Dominican Republic Beyond Santo Domingo: Bayahibe Diving, Playa Rincon, Cabarete Kitesurfing, and Puerto Plata
The Dominican Republic destinations beyond the capital include the reef diving at Bayahibe, the pristine Playa Rincon at the Samana tip, the world-class kitesurfing at Cabarete, the Jewish refugee colony history at Sosua, and the Victorian cable car to the Puerto Plata mountaintop Christ.
- 1
Bayahibe: The Coral Reef South Coast
Bayahibe, the small fishing village on the southeast Dominican Republic coast accessible from Santo Domingo in approximately 90 minutes, is the diving capital of the Dominican Republic, with the offshore reef system of the La Caleta national park and the Catalina Island providing some of the finest reef diving in the Caribbean in the warm clear water of the southeastern coast. The shore-based dive operations of Bayahibe serve both the independent visitor and the La Romana resort guests.
- 2
Las Galeras: The Samana Seclusion
Las Galeras at the tip of the Samana Peninsula, a small beach community accessible from Santa Barbara de Samana by road, has the most secluded and pristine beach environment in the Dominican Republic, with the Playa Rincon beach accessible by boat from the Las Galeras pier considered by many Caribbean travelers to be the finest beach in the country. The relative isolation of Las Galeras has preserved the fishing village character that the more developed destinations have lost.
- 3
Constanza: The Mountain Valley
Constanza in the Cordillera Central, the highest valley in the Caribbean at 1,200 meters altitude, supports strawberry, garlic, and vegetable farming for the Santo Domingo market in an agricultural landscape more reminiscent of Central America than the Caribbean coast. The cool temperatures, the pine forests of the surrounding mountains, and the mountain waterfall hikes make Constanza one of the most unusual day trip destinations from the capital.
- 4
Cabarete: The Water Sports Capital
Cabarete on the north coast of the Dominican Republic, accessible from Santiago or Puerto Plata by road, is the water sports capital of the Caribbean, with the Cabarete Bay providing the consistent wind and wave conditions for kitesurfing and windsurfing that have made it one of the top wind sports destinations in the world. The Cabarete beach party culture combines the international wind sports community with the Dominican north coast social life.
- 5
Sosua: The Jewish Refugee Colony
Sosua, the small town on the Dominican north coast adjacent to Cabarete, was settled in 1940 by European Jewish refugees invited by the Trujillo government in a cynical gesture of humanitarian openness that also served the regime's policy of whitening the Dominican population. The Sosua Jewish Museum documents the story of the 800 refugees who built the Sosua beach community and the cheese and sausage production cooperative that still operates in the town.
- 6
Puerto Plata: The Victorian Cable Car
Puerto Plata, the major north coast city and the gateway for the Atlantic coast resort area, has the only aerial cable car in the Caribbean, climbing to the summit of Mount Isabel de Torres where the Christ statue and the botanical garden overlook the north coast in a panorama comparable in concept to the Rio de Janeiro Christ. The Victorian Gothic architecture of the Puerto Plata city center, preserved from the cacao boom of the late 19th century, is the finest in the Dominican Republic outside the Zona Colonial.