominican Republic is preferable to choose the period from November to March. Travel expenses can take on, and to choose the airline flight, or to book a tour with the flight to the Dominican Republic in the company.

GEOGRAPHY

The Dominican Republic occupies 48,734 km2 of the eastern part of the island of Haiti. Largest island is second to Cuba in the Greater Antilles archipelago, between North and South America.

In the north of the state by the Atlantic Ocean, in the south - the Caribbean Sea. Dominican Republic to the west borders with the Republic of Haiti, in the east of Puerto Rico (sea border - Channel, Mona). The nearest neighbors of the Dominican Republic - Cuba in the north-west, Jamaica to the west. The length of the country from east to west is 320 km, from south to north - about 240 km.

The landscape is mostly mountainous and hilly. In the center is a mountain range - the Cordillera Central - from the highest mountain Antilles archipelago, Duarte Peak (Pico Duarte), 3174 m to the south of the ridge stretching the central plains and lowlands Azua, and to the south-west is a deep cavity with salt lake Enriquillo (Lago Enriquillo, at 44 meters below sea level). Less high mountain ranges on the north coast of the Cordillera Septentrional and south-east of the Cordillera Oriental. Geographic features define atypical nature of the Caribbean - deciduous and pine forests in the mountains, and palm trees, cacti and tropical forest on the coasts.

POPULATION

The country has 8.6 million inhabitants. Capital - the city of Santo Domingo (population 2.2 million).

CLIMATE

The island is on the edge of the tropical, subtropical climate and trade winds, with dry winters and rainy summers. Average daytime temperatures range from +26 o (from September to May) to 33 ° C (June to August). And the temperature of the water off the coast is almost always 27 degrees. The greatest amount of precipitation falls mainly to the end of the summer, coinciding with the season of tropical storms. The rains in the country are different from European - is short and heavy rains, which always appears after the sun and the clouds break up sea breezes. The driest climate in the south and south-east coasts. The hottest month is August.

TIME

The time difference with Kiev: minus 7 hours in summer (March-October), minus 6 hours - winter.

CURRENCY

In monetary circulation - Dominican Peso (DOP): coins of 1, 5, 10 and 25 pesos banknotes of 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000, 2000 pesos.

1 U.S. dollar equals 30 pesos. Foreign currency can be exchanged at hotels or in commercial banks. Commonly used major credit cards.

LANGUAGE

Official - Spanish. In the tourist areas speak English, French and Italian.

Public Holidays

* January 1 - New Year.

* January 21 - Our Lady of Altagracia religious holiday (as they call the Virgin Mary). Residents believe her patroness of the Dominican people.

* 26 January - Duarte. Born this day, Juan Pablo Duarte (1813-1876), the national hero of Dominican Republic. He and his associates - Francisco del Rosario Sanchez and Ramon Matias Mella - are considered the founders of the Dominican Republic.

* February 27 - Independence Day. In 1844, after a decade of struggle against the Haitian occupation, the eastern part of the island gained independence and formed the Dominican Republic. The western part of the island was transferred to France.

* February 28 - the beginning of the Dominican carnival.

* From 1 to 8 April - Easter Sunday.

* May 1 - International Workers' Day.

* The last week of July - International Festival of merengue. The most important musical event of the year, as the singing and dancing in the style of merengue are the most popular in the country. The festival is held every year since 1967.

* August 4 - Day of Santo Domingo. Bartholomew, brother of Christopher Columbus, discoverer of America, established August 4, 1496 the first city in the Dominican Republic, calling it Santo Domingo de Guzman. Currently, Santo Domingo is the largest city and its capital.

* 16 August - Day of Restoration. August 16, 1863 start of the national liberation war against the Spanish government for the restoration of the republic. In 1861, after a brief independence from Haitian occupation of the Dominican Republic has moved back into the domain of Spain.

* September 24 - the day of the saint Mercedes. Catholic religious holiday. The first church of St.. Mercedes is the Spanish conquerors built in honor of their first victory over the Taino Indians. Later, in 1615, the territory of the island was hit hard by the earthquake and the church council declared St. Mercedes' patron throughout Hispaniola "(as the Dominicans themselves call their country.)

* December 25 - Christmas Day. Starting from 20 December until Christmas, across the country celebrations are held fairs in the streets of big cities. Dominicans congratulate each other, visit each other's homes and give gifts. The day before, on December 24, decided to go to the church for the service, and in the evening, on his return, to arrange a special dinner with your family. Information on the flight: At the airport you have to be 2.5 hours before departure. You yourself go through the passport, customs control and check-in, which ends 40 minutes before departure. Free baggage allowance for different airlines may vary. Please specify the baggage rules, the airline, the flight of which is your flight.

Flight time: about 12 hours

Far from Kiev at 6:00

Customs: to enter the country needs a valid passport, the validity of which must be at least 1 month at the time of departure from the Dominican Republic. On the border to buy travel card costs $ 10, which gives the right to stay in the Dominican Republic for 60 days. If you stay more than 60 days, you must pay another 250 pesos. Duty-free is possible to take over the border 1 liter of alcoholic beverage up to 22% less than 2 liters of liquor, 500 g of coffee, 200 cigars and gifts worth up to $ 100. The import of animal products, agricultural and horticultural origin (almost all products) and drugs (also restricted imports of certain medicines). The export without special permission objects and items of historical and artistic value. The import and export of foreign currency are allowed. Strictly forbidden to import and export pesos (national currency).

Useful telephone numbers:

Ukrainian Embassy in Cuba also represents the interests of Ukraine in the Dominican Republic:

5-a Ave., # 4405, e/44 y 46 Miramar, La Habana Republica de Cuba

Phone: (8 10 537) 204 25 86

Fax: (8 10 537) 204 23 41

E-mail: emb_cu@mfa.gov.ua

Website: http://www.mfa.gov.ua/cuba

Emergency: 911

Immigration Service in Santo Domingo (809) 6852535, 6854545

Communications: Telephone calls can be paid by cash or credit calling cards, which are acquired from the phone company. Call from the Dominican Republic to Ukraine: 011 38 + area code + phone number. A call to the Dominican Republic 00 1809 + phone number. Use of mobile phones connected to the international roaming service. If calling from the hotel or from the room, the cost of one minute of conversation with Ukraine will be about $ 5.

Transportation: Public transportation is represented by air-conditioned buses for long-distance trips, taxis in the city, collective taxi "curry public" on certain routes (very cheap). Local vehicles include "moto concho" (motorcycle taxi) and "guaguas" (public transport). Taxis in Playa Bavaro not hard to find. Typically, parking at the entrance to each complex or, tourist taxis are called to the hotel reception. Price for 1 min - 1 dollar, no counters. Many international companies offering cars for rent. Conditions: You must be over 25 years old, have an international driver's license and credit card. Insurance is obligatory. When driving on local roads should exercise extreme caution - driving local residents could be better. Especially be vigilant when entering the villages, with motorcyclists, who often move at high speeds, leaving room for maneuver on the opposite lane. Often local people in cars not running lighting (technical condition of most machines in general very poor), and rebuild the road they show gestures, sticking his hand out of the window. Klaxons all enjoy and feel free at all times. Urban speed limit is 60 km / h on the highway - 100 km / h, but there are areas with restrictions of 35 km / h in urban areas and 80 km / h on the highway. The movement on the right. Traffic lights are the crossroads, so should stay in advance. Allowed to turn right on a red light. The main roads are in good condition, the provincial roads are much worse and are often well knurled groove. Function of the traffic police do military.

Money: The Dominican peso (RDS or DOP) = 100 centavos. Indicative rates: $ 1 = 25 pesos (exchange rate may vary, inflation 5.1% per year). In circulation are banknotes in denominations of 1000, 500, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5 and 1 peso coins of 1 peso and 50, 25, 10 and 5 centavos. Money can be exchanged at the hotel, but first you should ensure that the course is not too low, or the commercial banks, which are open Monday to Friday 08:00 - 15:00. Reverse exchange is virtually impossible. Traveler's checks and major credit cards (Eurocard, MasterCard, Visa International, American Express, etc.) in most cases are accepted in Santo Domingo.

Food: Traditional Creole cuisine - a combination of European, African and Caribbean traditions, using local produce. Dominicans daily food consists of meat, beans, rice, salad and "Fritos." Try the fish in coconut sauce "san Kocho" - cooked in broth meats with vegetables, "manga" - mashed banana forest, "pinonate" - a dessert made from milk and coconuts. A variety of seafood: fried on a spit or a lattice with a coconut crumb fish cooked in coconut milk "Pescado con Coco" crab sauce and many other characteristic drinks: fruit juice (papaya, coconut milk, passion fruit, etc.) , beer Quisqueya, Presidente and Bohemia, rum and a range of exotic cocktails. The country manufactures 15 varieties of rum, the best of them are considered to Brugal, Barselo and Bermudes.

Shops: Open weekdays 09:00 - 12:00, 15:00 - 18:00. The weekend time depends on the store owner. In Santo Domingo, a large shopping center, where you can buy clothes, shoes, textiles and good quality at affordable prices. Shopping and souvenirs: wooden, bone, amber, Larimar, ceramics, colorful fabrics, coffee "Santo Domingo", rum, cigars, souvenirs Tainos Indians, Creole dolls, recording folk music (merengue, salsa), original musical instruments. Crafts on price is often too high - if you buy you can bargain.

Recommendations: Special vaccinations are required. It is not recommended to drink tap water. Use creams to protect against sunburn. Separate dangerous are regular outbreaks of conjunctivitis.

The disease is easily treated, but in terms of the climate brings a lot of inconvenience. Recommend the use of simple preventive measures: wash hands and face with soap and water, rinsing with water. Be careful when buying food. Fresh fruit should be washed with boiled water, do not use ice made from tap water.

Sellers in the markets generally use their measure of weight and length, so be sure to recalculate, fruits sold by the piece, the price depends on the size, not weight.

The country has allowed free storage and carrying short firearms, so to meet the armed men in the street can be everywhere. But this is more an external attribute - the cases of weapons on the

streets are extremely rare.

Most hotels supply voltage 110 V, 60 Hz. We recommend you purchase an adapter.

On most beaches, separated from the sea by coral reefs, no sharks or other dangerous sea creatures there. In the open sea to swim safe, because the nature of coastal currents sufficiently rapid, several coasts framed underwater rocks, and sea creatures are dangerous for inexperienced swimmers.

As there is a meeting at the airport on arrival of the Dominican Republic: the procedure of the meeting, contact the host company and transfermenov prompting the sales managers Dominican rum

The appearance of the Roma in the Caribbean countries, including the Dominican Republic, is credited with African immigrants, who brought with them a culture of growing sugar cane. Thick and sweet cane juice after a long exposure to the sun begins to ferment, and if you add a little water, then get a nice refreshing drink. Mentioned in the documents of this drink Barbados in 1650, it was named as "kill-devil". Only in 1667 was renamed the drink "Rum", Rum became an important export product for the Antilles in the XVII and XVII centuries.

In the Dominican Republic rum rum production supplied only in the late nineteenth century. Three Dominican, Hispanic Don Andres Brugal, Don Erasmo Bermudez and Julian Barcelo, have created the process of de styling and refinement. Rum A smooth and sweet in taste compared with rum produced in Barbados, Jamaica and the U.S.. To this day, these three brands of Dominican rum Brugal, Bermudez Barcelo is the most famous and popular in the country and on the world market.

In terms of age Dominican rum has its own taste, its color and its distinguishing label. So with light rum label is famous for softer sweet taste, can have from one to four years of aging, and with dark rum label has a color from light to dark amber, depending on the maturation and herbal supplements.

Locals usually rum pure do not use, and do a lot of cocktails.

Dominican coffee

The first coffee beans were brought by the Spanish from the island of Martinique on the island of Hispaniola in 1735. The plant is well settled, and the drink of fragrant beans loved inhabitants of the island. For several centuries, the Dominicans consider coffee drinking part of their culture. Very hard to find a Dominican, who does not like coffee. They call it the elixir of life. Visiting the Dominican, the first thing that you will be offered - coffee and always with sugar, because sugar it just does not use the Dominicans.

Considered a sign of ill will to give up coffee. Even in the poorest families always cherish the coffee beans for occasional guests.

Dominican coffee flavored with bitterness is usually brewed in coffee makers, in a kind of "espresso". In rural areas, coffee is prepared in the old -: bring water to a boil in aluminum circles, sometimes with the addition of nutmeg or cloves, ground coffee is poured and quickly filter through "kolador" - a special strainer of cotton. It is served in small cups.

The most popular brand of coffee "Santo Domingo" (Santo Domingo), although there are many other brands of high quality and 100% Arabica.

Dominican cigars

Tobacco has become known throughout the world thanks to the first inhabitants of the Antilles. When the discoverer Christopher Columbus sailed to the new lands, the Indians as a gift portrayed the fragrant leaves of unknown plants. According to various sources, the first tobacco plantations were already present on the island of Haiti in 1520, it is important to note that 50 years earlier than in the neighboring island of Cuba. But the tobacco industry in the Dominican Republic and started to develop only after 1844, when the Dominican Republic gained its independence.

Peak production of Dominican cigars consider the 60s of last century, after the United States imposed an embargo on the import of Cuban cigars and raw materials. Within a few years, with the help of producers who fled from Cuba, the Dominican tobacco became known outside the country. The soil of the central region of Dominican Republic is very similar to the soil of nearby islands, and planted the seeds of Cuban gave good plants. Most Dominican tobacco leaves used for stuffing cigars. Wrapper major twist in cigars, which set the taste and color, usually imported.

Purely Dominican cigars produced only in 1993 (mark "Opus X - Arturo Fuentes").

Currently, apart from the brand "Arturo Fuente", became popular in the world market, and as such "Carbonell", "Juan Clemente", "La Aurora", "Le? N Jim? Nez", "Thiriet Mercedes". The Dominican Republic also produced under license Cuban brand "Romeo y Julieta", and "Montecristo".

Larimar

Unusual turquoise - blue stone was found the old church officials in Bahoruco early last century, but no one paid attention to the stone. Only at the beginning of the 1974 Miguel Mundes jeweler, worried that her daughter does not find more beautiful stones on the beach for their products went into the mountains and found a rock of volcanic origin with unknown mineral deposits. Stones were unusual colors Caribbean, some looked like turquoise, but in handling the jeweler realized that the stone is much firmer in texture. Sent for examination, and found that this stone is a real discovery. Blue pectolite volcanic exists only in the Dominican Republic. The name was in honor of stone Mundesa daughter, Larissa, and in honor of the color of the sea. (Lar-Larissa; Mar-Sea in Spanish). In jewelry catalogs of European countries also called Atlantic Larimar stone.

Jewels of Larimar is available in all outlets of the country. The stone is framed in silver, gold, and get very spectacular crafts. Dominicans claim that Larimar has good energy and helps to cope with stress and physical ailments.

Amber

Many believe the European amber gem, but it turns out that the "Sun Stone" is mined in Mexico, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Of course, the amber in the Dominican Republic did not appear from the resin of pine wood, and from legumes (carob). The largest deposits are located between the city of Santiago and Puerto - Fee. Mined natural stone mines.

Dominican amber is a different color from transparent white to bright red. Most attracted connoisseurs green gem and a rare blue color. Blue amber is very rare in the world. He is the hardest on the composition and process the stone true masters, so products such amber reach astronomical prices.

In the Dominican Republic there are several museums of amber, which exhibit the most unique stones. The richest in the collection is in the capital of Santo Domingo, and one of the most popular - is the Amber Museum in Puerto - Plata, where the amber with a mosquito, which was filmed in the movie "Jurassic Park."

Dominican products craftsmen and artists

Hands to create art passed Dominicans from generation to generation.

Amulets, masks made of wood, shell pendants, utensils were made of leather for their rituals the first inhabitants of the island Taino Indians. Then African slaves brought their perception of color - bright red, yellow, green. Spanish artists have helped open the Academy of Arts in 30th years of the last century, and many of the skills transferred to his students.

While the talent of artists and craftsmen of self-taught affects more than academic savvy.

The artistic vision of the world can be seen in the colorful houses with carved accents, the design of local shops "kolmado" with wrought iron grilles, the decorations of coral and local stones, articles made of wood, colorful handbags from the tissues and in the paintings of Caribbean-style or in the style of " Haitian naive. "

Of course, the development of tourism, many Dominican artisans put their "production" on a stream and caught bad taste. But if you want you can buy a very original items made of precious wood, leather, ceramics, shells, and also to get a good picture with a vivid storyline. While you can find interesting things in the gift shop, and on the beach and in the market.

Is the national Dominican souvenir ceramic figurine with no face - Doll "Lima". First doll created in 1981 by sculptor Liliana measure and it became a symbol of the country.