Travel

Pros

• Large selection of affordable all-inclusive resorts
• Six international airports. five with daily, direct flights from the U.S. on major carriers
• Average year-round high temperatures hover between 80 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit
• Extremely warm, friendly people who seem happy to receive tourists
• The world capital of merengue and bachata music
• Rich in history and landmarks

Cons

• For non-Spanish-speakers, communicating can be very difficult
• Tap water is not potable
• Dengue fever and malaria are a risk (so bring strong bug spray and antimalarial drugs )
• Petty theft is common (but violent crime is minimal)
• More than a third of the population lives in poverty
• Prostitution is legal, and very visible
• Roads can be narrow, poorly paved, and nausea-inducing
• Many resorts sorely lack local culture, including music, cuisine, and dance
• Service at resorts can be slow and inconsistent compared with that of other Caribbean islands
• Dominican resort food is notoriously bad; upset stomachs are common
• Rooms and amenities can be dated and not up to American standards

Area Guides

• Puerto Plata. Puerto Plata is an historic and scenic shipping town on the north coast; Playa Dorada, 15 minutes west of the Puerto Plata airport, is a gated complex of 15 all-inclusive resorts.
• Punta Cana. Gorgeous white-sand beaches. high-end all-inclusive mega-resorts, and not much else.
• Samana. A lushly scenic, relatively undeveloped peninsula lined with little beach towns
• Cabarete and Sosua. Funky, Euro-inflected beach towns 15 minutes east of Puerto Plata airport; Cabarete is known for its kite surfing. Sosua for its prostitutes.
• La Romana. Seriously calm and scenic beaches. plus world-class golf -- but not much of a cultural vibe.
• Boca Chica. Lots of sex tourism, but also a protected bay with great snorkeling.

What It s Like

At their worst, Dominican resorts can represent the most frustrating aspects of foreign travel: language barriers, bad food. poor infrastructure, and dated rooms and amenities. But the worst can easily be avoided -- and at its best, the D.R. is very, very good, with a beautiful natural landscape, great weather. convenient flights, reasonable (sometimes strikingly low) prices, and ubiquitous merengue beats and dancing.

Dominicans themselves tend to be extremely warm and welcoming to tourists, even when they don't speak much English. (They can also seem very flirtatious to some Americans, an impression that may be exaggerated by the uncomfortable fact that prostitution is legal in the country.)

The bumpy, potholed roads are clogged with motoconchos (motorscooters) but worth braving in order to reach the island's stunning natural attractions, including the 27 Waterfalls of Damajagua, the surf-perfect winds of Cabarete. the white-sand beaches of Punta Cana. and the lush splendor of the Samana Peninsula .

Where to Stay

The resorts in and around Puerto Plata are mostly of the budget variety, featuring pleasant but unspectacular beaches. Most visitors to the area stay just outside the city, in the vast all-inclusives of Playa Dorada (a gated complex of 15 hotels to the east) and Cofresi (a cluster to the west). Punta Cana. meanwhile, on the D.R.'s easternmost tip, has what many consider the best beaches in the Caribbean and is home to scores of massive all-inclusive resorts, ranging from family-friendly spots like the Dreams Punta Cana Resort to luxury hotels like the famous Tortuga Bay .

Other areas have more singular identities. Near Puerto Plata, Cabarete is a kite-surfing capital where the hotels are smaller and independent, and the nightlife is great. Another, the Samana Peninsula. is more remote and sparsely developed, with lush mountains, waterfalls, whale watching, and a handful of resorts that take full advantage of the area's stunning natural beauty. La Romana. on the southern coast, offers terrific diving and, at the renowned Casa De Campo resort, Teeth of the Dog. the top-ranked golf course in the Caribbean. Finally, Boca Chica is renowned not so much for its beach as for its party scene and sex tourism.

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