{"license":"CC BY 4.0 — attribution: IsMyTripSafe.com","source":"https://ismytripsafe.com/dominican-republic/santo-domingo","updatedAt":"2026-07-20T16:22:11.849Z","place":{"city":"Santo Domingo","country":"Dominican Republic","countryCode":"DO","lat":18.47186,"lon":-69.89232},"safety":{"score":59,"level":"MODERATE","answer":"Mostly — take normal precautions","saferThanPctOfCountries":57,"categories":[{"key":"advisories","label":"Advisories","score":62},{"key":"crime","label":"Crime","score":48},{"key":"health","label":"Health & Air","score":81},{"key":"stability","label":"Stability","score":63}]},"advisories":[{"source":"U.S. Department of State","level":2,"label":"Exercise Increased Caution","updated":"Mon, 20 Jul 2026","url":"https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/dominican-republic-travel-advisory.html"},{"source":"UK Foreign Office (FCDO)","level":1,"label":"No advisory against travel","updated":"2026-04-02T12:42:38Z","url":"https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/dominican-republic"},{"source":"Government of Canada","level":2,"label":"Exercise a high degree of caution","updated":"2026-07-08T09:16:45.370000-04:00","url":"https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/dominican-republic"}],"indicators":[{"key":"homicide","label":"Homicide rate","value":10.9166975,"display":"10.9 / 100k","year":"2024","score":48,"source":"UNODC (via Our World in Data)"},{"key":"crime_major_constraint","label":"Crime seen as a major business constraint","value":7.3,"display":"7.3%","year":"2016","score":80,"source":"World Bank Enterprise Surveys"},{"key":"terrorism_deaths","label":"Terrorism deaths (latest year)","value":0,"display":"0 recorded","year":"2021","score":96,"source":"Global Terrorism Database"},{"key":"road_deaths","label":"Road traffic deaths","value":27.4,"display":"27.4 / 100k","year":"2021","score":30,"source":"WHO Global Health Observatory"},{"key":"stability","label":"Political stability & no terrorism","value":75.9612671,"display":"76/100","year":"2024","score":76,"source":"World Bank Governance Indicators"},{"key":"rule_of_law","label":"Rule of law","value":53.8278428,"display":"54/100","year":"2024","score":54,"source":"World Bank Governance Indicators"},{"key":"corruption","label":"Control of corruption","value":42.4808681,"display":"42/100","year":"2024","score":42,"source":"World Bank Governance Indicators"},{"key":"gov_effectiveness","label":"Government effectiveness","value":52.7919493,"display":"53/100","year":"2024","score":53,"source":"World Bank Governance Indicators"},{"key":"regulatory","label":"Regulatory quality","value":58.132649,"display":"58/100","year":"2024","score":58,"source":"World Bank Governance Indicators"},{"key":"voice","label":"Voice & accountability","value":60.3698685,"display":"60/100","year":"2024","score":60,"source":"World Bank Governance Indicators"},{"key":"numbeo_crime_index","label":"Crime index (crowdsourced)","value":66.85,"display":"66.8 / 100 · city-level","year":null,"score":33,"source":"Numbeo Crime Index"},{"key":"numbeo_safety_index","label":"Safety index (crowdsourced)","value":33.15,"display":"33.1 / 100 · city-level","year":null,"score":33,"source":"Numbeo Crime Index"},{"key":"safe_walking_dark","label":"Feel safe walking alone after dark","value":39.57,"display":"39.6%","year":"2022","score":36,"source":"UN SDG Global Database"},{"key":"violence_victimization","label":"Physical assault (past year)","value":10.06,"display":"10.1%","year":"2019","score":66,"source":"UN SDG Global Database"},{"key":"human_trafficking_victims","label":"Detected human-trafficking victims","value":0,"display":"0.00 / 100k","year":"2025","score":98,"source":"UN SDG Global Database"},{"key":"bribery_contact_rate","label":"Bribery during public-official contact","value":40.3,"display":"40.3%","year":"2022","score":27,"source":"UN SDG Global Database"},{"key":"air_quality","label":"Air quality","value":69,"display":"US AQI 69 · Moderate","year":null,"score":81,"source":"Open-Meteo Air Quality"},{"key":"health","label":"Travel health notices","value":null,"display":"3 global notices","year":null,"score":92,"source":"CDC Travelers' Health"},{"key":"hospitals","label":"Hospitals nearby","value":80,"display":"80 within 15 km · nearest ~0.3 km","year":null,"score":95,"source":"OpenStreetMap"},{"key":"weather","label":"Extreme weather","value":33,"display":"July: highs ~33°C · no weather extremes","year":null,"score":100,"source":"Open-Meteo"},{"key":"natural_hazards","label":"Natural hazards","value":0,"display":"No active alerts · 4 quakes ≥M4.5 past yr","year":null,"score":86,"source":"GDACS / USGS"},{"key":"advisory","label":"Government travel advisory","value":2,"display":"Level 2 — Exercise Increased Caution · 2 govts","year":null,"score":70,"source":"US State Dept · Canada"}],"healthNotices":[{"level":"Alert","title":"Global Polio","url":"https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/level2/global-polio"},{"level":"Watch","title":"Global Dengue","url":"https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/level1/dengue-global"},{"level":"Watch","title":"Global Measles","url":"https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/level1/measles-globe"}],"hazardAlerts":[],"fieldResearch":{"verdict":"Mostly yes — Santo Domingo is safe for visitors who stay in the tourist and upscale districts and keep big-city street smarts; opportunistic street theft, not violent crime, is the real risk.","summary":"The data shows a middle-of-the-road picture: violent crime is well below the worst of the region and falling fast (the national homicide rate hit a decades-low ~7 per 100k by May 2026), but street-level theft is common, under 40% of residents feel safe walking at night, and road traffic is genuinely dangerous. For a visitor the practical risks are motorcycle drive-by phone/bag snatching, taxi and ATM scams, and wandering into the wrong barrio — all manageable with basic precautions.","robberyRisk":{"level":"Moderate","note":"Armed robbery is concentrated in poorer barrios visitors don't enter; the visitor-facing form is drive-by motorcycle snatching of phones, bags and chains, which can happen even in decent areas."},"pickpocketRisk":{"level":"High","note":"Pickpocketing, phone snatching and bag theft are the most common visitor crimes — worst in crowded spots like the Avenida Duarte shopping strip, markets, public transport and busy Zona Colonial streets."},"safeAreas":["Zona Colonial","Piantini","Naco","Gazcue"],"avoidAreas":["Cristo Rey (high-crime barrio, no visitor reason to go)","Los Mina (east-bank district with frequent street crime)","Villa Consuelo / Avenida Duarte market strip after dark (snatch-theft hotspot)"],"scams":["Uber drivers cancelling mid-ride and demanding a doubled cash fare — pay in-app only and rebook if pressed","Taxi touts (sometimes in uniform, even posing as tourist police) pressuring you out of your Uber at Zona Colonial and Los Tres Ojos into overpriced street taxis","Card skimming at standalone ATMs — use machines inside banks or malls","Insincerely friendly street 'guides' who steer conversation to money or 'protection' tips","Dating-app meetups used to set up robbery"],"zones":[{"name":"Zona Colonial","level":"safe","note":"The historic tourist core, patrolled by tourist police (CESTUR); comfortable by day and on busy evening streets — stay off empty side streets late at night."},{"name":"Piantini","level":"safe","note":"Upscale business and shopping district with private security everywhere; one of the safest addresses in the city."},{"name":"Naco","level":"safe","note":"Well-kept residential-commercial district next to Piantini with a high baseline of security."},{"name":"Gazcue","level":"safe","note":"Leafy, quiet residential quarter between the Zona Colonial and the Malecón; consistently rated among the city's safest."},{"name":"Malecón (Av. George Washington)","level":"caution","note":"Fine for a daytime seafront stroll, but poorly lit stretches attract muggings after dark — take a car at night."},{"name":"Villa Consuelo / Avenida Duarte","level":"caution","note":"The cheap shopping strip is a daytime pickpocket and phone-snatch hotspot; skip it entirely after dark."},{"name":"Cristo Rey","level":"avoid","note":"High-crime barrio with frequent armed robbery; no visitor attractions and no reason to enter."},{"name":"Los Mina","level":"avoid","note":"Dense east-bank district with regular street crime; nothing here for tourists."}]}}