Punta Cana Beyond the Pool: Hard Rock Nightlife, Samana Whales, Macao Public Beach, and the Altos de Chavon Village
The Punta Cana experience beyond the all-inclusive pool includes the Hard Rock entertainment resort nightlife, the January to March humpback whale watching at Samana, the public beach at Macao with real Atlantic waves, and the theatrical Tuscan village of Altos de Chavon above the Chavon River canyon.
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Nightlife in Punta Cana: Coco Bongo and Resort Discos
The Punta Cana nightlife circuit, centered on the Coco Bongo franchise entertainment complex and the resort disco bars that operate until late in the hotel entertainment zones, provides the Caribbean party experience that supplements the beach and pool daytime culture of the all-inclusive formula. The resort discos, with their international DJ programming and the free-flowing all-inclusive drinks, create the social atmosphere most associated with the Punta Cana holiday memory.
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Hard Rock Punta Cana: The Entertainment Resort
The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Punta Cana, one of the largest resorts in the Caribbean with more than 1,700 rooms and the largest casino in the Dominican Republic, has established itself as the entertainment resort that defines the Punta Cana nightlife and events culture, hosting international concerts in its outdoor amphitheater, the Body Rock fitness festival, and the spring break programming that attracts a young international clientele. The Hard Rock is the entertainment anchor of the Bavaro resort zone.
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Whale Samana from Punta Cana
The humpback whale watching season at Samana Bay, accessible from Punta Cana by a three-hour road trip to the Samana Peninsula or by organized excursion, provides the most dramatic wildlife encounter available from the Punta Cana area during the January to March peak season, when the North Atlantic humpback whale population gathers in the warm Samana Bay for mating and calving. The whale watching boats of Samana operate at close range to the singing males.
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Macao Beach: The Public Alternative
Macao Beach, the public beach 20 kilometers north of Bavaro that has been preserved from resort development, is the most beautiful beach in the Punta Cana area outside the resort compounds and is accessible by ATV tour, buggy excursion, or taxi for the all-inclusive resort guests who want to experience a beach without the resort infrastructure. The exposure to the open Atlantic swell at Macao creates a dramatically different wave environment from the calm reef-sheltered Bavaro water.
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Altos de Chavon: The Tuscan Village
Altos de Chavon, the artificial Tuscan-Mediterranean village built on the bluffs above the Chavon River 100 kilometers west of Punta Cana on the Casa de Campo resort, is one of the most elaborate resort fantasy architecture projects in the Caribbean, with cobblestone streets, a church, an art school, and a 5,000-seat amphitheater where Frank Sinatra performed the inaugural concert in 1982. The village and the Chavon River canyon view provide a dramatic landscape excursion accessible from Punta Cana.
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Cuna del Queso: The Cheese Cave
The aging cheese cave of the Casa Vieja restaurant in the La Romana area, accessible from Punta Cana on the La Romana excursion circuit, demonstrates the Dominican premium food production that exists in contrast to the buffet cuisine of the all-inclusive resort. The Dominican aged cheeses, cured meats, and the farm-to-table restaurant experiences accessible in the La Romana rural area provide the gastronomic alternative to the resort buffet.