Iberia Supermarket Higuey Dominican Republic

The Iberia Supermarket Higuey Dominican Republic (well, the correct name is Almacenes Iberia) is located near Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

It takes about 45 to 50 minutes from Punta Cana to get there. It is one of the largest shopping stores there. You can take a cab and it will wait for you, but I recommend to take the Higuey tour package for about US $65.00. The tour includes a visit to Iberia supermarket, the "Basilica de Altagracia" church and a visit to a local shop to buy souvenirs.

Many tourists called Iberia the "Dominican Wal-Mart" because you can find a great variety of merchandise at a very low price. It is a good place to get the following:

• souvenirs (the souvenirs gift shop is located upstairs and it is very small)

• rum

• duty free spirits

• coffee

• t-shirts and other clothing

• candies

• and everything else you could find in a supermarket

                   

By visiting the Iberia Supermarket Higuey Dominican Republic you see how locals live. I remembered that as soon as we arrived there, an employee immediately asked us where we were from. We noticed that people there were very nice and also are willing to help.

 

 

Do they accept US dollars?

They accept credit cards and Dominican pesos, but they only accept dollars only if you pay the exact amount. For example, I bought some souvenirs (ok, I even bought two toys for my babies, humm... I mean dogs, can you believe it? ) and the total was US $19.65, so I gave the cashier a twenty dollar bill and she refused to accept it. Then she said it was OK, but she had to give me the change in Dominican pesos. I finally decided to pay the exact amount but I realized that the policy of the store is not to accept dollars or any other currency.
 

Is it safe in Higuey?

To be honest, I do not recommend to go there alone because the streets are really crowded and people just keep looking at tourists since they get out of the bus until they come back. Would I come back next time? Definitely yes, the prices are much lower than gift shops at resorts!

If you only want to buy some coffee or rum, there are at least 3 local shopping centers close to Punta Cana (Bavaro) resorts and you don't need to pay the US $65.00 Higuey tour just to buy that. But if you want to meet new people, talk to locals and see by yourself how people live in Higuey, then you will have an interesting experience.