Unless you plan to stay in the Dominican Republic for quite some time (more than month), then I would not go to all the trouble to open a D.R. bank account. Plus the time required to get a ATM card may be more than you bargain for, etc.
Your best bet is to take a $1000 bucks or so with you. Buy yourself a moneybelt... I don't even trust safes that much.
My 2nd stay at the Jaragua, the bell man took me to the room, showed me the safe, etc. I then walked to a colmado to buy some snacks and in the 20 minutes that I was gone, someone had already entered my room and pryed the safe off the wall with a crowbar and tried to bust it open. So, much for the comforting feeling of putting your money in a safe with a 4 star hotel.
Fortunately, my belongings were left alone. Strange.
Unless you intend to walk alone on streets at night or dark alleys, I wouldn't worry about banks, because you know that you have the CASH on you, instead of praying that it is in the hotel safe when you get back to the hotel.
As long as you are not careless, leaving money for easy picking or swinging your purse carefree, you should not have any problems while on vacation in the D.R.
One more story on hotel safes. At the old Treasure Island hotel in St. Martin, the staff had not been paid for several weeks, so they took a "trip key" , and stole the cash and passports of more than 2 dozen people in one night, to make up for their lost wages.
The thing with safes that you have to remember - someone in that hotel has a key or a master combination to get into that safe. That have to, in case you forget your combo. How honest the staff is anyone's bet. I can only tell you that I witnessed dozens of people scream with terror over their billfolds, jewelry, and passports being stolen from their SAFES. So, use your own judgement.
As far as Dominican banks being safer than U.S. Banks? No way. And if you want high return on deposits, you have a higher risk of losing your money. Why take those risks unless you can afford to lose all your money?
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