Overview
The Dominican Republic's main drawing
points include its colonial history, particularly the old area of Santo Domingo, the
typical Caribbean charm of its villages, and its resort area developed on fine-sand
beaches.
Attractions
Santo
Domingo
The first city founded in the Americas, the
capital Santo Domingo was built in 1502 by Nicolás de Ovando, the colonial governor.
Today, with over 3,000,000 inhabitants, Santo Domingo is the largest and most populated
city in the Dominican Republic. It is also the country's financial, industrial and
commercial centre. Its petrochemical, metallurgical, textile and plastic industries are
thriving. Despite the frantic pace of life here, Santo Domingo is a pleasant city,
especially in the colonial zone, where colonial-era buildings are
concentrated.
The Caribbean
Coast
The miles of beautiful coastline in the
southeastern region of the Dominican Republic are popular with visitors from around the
world, who are accommodated by numerous hotel complexes. Tourist resorts, like Juan Dolio
and Casa de Campo, have sprung up in previously uninhabited areas, near beautiful sandy
beaches. Luxurious modern complexes have also been built in the centre of typical
Dominican villages, alongside modest Creole cottages, as in Boca Chica and
Bayahibe.
Puerto Plata and the
Atlantic Coast
Travelling from Puerto Plata to the
Samaná Peninsula, a formidable 150 km long (93 mi) seafront, takes you through one of the
best-known regions of the Dominican Republic. More than anywhere else in the country, the
development of tourism has been particularly intense here over the last 20 years, and many
of the region's towns and villages have become major resort areas. Following Puerto Plata,
Sosúa and Cabarete, development of the superb beaches has now moved further east, to the
regions of Río San Juan and Playa Grande.
Punta Cana
The Dominican
Republic's eastern point is characterized by an almost unbroken succession of sugar-cane
fields and orange groves. Most travellers come to this region for its beaches, among the
most beautiful in the country, if not the whole Caribbean. For over a decade now, the once
nearly uninhabited northeastern shore of the Dominican Republic, known as the Coconut
Coast, has become a major holiday destination. Most developers have followed the same
general plan, building grand luxury hotels on large properties, at the edge of
breathtaking and completely isolated beaches.
Where on earth
The Dominican Republic shares with Haiti the island of
Hispaniola, the second-largest island in the Caribbean after Cuba.
Excursions
Resorts