It is usually a good idea to keep track of holidays in the Dominican Republic even if you don’t celebrate them. Stores are usually either closed for the whole day or don’t open up again in the afternoon. meaning you need to plan ahead. Also it can be a bit more dangerous to been on the streets during many of the holidays.

I am adding most of the holidays into my section of “places to avoid” due to safety issues. The driving in the DR on normal days can be a little crazy, and it gets much worse during holidays

Dia de la Constitution Dominicana (Constitution Day)

Usually on November 6 the Dominican Republic celebrates the that the first constitution of the DR was signed. This year it was changed to November 4.

While this isn’t as widely (or wildly) celebrated as other holidays, most of the stores, banks, and shops except in the beach and tourist areas are either closed the whole day or they don’t open back up again after lunch. Driving conditions are about the same in the morning but the drinking starts up in the early afternoon and the roads start to get more congested than normal.

I’ve found in my area it is usually a good idea to be off the streets by the early afternoon as people start drinking before heading out, or are in more of a hurry to get where they are going the roads start to become harder to navigate safely.