Dominican
Republic Island Information
The Dominican Republic (for all inclusive adult
vacations) in the West Indies occupies
the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola,
which it shares with Haiti.
• Area: 30,000 square miles
(77,700 square kilometers).
• Business: Banks are open
8.30am-3pm, Mondays to Fridays, and for foreign
exchange between 8am-noon on Saturdays. Airport
booths remain open to service all incoming flights,
24 hours if necessary. Shops open Monday to Saturday
8.30am-noon and 2.30-6.30pm. There are duty-free
areas. Payment cards only accepted at major tourist
areas and adult vacations.
• Currency: Dominican Peso.
Please use a currency
converter for today’s rate.
• Official language: Spanish
but English widely spoken
• Telecommunications: The
international dialing code for the Dominican Republic
is +1 809.
• Population: 9 million
• Electricity: 110 volts/60
cycles.
• Political status: Independent
nation
• Capital: Santo Domingo
adult vacations: The
colonial section has been carefully restored to
retain its original charm, and is home to the
first university, cathedral and hospital built
in the New World. The modern city of Santo Domingo,
by contrast, is a thriving port city, equipped
with discotheques, gambling casinos, all inclusive
adult vacations, shops
and the Cultural Plaza which houses the Gallery
of Modern Art and the National Theater.
Dominican Republic Weather
and Climate Overview:
Any time is a good time for your adult
vacations to the Dominican Republic
because of its warm and generally sunny climate
all year round. Some call the weather here 'the
endless summer'. There are months where it is
more likely you'll have rain. The busiest tourism
season for adult vacations
in the Dominican Republic runs from December through
April, where many North Americans and Europeans
visit to get a warm, tropical break from the cold
temperatures in their home countries. The next
busiest period is in the summer months, June through
September, when the majority of visitors are made
up of Europeans visiting for their long summer
vacations. Generally, the busier the season for
adult vacations, the
more in advance you should begin to plan your
visit in order to secure your flight and accommodations
of choice. Accommodation rates fluctuate slightly
(are generally higher) for adult vacations
during the busier tourism months, but almost all
other costs, such as food & beverages, excursions,
sporting activities, etc., remain constant year-round.
Dominican Republic climate is semi-tropical with
an average temperature of 77 degrees. In the summer
months the temperature usually ranges between
89 and 95 degrees while in the winter 75 to 90
degrees for your adult vacations.
The hottest month is August while the coolest
is January. There are two rainy seasons on the
island, one in late spring and the other one in
the fall with the heaviest precipitation in the
northern eastern part of the country. The highlands
are considerably cooler. Annual precipitation
averages about 1,500 mm (about 60 in), but the
mountainous areas of the north receive considerably
more moisture. The wet season for your adult
vacations is from June to November.
This is when Tropical hurricanes occur usually.
Dominican Republic History
The Dominican Republic was explored
by Columbus on his first voyage in 1492. He named
it La Española, and his son, Diego, was
its first viceroy. The capital, Santo Domingo,
founded in 1496, is the oldest European settlement
in the Western Hemisphere.
Spain ceded the colony to France in 1795, and
Haitian blacks under Toussaint L'Ouverture conquered
it in 1801. In 1808 the people revolted and captured
Santo Domingo the next year, setting up the first
republic. Spain regained title to the colony in
1814. In 1821 Spanish rule was overthrown, but
in 1822 the colony was reconquered by the Haitians.
In 1844 the Haitians were thrown out, and the
Dominican Republic was established, headed by
Pedro Santana. Uprisings and Haitian attacks led
Santana to make the country a province of Spain
from 1861 to 1865.
President Buenaventura Báez, faced with
an economy in shambles, attempted to have the
country annexed to the U.S. in 1870, but the U.S.
Senate refused to ratify a treaty of annexation.
Disorder continued until the dictatorship of Ulíses
Heureaux; in 1916, when chaos broke out again,
the U.S. sent in a contingent of marines, who
remained until 1924.
A sergeant in the Dominican army trained by the
marines, Rafaél Leonides Trujillo Molina,
overthrew Horacio Vásquez in 1930 and established
a dictatorship that lasted until his assassination
in 1961, 31 years later. In 1962, Juan Bosch of
the leftist Dominican Revolutionary Party, became
the first democratically elected president in
four decades.
In 1963, a military coup ousted Bosch and installed
a civilian triumvirate. Leftists rebelled against
the new regime in April 1965, and U.S. president
Lyndon Johnson sent in marines and troops. After
a cease-fire in May, a compromise installed Hector
Garcia-Godoy as provisional president. In 1966,
right-wing candidate Joaquin Balaguer won in free
elections against Bosch, and U.S. and other foreign
troops withdrew.
In 1978 the army suspended the counting of ballots
when Balaguer trailed in a fourth-term bid. After
a warning from President Jimmy Carter, however,
Balaguer accepted the victory of Antonio Guzmán
of the Dominican Revolutionary Party. In 1982
elections, Salvador Jorge Blanco of the Dominican
Revolutionary Party defeated Balaguer and Bosch.
Balaguer was again elected president in May 1986
and remained in office for the next ten years.
In 1996, U.S.-raised Leonel Fernández
secured more than 51% of the vote through an alliance
with Balaguer. The first item on the president's
agenda was the partial sale of some state-owned
enterprises. Fernández was praised for
ending decades of isolationism and improving ties
with other Caribbean countries, but he was criticized
for not fighting corruption or alleviating the
poverty that affects 60% of the population.
In Aug. 2000 the center-left Hipólito
Mejía was elected president amid popular
discontent over power outages in the recently
privatized electric industry. In 2001 the army
was deployed in major cities to fight rising crime.
In May 2004 presidential elections, the previous
president, Leonel Fernández (1996–2000),
won 57% of the vote, defeating incumbent Mejía.
He vowed to institute austerity measures to rescue
the country from its current economic crisis.
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