First of all, the Dominican Republic is hundreds of kilometers of magnificent sandy beaches washed by the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean Sea. Tourists mainly come here to relax in local resorts. The world-famous resort of Punta Cana is located in the Dominican Republic. It stretches for 40 km along the east coast of the country, which is called the Costa de Cocos (Costa de Cocos), which means “Coconut Coast” in Spanish. Punta Cana is a series of resort complexes with luxurious hotels, shopping malls, restaurants, nightclubs and white sand beaches. It consists of 5 long beaches: Bavaro, Cabeza de Torro, El Cortecito, Punta Arena Gorda and Macau. Bavaro Beach is the most developed in terms of tourism, most of Punta Cana ‘s hotels are located here. The beaches of Cabeza de Torro and Punta Arena Gorda are awarded the “blue flag” and are considered among the best in the region. El Cortecito Beach is famous for its seafood restaurants and its windsurfing and kitesurfing schools. The hotel complexes of Punta Cana are entire small towns with their own infrastructure and operate on an all-inclusive basis. Hotel Territoriesare so large that tourists have to use the services of special trams or take golf carts to move around them. Punta Cana is the best golf destination in the country. Many hotels have their own golf courses. Also, tourists are offered a wide variety of excursions on the Costa de Cocos – jeep safaris, all kinds of water excursions, helicopter excursions and scuba diving to the country’s largest reef. Punta Cana is home to the Manati Water Park (Manati Park). Here you can see not only marine life and reptiles, shows with their participation and swim with dolphins, but also exotic animals and birds that live in the midst of lush tropical vegetation, as well as exciting performances with horses. Punta Cana hosts the Deep Sea Fishing Championship every August.
North of Punta Cana is the secluded beach of Playa Limon. The beach stretches for 3 km along the coast. In its vicinity are the protected Laguna Limon and Laguna Redonda, along the banks of which mangroves are spread.
Another resort area is located east of the country’s capital – Santo Domingo. This place is called Caribbean coast. Here are some of the most popular resorts in the country – Boca Chica (Boca Chica), La Romana (La Romana) and Bayahibe (Bayahibe), as well as Juan Dolio (Juan Dolio). Proximity to the capital is both a “plus” and a “minus” of these resort areas. On weekends, the local beaches are crowded with locals who come from the capital on vacation.
According to Top-mba-universities, Dominican Republic.Boca Chica resort is the most popular resort on the south coast, which began to develop from the end of the 19th century. It is located 30 km east of Santo Domingo. The Boca Chica lagoon is protected by a coral reef, the waters here are calm, shallow, suitable even for families with children. The beaches of Boca Chica are composed of white sand. Hotels lined up along them, bars, restaurants and shops. Boca Chica offers a wide variety of water activities: snorkeling, diving, kayaking, water skiing, jet skis, yachts, bananas and catamarans. Boca Chica has over 20 dive sites, most of which are located within the Submarino La Caleta National Park. The Boca Chica Aquatic Club organizes an international fishing competition every year in April. Boca Chica is famous for its nightlife. In the evening, on the main street of the resort – Calle Duarte – numerous discos begin to work.
To the east is Playa Caribe Beach, where high waves are observed during the daytime, attracting surfers here. Further along the coast is Guiacanes Beach. (Guycanae). The infrastructure of the beach is poorly developed: there are several bars and restaurants.
Next comes the resort of Juan Dolio. It is less noisy here than in Boca Chica, however, the coastal waters and beaches are less attractive, in some places the entrance to the sea is difficult due to coral debris. Recently, new hotels have been under construction in Juan Dolio at a rapid pace. It is worth noting that Juan Dolio has some of the best fish restaurants on the entire southern coast. The coastal waters of Juan Dolio are home to long chains of underwater caves and shipwrecks, making for great diving opportunities. La Romana is located 130 km east of Santo Domingo. (La Romana). Just to the east of the city is the extensive hotel complex Casa de Campo (28 sq. km) with three golf courses included in the list of the world’s 100 best golf courses, which has its own beaches, a marina and even an airstrip. Here you can often meet the stars of the world stage, cinema and television. Opposite the city of La Romana in the sea, 2 km away, is the Catalina island. The island has an area of 6 sq. km. and is protected by the eponymous nature reserve. Forests stretch in the center of the island, and sandy beaches along the coast. Motor boats run from La Romana to the island. Tourists come here to relax on the quiet beaches. In addition, the island is surrounded by colorful coral reefs. This is a great place for snorkeling and diving.
In the vicinity of La Romana, the village of Bayahibe is also popular, which has recently turned into a whole resort area with luxurious hotels, excellent beaches, restaurants and shops. The local beach of the Dominicus Lagoon (La Laguna Dominicus) is one of the few in the country that has been awarded the Blue Flag.
Bayahibe is adjacent to the Del Este national park, which includes the Saona island with an area of 110 square meters. km. It is the largest island belonging to the Dominican Republic.. Along the shores of Saona Island, white sand beaches are considered among the most beautiful in the region. The beaches are equipped with changing cabins, showers and picnic areas. Water excursions around the island are very popular. At the eastern outskirts of the Del Este National Park, the secluded beach of Playa Borinquen in the village of Boca de Yuma is interesting.
In the vicinity of the capital, you can also relax on the beaches of the city of San Cristobal, located west of Santo Domingo. The most popular beach here is Punta Palenque Beach.
You can also have a great rest on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic. – “Costa del Ambar” (Costa del Ambar), which means “Amber Coast”. The coast is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and is bordered by the Cordillera Central mountain ranges from the south. The center of the region is the city of San Felipe de Puerto Plata (San Felipe de Puerto Plata), which is simply called Puerto Plata.
The most popular resort areas of the northern coast are located east of Puerto Plata. Firstly, this is the Costa Dorada area with the resort of Playa Dorada. Playa Dorada has a dozen all-inclusive hotel complexes. The beaches of the Costa Dorada are composed of yellow sand and awarded the “blue flag”. There is also a golf course in Playa Dorada.
Most often, tourists come here who want to go diving and snorkelling, because in the immediate vicinity of the coast there is a coral reef with a colorful underwater world. In addition, from Sosua you can go on a trip on a boat with a transparent bottom, in winter – go on whale watching excursions (January-March) or get into the largest water park in the Caribbean, Columbus (Columbus) with a wide variety of water attractions. Sosua is also known for its vibrant nightlife: cafes, bars and discos are scattered throughout the city. Cabarete resort is located 15 km to the east.(Cabarete) is one of the best places in the world for windsurfing, kitesurfing and surfing. Steady northeasterly trade winds blow here all year round. The peak of the season falls on June-September and December-April, during these times of the year the beaches of Cabarete are crowded with tourists.
In the eastern part of the north coast, there are beaches in the fishing village of Rio San Juan. Near the village of Cabrera is Playa Grande beach, which is considered one of the most beautiful in the country. The landscapes here are very beautiful: the beach is surrounded by rocks and coconut palms. Many private villas have been built here. There are good beaches in the villages of Costambar located on the other side (west) of Puerto Plata(Costambar), Cofresi and Luperon. In Cofresi, in addition to the beach, it is worth visiting the Ocean World water park .
Even further west along the coast (135 km from Puerto Plata), near the border with Haiti, is the city of Monte Cristi. The coastline here is a range of white limestone cliffs that break off to narrow sandy beaches. The beaches of Montecristi National Park are the most popular here.
Very picturesque beaches are located on the northern coast of the Samana Peninsula. Resort Las Terrenas (Las Terrenas) is the most popular among tourists. Here you will find small cozy hotels, shops, restaurants and bars. Not far from Las Terrenas are the beaches of Playa Bonita and Playa Coson. Playa Coson is surrounded by spurs of the northern coastal mountains, so the landscape here is truly impressive: mountains overgrown with tropical forests, snow-white beaches with tall palm trees and the ocean. The resort of Las Galeras is a small fishing village, on whose beach the fishermen bring a new catch every day, so you can always taste fresh seafood dishes in local restaurants. From Las Galeras you can get to Playa Rincon beach (Playa Rincon), which is considered one of the most beautiful beaches not only in the Dominican Republic, but throughout the world. The length of the beach is 2 km, it consists of many small deserted beaches. There are no hotels, shops and large restaurants, only a few cafes.
An interesting beach is the island of Levantado (Cayo Levantado), located in Samana Bay, 7 km from the southern coast of the peninsula. Most of the island (eastern and central) is occupied by a five-star hotel, but the western part of the island is open to tourists for free. Sandy beaches stretch along the entire coast of the island.
On the southwest coast of the Dominican Republic, stretching on the Pedernales peninsula, a hot arid climate prevails, so it is not as picturesque as other coastal regions of the country. On the eastern coast of the Pedernales peninsula, south of the city of Barahona, small towns with beautiful beaches of San Rafael, Paraiso and Los Patos stretch. Unlike other beaches in the country, the local ones are composed of black sand. But the most famous beach in this region is the beach of Bahia de las Aguilas (Bay of Eagles), located on the western coast of the Perdenales peninsula. The beach is part of the largest Jaragua National Park in the country. (Jaragua national park). This is an 8 km long white sand beach where there are no hotels, tourists and fuss.