How to be safer in the DR - Compilation of tips by DR1 Members

[suitelady79]

Good info, Snuffy and thanks to Chip00 and Cobraboy too!

[Snuffy]

well if you have an account with them they should do this for you. If they don't want to then check out Banco Santa Cruz. I'm in Santiago...but I will bet it is the same wherever you are.

These off topic postings should be moved somewhere else.

[zak023]

Originally Posted by heldengebroed

As in all places : "Don't stand out as a target"

for living

Make sure that your house seems better "defended" than your neighbours
Make sure that your house seems less rich than your neighbours
Have your perimeter securred
Have an early warning system (barking dogs alarm)
Have a deterrant defensif system ( biting dogs/colin/ gun)
Be metaly prepared to harm the intruder and if necessary kill

For traveling

Don't stand out in the crowd (difficult if your're white amongst brown people (not prejudice)) wear same cloths do same things etc
When walking walk with your head high
Don't flash your wealth


When sh** happens be prepared to inflict harm and go for the kill

Greetings

Johan

You sound as if you would definitly make it in the South West where there is no real law..And you need to live exactly as you just described .If you are not prepared for this type of life, then you need a gated community as a home base...And don't leave home alone.......Go for the kill because they will. Very very True........I'm so remote that my home is starting to look like a private prison just to sleep well and not worry when I'm away..Looking into the razor wire as a final touch......NO DON'T TOUCH..!!!!!

[Chris]

I'm beginning to agree with Onions&Carrots. Where do y'all live? in Beirut?

[Steve Costa Azul]

Originally Posted by Chris

The issue here is .. will I be 'safer' wearing shorts, or 'safer' wearing no shorts Of course I mean dressing like most average people on the street.

Certainly in the Cabarete and Sosua areas many local people wear shorts, but then, those are beach towns. But I do not see the average middle class person going to the supermercado with shorts, unless it is a lady of the night.

Well then, shorts will be the ticket, seeing it is in Cabarete. I think it will at least be better than wearing my white, faded, size youth speedo from 20 years ago .......... wait a sec ..... definitely won't get robbed in the speedo ....... hmmmmm ........ but probably would be beaten up though.
O.k, for sure it'll be shorts then.
Steve

[Me_again]

I don't think it's been mentioned -- kinda' obvious to most, but perhaps not to a new traveller -- your bag should be small enough so it's easy to handle and it should have no wheels. To me wheels on luggage are like a flashing sign that says you're new -- and possible prey.

[KeithF]

Having read this thread from start to finish I think it is worth pointing out that places like Cabarete are far safer than is perhaps being portrayed generally. Certainly, I feel safer walking around Cabarete or even Puerto Plata, than I do in London! I've only been 'mugged' once in my life, (beaten up but not actually robbed) and that was in my home town in the UK (Morecambe, pop around 40,000) so keep it in perspective.

So, from a tourist point of view, especially the AI tourist who is now convinced they will be mugged just walking to the gate at Playas Doradas...

Get out there and enjoy this beautiful country!!

But don't switch your brain off either!

Carry as much money as you need at that time and that you can afford to lose. Someone jumps out in front of you with a knife or a gun, give them your cash! Most thieves are 'hyped up', don't give them a reason to use the weapon. My life is more valuable to me than a few thousand pesos, he can have the pesos and I keep my life. Try and be a hero, he may well take both or 'simply' the wrong one.

If you go out dripping in gold, you'll get mugged. That's the same in London, Manchester, New York, where ever. If you are going to a 'posh dinner', you get driven there and picked up... same as you would back home. If you're an AI tourist, it's doubtful you'll be doing that though!

Most male tourists who tell you"I got robbed by a prostitute" don't add... "but I was drunk in the street at 4am and thought they really liked me". Guys, if you're approached by a girl at 4am it's not because she thinks you're a sex object! She wants cash and will go for it one way or the other. Keep walking and don't talk to her. You talk to her, you get robbed, your fault! Besides, if you followed rule 1, you'll not have much left at that point!

First time you go into the city, especially if you don't speak the language, take a guide. Our first trip, we 'chatted' to a waitress in the hotel who agreed to show us around PoP on her day off. It's a quiet city and no problem to walk around unescorted. After that first time to get some confidence and bearings, I was more than happy to go in alone. The difference with having someone is they can show you the tourist bits. Don't be a snob, you're a tourist, that's why you are there! Get the gua-gua and have your 20 pesos note in your hand when you get on.

Someone previously mentioned camera bags. I have a 'ruck-sac' type camera bag, which carries a laptop computer and about $3000 of camera equipment. But it looks like a battered old ruck-sac, not worth anything. The camera is either in use or in the bag. Insure your kit, then use it. No point carrying it all that way only to leave it in the hotel room because you've been scared into thinking you'll be robbed!

I tend to have a few large notes in one front pocket, a few in the other front pocket and small notes in back pockets. If you are pick-pocketed it is almost always the back pockets. Also, you can 'choose' when to show your cash. If you only need to pay a small amount, you can pull low denomination notes out rather than a large wad of 500 or 1000 peso notes!

If you are AI and walking around PoP, you might meet one of your friendly waiters! "hey, you know me, I'm a waiter at the ...... Hotel" where you just happen to be staying... First time this happened to me I carried on walking, convinced he wasn't but confused anyway. D'oh, these guys know all the hotels by the colour of the band you have on your wrist! You've forgotten about it, it's been there so long, they see you a mile away! If people can get you to stop walking they've a better chance of selling you something... or scamming you! Sometimes, if you ask at the reception, they will cut the band off and put another on when you get back if you let them know you are going into town. Better still, don't go AI unless it's your first trip! If you go into town with an 'official guide', they are probably on commission rather than trying to rob you. So 'negotiate'. [i]"You can take us into four souvenir shops, and only after 3pm" or whatever. Then accept that you will buy a load of tat in the shops he takes you into. The guy has a living to make. If you are feeling nervous about the route he's taking, especially if it looks 'off the beaten track', turn around and head back to the crowds.

As the thread is actually titled "How to be Safer in the DR", could I move the conversation off crime?

Especially for tourist...

The moto-concho (sp) or 'moped taxi'. Why would you even think for a nano-second that this is a "good idea"? Do you ride a motorbike back home? Percentage wise, probably not. If you don't, why? Probably because you've had years of thinking it is 'unsafe'. So let's think this through... you won't go on a motorbike in a 'first world' country, where the roads are reasonable, the standard of driving generally okay, an ambulance will come quickly to pick you up if you come off, yet when you're on holiday, you'll jump onto the back of some kid's bike, that was last serviced when it was new and the only rule of the road is biggest wins? If you do ride a bike back home, do you wear leathers and a crash helmet? My leathers & helmet would cost about $2400 to replace. Someone once said, when asked by a novice 'how much should I spend on a crash helmet?' replied, "if you have a five dollar head, buy a five dollar helmet"... If you really want to improve your safety in the DR, avoid moped taxis like the plague. This is from someone who has a CBR 600 and has seen 140mph on the speedo... but who also witnessed a double fatality in Vietnam when a bike went under a truck (where the style of driving is very similar to DR). Two dead bodies laying in the street, one with no skin on their back from being dragged along by the lorry is a sight I'll always remember... If you want to increase your safety, just don't even think about it.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by KeithF

As the thread is actually titled "How to be Safer in the DR", could I move the conversation off crime?

Absolutely, and you're welcome. Thanks for the excellent input!

[cobraboy]

Originally Posted by KeithF

I tend to have a few large notes in one front pocket, a few in the other front pocket and small notes in back pockets. If you are pick-pocketed it is almost always the back pockets. Also, you can 'choose' when to show your cash. If you only need to pay a small amount, you can pull low denomination notes out rather than a large wad of 500 or 1000 peso notes!

GREAT suggestion!!! Thanks!!!

Originally Posted by KeithF

The moto-concho (sp) or 'moped taxi'. Why would you even think for a nano-second that this is a "good idea"? Do you ride a motorbike back home? Percentage wise, probably not. If you don't, why? Probably because you've had years of thinking it is 'unsafe'. So let's think this through... you won't go on a motorbike in a 'first world' country, where the roads are reasonable, the standard of driving generally okay, an ambulance will come quickly to pick you up if you come off, yet when you're on holiday, you'll jump onto the back of some kid's bike, that was last serviced when it was new and the only rule of the road is biggest wins? If you do ride a bike back home, do you wear leathers and a crash helmet? My leathers & helmet would cost about $2400 to replace. Someone once said, when asked by a novice 'how much should I spend on a crash helmet?' replied, "if you have a five dollar head, buy a five dollar helmet"... If you really want to improve your safety in the DR, avoid moped taxis like the plague. This is from someone who has a CBR 600 and has seen 140mph on the speedo...

If you want to increase your safety, just don't even think about it.

A CBR 600 in the DR??? On those roads??? You nutz? I'm a biker guy from waaaaay back, and I can't imagine...

That being said, my biggest fear in the DR is not getting robbed/mugged, but being in a serious traffic accident and having to wait for an "ambulance" to take the pieces to a bad medical facility. Jumping on the back of a moto, IMO, is just crazy. You're asking for some bad mojo to go down, wearing a hat or not.

[laurapasinifan]

for the non AI tourist... the biggest thing they can do is to carry as little cash as possible....stick a few thousand peso notes in your sock..carry 4 or 5 hundred peso notes in your front pocket, then put a bunch of 50 and 20 and 10 peso notes in an old wallet with a copy of your drivers license and a credit card that has only about 2-300 dollars worth of credit left on it.

turn around once in while and pretend you missed looking at something, if you walk for a long time... dont drive your car into closed positions often....back into spots when you park.......as a woman it is really wise to keep cash in your pocket and STILL CARRY a small purse......put nothing important in it.... it is the bait for any would be theif.....dont have a strong strap...you dont want to be hurt when he grabs it and runs....

its best as a tourist to let them take what they want...since you dont live there it wont happen often enough to cause you heavy financal loss

a person living there has to take a different approach...they cant be in harms way every day, and absorb the losses on a regular basis.

watch traffic ahead....usually the people up front are encountering trouble before you do...like a protest.....

thats the kind of situation that is totally unpredictable.. and needs to be avoided at all costs......

if you prepare yourself so you are not in a position to loose a lot of money or exspensive items....then you dont have to worry about fighting for anything...or chasing after someone........

dont carry your phone on your waist...put it in your pocket...especially if it a newer phone.

cameras....dont set them down...keep them hidden in the car under a shirt or towel......

exchange your money in $200(us) max amounts in places you are unfamiliar with.....in some areas have your money ready before you need to pay.....that way you dont have to open your wallet in front of a a strangers eyes.........


and..........dont look like a wimp!

they want easy marks

if you drive keep your eyes on the motor cycles....

one thing you need to do if you rent an auto...is go buy a brand new set of wiper blades...300 pesos...worth it....the lights are pooor and at night when it rains, and half the motor cycles or cars dont have lights...YOU need all the help you can get to SEE!!!!


bob