With gleaming white sandy beaches and azure seas, the Dominican Republic epitomizes the Caribbean with a lot more besides the seaside. As the jumping off point for the conquest of the Americas, the country has a long colonial past that remains well-preserved, particularly in the capital Santo Domingo, a UN World Heritage site.
What is it?: The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean nation known for its beautiful beaches, vibrant culture, rich history, and diverse landscapes, offering a perfect mix of outdoor adventures, cultural experiences, and resort relaxation.
Affordability: The Dominican Republic is quite affordable compared to many other Caribbean destinations. While luxury resorts and activities can be expensive, there are plenty of budget-friendly options for food, transportation, and accommodations, particularly in local areas.
Safety: The Dominican Republic is generally safe for tourists, with many popular destinations like Punta Cana and Santo Domingo being secure. However, like any tourist destination, visitors should exercise caution in crowded areas and avoid isolated locations, especially at night.
Popularity: The Dominican Republic is one of the most popular Caribbean destinations, particularly known for its all-inclusive resorts, beaches, and golf courses. Punta Cana, Santo Domingo, and Puerto Plata attract millions of visitors each year, making it a bustling tourism hub.
Tourist Infrastructure: Excellent, with modern resorts, a wide range of activities, and well-maintained transport networks. Punta Cana and Santo Domingo offer a variety of accommodations, from luxury resorts to budget hotels. The island is well-equipped to cater to international tourists.
Weather: Tropical climate, with warm temperatures year-round. The best time to visit is during the dry season from December to April, when the weather is pleasant for outdoor activities. Hurricane season runs from June to November, though it’s still possible to visit with careful planning.
Best Time to Go: December–April for the best weather, ideal for enjoying the beaches, outdoor activities, and cultural events. The summer months can be hot and humid, with a risk of rain and hurricanes during the hurricane season.
Known For: Punta Cana, Santo Domingo, all-inclusive resorts, beaches, golf courses, vibrant culture, colonial architecture, and rich history including the first cathedral of the Americas.
Top Destinations: Punta Cana • Santo Domingo • Puerto Plata • Sosúa • Samana • La Romana • Boca Chica
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Nature Buffs: The Dominican Republic offers a diverse range of natural landscapes, from the beaches of Punta Cana to the lush mountains of Samaná and the Jarabacoa region, ideal for hiking, birdwatching, and exploring national parks like Los Haitises.
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History Buffs: The Dominican Republic is rich in history, with Santo Domingo offering colonial-era sites like the Alcázar de Colón and the first cathedral in the Americas. The country also has remnants of indigenous culture and colonial influence scattered across the island.
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Beach Bunnies: With its stunning beaches such as Punta Cana, Sosúa, and Boca Chica, the Dominican Republic is a beach lover’s paradise, offering crystal-clear waters, white sand, and opportunities for water sports, making it one of the top beach destinations in the Caribbean.
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Digital Nomads: Punta Cana and Santo Domingo offer reliable internet and comfortable living conditions, making the Dominican Republic a good base for digital nomads. The cost of living is relatively low, although some rural areas may not have the same infrastructure.
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Families: The Dominican Republic is family-friendly, with attractions like the National Aquarium, Dolphin Discovery, and the beaches of Punta Cana, where families can enjoy water sports, nature reserves, and cultural experiences.
The interior of the country, in parts extremely remote, is characterized by wild rainforests and peaks that reach higher than 3,000 meters.
What’s Cool
Immaculate white sandy beaches, trusty gua gua taxis, lively merengue music, oodles of decent cheap rum, highly negotiable prices and exotic amber.
What’s Not
High levels of crime in certain urban areas, mosquito-borne diseases, sunstroke, the hurricane season and cock fighting.
Highlights
- Cabarete: the holiday hub of the country and all-round idyllic beachfront city with plenty going on away from the sand.
- San Domingo: sometimes brash but always entertaining, the capital is where most travelers will begin their holiday, and there’s enough here to delay a trip to the beach.
- Santiago Los Caballeros: was an important town and former capital in the colonial days and it retains its old, Spanish feel despite a turbulent past.
- Bonao: is the kind of place tourists would love, but it remains special because of the lack of visitors. Get here before everyone else does and enjoy the stunning scenery.
- Sosua: a slice of the German Riviera in the heart of the Caribbean with a character all of its own.
- Lago Enriquillo: the lowest and wettest point in the country, surrounded by an arid, cactus-heavy landscape of caves and interesting rock formations.
As a sub-tropical destination, the Dominican Republic sees little variation in temperature and remains sticky for most of the year. The dry season, from November to February, sees the humidity drop a little although temperatures are still high. The storm season, from June to October, is generally wet and prone to tropical storms and hurricanes.
Festivals & Events
Hot weather, good music and that unmistakable Caribbean attitude to life make the Dominican Republic a lively destination during its numerous festivals.
- January: the liveliest carnival in the country, La Vega Carnival kicks off right at the beginning of the year and continues every weekend until March.
- February: the pre-Lent Dominican Republic Carnival, held throughout the month, finishes with street parades and floats that flood the country with color.
- July/August: Santa Domingo hosts the planet’s premiere meringue festival featuring both domestic and international talent.
- October: the country’s annual jazz festival is a three-day celebration in Cabarete featuring jazz from around the region.
- Windsurfing: hit Cabarete for what is considered some of the best windsurfing in the Caribbean.
- Relaxing: when the beaches are this good, there is little doubt that taking life easy will take up a large chunk of you itinerary.
- Dancing: great jazz and the best merengue mean most visitors find themselves tapping their feet and swinging their hips at some point.
- Trekking: with lots of hills and lush greenery, the Dominican Republic is a great place to explore when the rains calm and the temperature drops in the winter.
- Partying: good music and rum mean plenty of late nights, not least in Cabarete and San Domingo where the parties continue until dawn.
- Surfing: some great, uncrowded surf can be had on the north shore in and around Cabarete.
Flights into San Domingo come in from all over the region including major cities in the US and farther afield from Europe. Other options for getting here are limited. Crossing in from neighboring Haiti is more hassle than its worth given that the country has fewer connections and is far more susceptible to political turmoil than the Dominican Republic.
There are no trains in either country. Once you’re here, most people, locals and tourists alike, like nothing better than a good gua gua to get them around. They’re cheap, cheerful and reach even the remotest parts, but can get a little full. A more comfortable and expensive option are air-conditioned coaches which cover the main routes.
Crime here is bad in certain areas of the capital and other large cities, while tourist areas are also be prone to petty theft so keep you’re goggles on when out in the sea and make sure valuables are kept in a safe place. Health-wise, the Dominican Republic is a catalogue of potential hazards, most of which can be avoided with care. The sun gets very hot in the summer so protect your skin and avoid exposure. Another possible danger during this period is hurricanes and storms which can cause flooding, a reason why many tourists chose to come in the winter.