Planning a trip to Cabarete Dominican Republic. Would like to rent a apartment or a Condo for 2 weeks. We are looking to do a lot of "down time" (beach, pool) but also be able to do a couple of local tours, maybe some snorkeling, etc. We like to go out and eat at local restaurants and maybe have a drink later at night in a "off the beaten path" type of place.

Is safety a issue? We would use taxis' later at night and tour groups when going out of town. We are not going to knowingly put ourselves in a dangerous situation, but we would like to be able to go into the town and all.

I haven't been to the Dominican Republic, so I can't speak from personal experience. However, we were in Haiti twice several years ago and keep up with the situation there and in adjacent areas. I'd hesitate to go anyplace on the island of Hispaniola except along the resort area of the Dominican coast. Definitely don't drive away from the resort areas at night alone.

Ann

P.S. You might want to look at what this Wikitravel article says about safety in the DR.

I have stayed on the island for a week in a resort and felt perfectly safe...except you must really watch out for tourists driving scooters...my friend was hit by one.We started out on the bus to town in Puerto Plata and a government licensed guide joined us and another couple, not charging any money, although we bought him lunch and tipped him in the end.

And I have cruised out of D.R. recently and to my surprise our bus to and from the airport to pier etc. was escorted by armed guards. I would not go anywhere on the island that was not a tourist area.

We were at Santo Domingo and Punta Cana last Oct. I read your request re: safety and felt led to reply. I also read the wikitravel link and found it to be pretty good advice. We found the Dominicanos great people. We hired a man to drive us between these cities (we stayed at an all inclusive resort at both and wanted to see the cities and the people in each-all inclusives are the same all over the world) This man was recommended by guests we had made friends with at the first resort. His price-whatever you think its worth. We paid him 100 bucks US each day and his lunch too where he recommended, plus snacks/beverages. I am still not sure if that was "correct" but he did accept it. (6 adults of us) It was my aim to be respectful to all citizens I met and represent my own country well and not be another ugly rich white person. How lucky we were to meet him. It was like having a friend take you with personal safety interests in mind as well as showing the local sites like the colonial district, Embassy row and the capital building, the National Garden, plus whatever he recommended in S.D. Ask others staying where you are how they are getting around and for recommendations. And for goodness sake, enjoy the Presidente beer. I can't find it in Modesto CA at all.