Santo Domingo's malaria advice has a gray area. Here's what the CDC says.

Are there mosquitoes in Santo Domingo? Yes. The day-biting Aedes mosquito that spreads dengue lives around the city's buildings, and malaria mosquitoes bite from dusk to dawn. The CDC recommends malaria prevention medicine for Santo Domingo province, but it's unclear whether that covers the Zona Colonial, so a winter trip calls for a travel-clinic visit and a daytime repellent habit.

What the CDC says about malaria

The CDC's Dominican Republic page lists malaria transmission "Primarily in the provinces (including resort areas) of Azua, Elias Piña, La Altagracia, San Juan, and Santo Domingo" and, on a separate line, "In the Distrito Nacional, city of Santo Domingo (the capital), primarily in the La Ciénaga and Los Tres Brazos areas." The species is "P. falciparum (100%)," the more dangerous one, with no drug resistance.

The medicine recommendation names provinces only, reading "Provinces (including resort areas) of Azua, Elias Piña, La Altagracia, San Juan, and Santo Domingo: Atovaquone-proguanil, chloroquine, doxycycline, mefloquine, tafenoquine." For "All other areas," it says "No chemoprophylaxis recommended (insect bite precautions and mosquito avoidance only)." The medicine section never mentions the Distrito Nacional.

That leaves a gray area. The Zona Colonial lies in the Distrito Nacional, and it is unclear whether the CDC's "Santo Domingo" in the medicine line covers it. Santo Domingo province, which surrounds the district, is clearly on the list "including resort areas," and it holds Las Américas airport, Boca Chica beach and the Los Tres Ojos caves. Recorded cases are low. The health ministry counted 133 malaria cases nationwide in the first 33 weeks of 2026, down from 712 a year earlier, most of them in Azua and San Juan in the southwest. Our Dominican Republic briefing compares the whole country.

Malaria mosquitoes bite from dusk to dawn, the hours of rooftop bars, dinners on Plaza de España and evening walks on Calle El Conde. Put repellent on again at sunset, wear long sleeves and light trousers for outdoor dinners, and sleep in an air-conditioned or screened room.

Dengue by day

Dengue usually rises with the May to November rains. In 2026 national confirmed cases more than doubled between late July and early October, to more than 400, according to press summaries of the health ministry's bulletins, with Punta Cana's province far in front and the capital not among the leaders. The mosquito behind it breeds in water containers around buildings and bites in daylight, with peaks after sunrise and before sunset. In the old city, courtyard gardens, fountains and plant pots in colonial-era hotels are typical breeding spots. Put repellent on over sunscreen in the morning and again in the late afternoon. Our dengue & Zika routine has the full schedule.

Where you're going

Scores are for a December–April trip.

Adding beach days? Our Punta Cana briefing covers the other malaria-medicine province most visitors see, and the Samaná briefing covers a peninsula outside the CDC's list.

What travelers report

Paraphrased from a Cruise Critic thread and linked so you can read it in full. It dates from 2007, well before the CDC's current malaria list, so read it as background rather than advice.

• Santo Domingo · 2007

  Asked about malaria in the DR, a longtime Santo Domingo resident said they had not heard of malaria cases in the city in a while and thought cases were more likely in the countryside; the thread treated the city and the eastern resort areas as generally fine. Cruise Critic ↗

If you're pregnant, talk to a healthcare provider before you book, since the CDC lists Zika for the Dominican Republic. For yellow fever the CDC says "Vaccine is not recommended," with proof required only from travelers arriving from four Brazilian states. And any fever during the trip or in the months after it means a doctor visit, and you say you were in the Dominican Republic, because malaria can show up weeks later.

Traveler questions