Explore DR
The Dominican Republic received over 11.7 million tourists in 2025, making it the second most visited destination in Latin America and the Caribbean. Here are the essential zones — useful for visitors and residents alike.
🏛 Colonial Zone — Santo Domingo
The oldest continuously founded European city in the Americas. Cobblestone streets, the Primate Cathedral, Alcázar de Colón, Parque Colón. Best explored on foot, especially morning or evening (midday heat is intense).
Mesón D'Bari — classic Dominican cuisine, a neighborhood institution. Jalao — modern criollo food near Parque Colón. Adrian Tropical — popular local chain.
Boutique hotels in restored colonial buildings — recommended for the historic atmosphere.
🏖 Punta Cana & Bávaro
The country's best-known tourist area — long white-sand beaches, its own international airport, and the Caribbean's largest concentration of all-inclusive resorts.
Most meals happen at the resort (all-inclusive); for something different, the area also has independent beachfront seafood restaurants.
An area dominated by large all-inclusive resorts (e.g. Hard Rock Hotel Punta Cana) — ideal for families, not for those seeking city/neighborhood life.
🐋 Samaná
A green peninsula, less touristically developed than Punta Cana. From January to March, Samaná Bay is one of the world's best spots for humpback whale watching (annual migration).
Las Terrenas has a visible French/European influence on its food scene — many small seafood and international-cuisine restaurants.
To see: Los Haitises National Park, Playa Rincón (one of the Caribbean's most beautiful beaches), Las Terrenas.
⛵ La Romana, Bayahibe & Saona Island
Bayahibe is the main departure point for boat trips to Saona Island, inside Cotubanamá National Park — one of the country's most photographed beaches. La Romana also has Altos de Chavón, an artists' village built in Mediterranean style.
Day trips to Saona Island usually include a beach buffet lunch; Bayahibe has several seafront seafood restaurants.
Casa de Campo (La Romana) — one of the country's best-known luxury resorts, with a golf course.
🏄 Puerto Plata, Cabarete & Sosúa
The north coast ("Costa Verde"). Cabarete is one of the world's kitesurfing and windsurfing capitals, with steady wind mainly between June and October. Puerto Plata has a cable car (unique in the Caribbean) up to Pico Isabel de Torres.
Cabarete's beach is lined with small casual restaurants aimed at surfers and expats, with varied international cuisine.
To see: the 27 Waterfalls of Damajagua — natural slides and falls, one of the most popular excursions in the north.
⛰ Jarabacoa & Constanza
The country's mountain region, nicknamed "the Dominican Switzerland" — climate is much cooler than on the coast. Starting point for climbing Pico Duarte (the Caribbean's highest peak) and for rafting/canyoning on the Yaque del Norte river.
The area is known for local mountain produce (strawberries, vegetables, trout) served at small, rustic restaurants.
An alternative for those seeking adventure/nature rather than beach — popular on weekends with Dominicans and expats alike.