Dominican Republic

Plan Dominican Republic trips with beach-region routing, verified entry steps, off-resort logistics, and practical local safety.

When to Use

User is planning a Dominican Republic trip and needs execution help beyond generic resort marketing: entry rules, which coast fits the trip, resort vs independent travel tradeoffs, city and beach base strategy, transport reality, weather timing, and practical local safety.

Architecture

Memory lives in ~/dominican-republic/. If ~/dominican-republic/ does not exist or is empty, run setup.md. See memory-template.md for structure.

~/dominican-republic/
└── memory.md     # Trip context, route logic, and evolving constraints

Data Storage

• ~/dominican-republic/memory.md stores durable trip context, route decisions, and constraints for future Dominican Republic planning.
• No other local files are required unless the user chooses to create their own planning documents.

Quick Reference

Use this map to load only the decision module that changes the plan in front of you.

Topic	File
Entry and Compliance
Entry flow, passport logic, e-ticket, onward proof	entry-and-documents.md
Official source map for re-checking moving parts	sources.md
Planning Backbone
Coast and region choice	regions.md
Sample itineraries for 4-12 days	itineraries.md
Where to stay by trip style	accommodation.md
Budget framing	budget-and-costs.md
Cards, cash, taxes, tipping, and payment reality	payments-and-money.md
Transport and Execution
Airports, buses, transfers, ferries, and city movement	transport-domestic.md
Rental-car fit, toll roads, and driving risk	road-trips-and-driving.md
Connectivity, ride-hailing, maps, and booking tools	telecoms-and-apps.md
Weather, hurricane season, whales, and timing	weather-and-seasonality.md
Major Bases and Regions
Santo Domingo city strategy	santo-domingo.md
Punta Cana, Bavaro, and Cap Cana	punta-cana-and-bavaro.md
Samana, Las Terrenas, and Las Galeras logic	samana-and-las-terrenas.md
Puerto Plata, Sosua, and Cabarete	puerto-plata-cabarete-and-sosua.md
Bayahibe, La Romana, Saona, and diving fit	bayahibe-and-la-romana.md
Jarabacoa, Constanza, and mountain contrast	jarabacoa-and-constanza.md
Lifestyle and Trip Style
Food strategy and local dishes	food-guide.md
Beaches by water fit, vibe, and coast	beaches.md
Signature activities and experience selection	experiences.md
Family pacing and mixed-age planning	family-travel.md
Nightlife and evening tradeoffs	nightlife.md
Etiquette, language, and social rhythm	culture.md
Emergencies, water safety, and street risk	safety-and-emergencies.md

Core Rules

1. Route by Coast, Not by Resort Ads

The right Dominican Republic trip depends first on which coast matches the goal:

• Punta Cana and Bavaro for easiest resort execution
• Bayahibe and La Romana for calmer southeast water and island-day logic
• Samana and Las Terrenas for independent beach-plus-nature travel
• Puerto Plata and Cabarete for north-coast wind, surfing, and mixed town energy
• Santo Domingo for city, history, food, and nightlife

2. Lock Entry Steps Before Booking Non-Refundables

Use entry-and-documents.md early to confirm:

• passport and nationality logic
• official e-ticket completion for air arrival and departure
• onward-proof issues for one-way or unusual itineraries
• whether the trip is resort-only, multi-stop, or includes onward international travel

3. Resort Trips and Independent Trips Need Different Advice

Do not plan Punta Cana, Santo Domingo, Samana, Bayahibe, and Cabarete with the same assumptions.

• All-inclusive users usually want airport-transfer simplicity and selective day trips
• Independent users need base strategy, transport friction, cash logic, and realistic road-time protection

4. Respect Local Transfer Math

Dominican Republic map distances can look short and still create slow travel because of city traffic, resort corridors, mountain roads, and one-lane coastal segments.

• Favor fewer bases with cleaner transfers
• Treat Santo Domingo traffic and cross-country moves seriously
• Avoid stacking arrival, long road transfer, and late-night check-in unless necessary

5. Match the Water to the User

Beach advice must separate:

• calm Caribbean swim water
• Atlantic surf and wind
• day-trip islands
• family-safe resort beaches
• photography beaches that are less ideal for casual swimming

6. Protect the User From Avoidable Friction

Flag common failures early:

• airport transfer confusion
• paying resort-zone prices for basic errands
• driving at night in unfamiliar areas
• assuming every beach is swimmable in every season
• booking a remote villa without transport, groceries, or weather backup

7. Deliver Operational Plans

Output should include:

• best base or base pair
• transfer logic with realistic buffers
• area-level stay recommendation, not just a city name
• budget and payment notes
• water, weather, and safety caveats for that exact route

Common Traps

• Treating Punta Cana as representative of the whole country.
• Booking only on beach photos without checking whether the user wants calm water, surf, nightlife, or a quiet family setup.
• Forcing a rental car for a resort trip that works better with airport transfer plus selected excursions.
• Doing Santo Domingo as a rushed same-day detour from the east coast instead of giving it a proper night or skipping it.
• Underestimating hurricane-season flexibility and north-coast surf conditions.
• Using only USD cash assumptions when many small day-to-day payments work better in Dominican pesos.
• Picking the cheapest villa in a remote beach zone without checking road access, food options, and evening transport.

Security & Privacy

Data that stays local: Trip preferences in ~/dominican-republic/

This skill does NOT: Access files outside ~/dominican-republic/ or make network requests.

Related Skills

Install with clawhub install <slug> if user confirms:

• travel — General trip planning and itinerary structure
• booking — Reservation workflows and confirmation hygiene
• car-rental — Better self-drive strategy and handoff logistics
• food — Deeper restaurant and cuisine planning
• spanish — Language support for bookings, menus, and practical interactions

Feedback

• If useful: clawhub star dominican-republic
• Stay updated: clawhub sync