Money, Tipping and Costs

A two-currency country

The Dominican peso is the only legal tender, but the country runs on two currencies in practice. Resorts, excursion companies, airport VIP services, real estate, car rentals and many hotels quote in US dollars. Everywhere else, from the colmado (corner store) to the gas station to a plate of lunch in Santiago, prices are in pesos.

If you spend a week inside an all-inclusive in Bávaro, you may never touch a peso. The moment you walk into a town, take a guagua (minibus) or eat at a comedor (a simple lunch restaurant serving the day's plates), you need pesos, and paying in dollars there costs you money.

Quick math

The Banco Central's reference rate was close to RD$61 to the dollar in late October 2026. For mental math, divide pesos by 60: RD$600 is about $10, RD$1,000 is about $16, RD$5,000 is about $82. The peso drifts slowly against the dollar, so check the current rate on the Banco Central site or your bank app the week you travel.

Notes and coins

Bills go up to RD$2,000, and coins come in RD$1, 5, 10 and 25. The RD$1,000 and RD$2,000 notes are what ATMs hand out, and they are hard to break at a colmado, on a guagua, with a motoconcho (motorcycle taxi) driver or at a beach shack. Break big notes at supermarkets such as Nacional, La Sirena, Jumbo or Bravo, at pharmacies and at gas stations, and keep a stash of RD$100 and RD$200 notes for small purchases.

Paying in dollars outside the resorts

Plenty of shops, taxi drivers and vendors in Punta Cana, Puerto Plata and the Zona Colonial will take dollars, but they set their own rate, usually rounded down well below the bank rate. Change comes back in pesos. Paying a RD$1,200 taxi with a $20 bill can easily cost you a few dollars extra each time.

US coins are useless here: nobody exchanges them. Torn, marked or very worn US bills are often refused by banks, exchange agents and even shops, so bring clean, crisp bills.

Credit cards, debit cards and contactless

Visa and Mastercard work at hotels, resorts, supermarkets, malls, chain restaurants, most gas stations, pharmacies and in the Uber app. American Express is fine at large hotels and many upscale restaurants and less reliable elsewhere. Discover is rarely accepted. Small hotels, guesthouses and tour operators sometimes add a surcharge for cards, so ask before you pay.

Tap-to-pay is common at supermarkets, chains and newer restaurants in Santo Domingo, Santiago and Punta Cana, and Apple Pay and Google Pay work wherever there is a contactless terminal. In small towns, colmados, beach shacks, comedores, guaguas, motoconchos and most street food are cash only.

• Bring a card with no foreign transaction fee. A typical 3% fee adds up fast on a resort bill.
• Bring two cards from different networks (one Visa, one Mastercard) and keep them in different places.
• Turn on transaction alerts in your bank app so you see every charge as it happens.
• Ask for the card machine to be brought to the table. In most restaurants it is, and you should not let your card leave your sight.
• Expect to show ID or your passport for larger card purchases in some stores.

Dynamic currency conversion: always choose pesos

Card terminals and ATMs often offer to charge you in US dollars "so you know the exact amount." This is dynamic currency conversion, and the rate is set by the machine's operator, often 3–8% worse than your own bank's.

Say you finish dinner in the Zona Colonial with a bill of RD$6,100. The screen offers "US$105.00" or "RD$6,100." Choose pesos, and your card network converts it at close to the real rate, about $100 plus any foreign transaction fee your card charges. At an ATM, the same trick appears as "accept this conversion rate?" Decline it and continue in pesos.

ATMs and skimming

ATMs (cajeros automáticos) are the best way to get pesos. The big banks are Banco Popular, Banreservas, BHD and Scotiabank, and their machines are all over cities and tourist areas. The local bank usually charges a fee per withdrawal, shown on screen before you confirm, on top of whatever your US bank charges. Per-transaction limits can be low, so you may need two withdrawals to get what you want.

Card skimming and card trapping happen in the Dominican Republic, as they do in much of the Caribbean. Most problems involve standalone machines on the street, at gas stations and in quiet spots at night.

Where to use an ATM

• Inside a bank branch during opening hours, so if the machine swallows your card you can get it back the same day.
• Inside supermarkets and malls, where there is usually a guard at the door.
• In daylight, and with a friend watching your back if you are taking out a lot.
• Skip machines with loose parts, odd plastic around the card slot or a camera-shaped bump above the keypad.
• Cover the keypad with your hand every time, and never accept help from a stranger at an ATM.

Most bank branches open weekday business hours and Saturday mornings, and branches inside malls and some supermarkets keep longer hours. Resorts usually have an ATM in the lobby, which is fine for small amounts.

Changing cash

If you prefer to bring dollars, change them in the country, never in the US: American banks give poor rates for pesos and many do not stock them.

• Licensed exchange agents (agentes de cambio or casas de cambio), authorized by the Banco Central, are fast and usually give better rates than banks. They are in malls, shopping streets and tourist areas. Bring your passport.
• Banks change dollars at fair rates, but lines can be long. Bring your passport.
• Airport booths give weaker rates. Change only enough for your first taxi and tips, or use an airport ATM.
• Resort front desks change money at a poor rate. Convenient for $20, expensive for $500.
• Street changers who wave wads of pesos near tourist areas are a source of counterfeit notes and short counts. Skip them.

Count your money at the counter before you walk away, and change leftover pesos back before you leave the country, since exchanging them in the US is hard and costly. You must declare cash of US$10,000 or more, or the equivalent, when you enter or leave. See entry rules for customs details.

The 18% ITBIS and the 10% service charge

The ITBIS is the Dominican value-added tax, and the general rate is 18%. On top of that, Dominican law adds a 10% service charge, the propina legal (legal tip), to restaurant and bar bills and to many hotel bills. On a menu priced before tax, the two together add 28% to what you see.

Look for a line on the menu. "Precios incluyen impuestos" or "ITBIS y ley incluidos" means the prices are final; "No incluyen impuestos" or "más 28%" means they are not. The ley on a bill is the 10% service charge.

Hotels and resorts usually quote rooms before tax, and the 18% plus 10% applies there too. Online booking sites do not always show the taxes until the last screen, so compare final prices. Supermarket shelf prices already include tax. See where to stay for hotel fees.

Tipping

Tipping here is lighter than in the US, but wages are low (a resort or restaurant worker may earn a few hundred dollars a month), so small tips matter a great deal. Tip in pesos outside the resorts. At resorts, US dollars are accepted by everyone, and pesos are equally welcome.

Restaurants and bars outside resorts

• Sit-down restaurants: the 10% is already on the bill. Leave another 5–10% in cash for good service, handed to your server.
• Comedores and casual spots: leave RD$50–100 or round up.
• Bars: leave the coins and small change, or RD$50–100 for a round.
• Coffee shops and counters: nothing is expected; a few coins in the jar is kind.

At all-inclusive resorts

Many resorts describe tips as included, and nobody will chase you for one. In practice, most American guests tip, and it shows in the service. A common approach that works well:

Bring $60–100 in $1 and $5 bills for a week, more for a big family. Small US bills are surprisingly hard to get at resorts. See all-inclusive resorts for how wristbands, à la carte bookings and upgrades work.

Guides, drivers and everyone else

• Excursion guides: $5–10 per person for a full-day trip such as Saona Island, and a few dollars for the boat crew. Tip more for a private guide.
• Airport transfer drivers: $3–5 for a short run to a Bávaro resort, $5–10 for a long ride such as Santo Domingo to Samaná, more for help with lots of bags.
• Taxi drivers: no tip expected; round up for help with bags.
• Uber: tip in the app if the ride was good. Many drivers appreciate 10%.
• Private drivers for a full day: RD$1,000–2,000 (about $16–33) and lunch if they wait for you.
• Gas station attendants: stations are full service; RD$25–50 if they clean your windshield or check your tires.
• Supermarket baggers: RD$20–50. Many work for tips only.
• Informal parking attendants who watch cars on city streets and at beaches: RD$50–100 when you leave.

The etiquette page has more on how tipping fits into Dominican manners.

What things really cost

Prices in tourist zones such as Bávaro, Cap Cana, Cabarete and the Zona Colonial run well above those in Santiago, Jarabacoa or a provincial town. These are typical prices in fall 2026; use them as a guide and expect more in places built for visitors.

Excursion prices vary widely between beach vendors, resort tour desks and online operators. See excursions for how to compare and book with licensed operators, getting around for bus fares, and driving for fuel, which is sold by the US gallon in pesos.

Daily budgets

These figures are per person per day, sharing a room with one other person, and leave out flights.

Extras that catch people out

• Excursions, usually $70–150 per person per trip, are the biggest add-on for resort guests.
• Premium spirits, wine lists, room service fees and some à la carte restaurants carry extra charges even at an all-inclusive.
• Spa treatments are priced close to US levels.
• Airport transfers, unless your package includes them.
• Overstay fees if you stay longer than your permitted time. See entry rules and long stays.
• Tips, which can reach $10–20 a day for a couple at a resort.

The trip budget tool lets you plug in your own numbers, and the converters handle pesos and gallons.

Carrying money safely

Carry what you need for the day in a front pocket, and leave the rest of your cash, your passport and your spare card in the room safe. Do not leave cash or phones on a beach towel while you swim, which is how most visitors lose money. Use Uber or a hotel-arranged taxi when you have just taken out cash. More on scams and petty crime is on the safety page.

Money checklist before you fly

• A credit card with no foreign transaction fee, plus a backup on a different network.
• A debit card for ATMs, linked to an account with a limited balance.
• Alerts turned on in your bank apps and your bank's international phone number saved.
• $60–100 in small, clean US bills for tips and the first taxi.
• A plan to withdraw pesos at a bank ATM soon after you arrive if you will leave the resort.
• The habit of choosing pesos on every card terminal and ATM.

Planning the rest of the trip? Start with the planning guide, check phones and Wi-Fi, and compare routes on the flights page.