Hello Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean nation that shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti to the west. It’s known for its beaches, resorts and golfing. Its terrain comprises rainforest, savannah and highlands, including Pico Duarte, the Caribbean’s tallest mountain.

Capital city Santo Domingo has Spanish landmarks like the Gothic Catedral Primada de America dating back 5 centuries in its Zona Colonial district.

Spanish is the official language of the Dominican Republic. However, plenty of hotels and tourist destination employees speak English, French, German and Italian. It is always also helpful to learn basic of Spanish if you’re willing to go to non tourist areas.

How to get here: (طريقه الوصول الى الجزيره)

• I personally flew from Gatwich, London. Jowever your options are:
  • Direct flights from Madrid to Santo Domingo (Iberia & Air Europa)
  • Flights from Madrid to Punta Cana
  • Frankfurt to Santo Domingo and Punta Cana
  • Flights from London to Punta Cana, or Santo Domingo
  • Dusseldorf to Punta Cana
  • Paris to Punta Cana
  • Miami, NYC, Boston, Washington and Atlanta to Santo Domingo & Punta Cana
  • Panama to Santo Domingo and Punta Cana
  • Mexico to Santo Domingo and Punta Cana

Basically, there are plenty of routes that takes you to the Dominican but i’d recommend you to either land in Punta Cana or Santo Domingo, and make your way from there by land.

Capital: Santo Domingo

Currency: Dominican peso (US dollars are accepted in resorts)

Official language: Spanish

Population: 10.53 million (2015) World Bank

Main Income: Tourism and Sugar

What did I see in the Dominican Republic? المناطق اللي زرتها في الدومينيكان

Punta Cana

La Romana

Isla Catalina

Las Terrenas, Samana

Punta Cana

Punta Cana is for EVERYONE! Looking to go somewhere guaranteed, everyone speaks English and tourists are everywhere? Visit Punta Cana.

As much as I heard how commercial it is, I enjoyed it anyway! I do recommend it, and yes, i would visit again.

The name Punta Cana in Spanish means ‘tips of white palms’. It is known for its beautiful and pristine beaches. The beaches are lined with an alley of dense palm trees. For this reason Punta Cana and Bavaro are nicknamed La Costa del Coco, or the Coconut Coast.

Things to do while in Punta Cana:

• Bavaro Beach
• Playa Blanca
• Macao Beach
• Saona Island Day Trip
• Juanillo Beach
• Isla Catalina day trip
• Dolphin Discovery
• Playa Uvero Alto

Peak Season: Peak season in Punta Cana tends to run from December to April. Prices in both airfare and hotel increase dramatically during these times, while dropping in the summer and early fall months.

La Romana

La Romana is a city at the southeast end of the Dominican Republic. The area along the coast is mostly taken up with various resorts, most notably Casa de Campo Resort. Cruise ships also port here.

My friend had planned for me a stay in Casa de Campo Resort. La Romana, could be reached via Punta Cana or via auto Domingo, both are an option. (An airport is available, but not recommended)

A must see is Altos de Chavon. This “Village” was done replicating the 15th century colonial architecture style. It has many restaurants, a museum with Taino artifacts and an amazing view of the Chavon river. It’s a charming replica of the Italian village that was built by a man as a gift for his daughter . Also, artists ranging from Sinatra to Maluma have performed at its large amphitheater.

We’ve seen this amazing village around sunset time, but in the morning we went to the marina to rent a boat that took us for the day swimming in Catalina Island.

 

Las Terrenas, Samana

Our last beach stop was Las Terrenas. We stayed at an apartment via homeaway.com, part of the Sublime Hotel & Resort development.

Las Terrenas is a resort town on the Samaná Peninsula, in the northeastern part of the Dominican Republic. It’s known for central Las Terrenas Beach. Other beaches include Bonita, Cosón and Las Ballenas. Cays off the coast feature underwater caverns like Dudu cave. Bars and restaurants, many with open-air seating, line the strip of Pueblo de los Pescadores near the water.

Las Terrenas for me, was the perfect beach getaway! Quiet, magical, and exactly what anyone could need to disconnect absolutely. In Las Terrenas, I’ve walked along the beach to see Playa Bonita & Had fish at Luis!

Santo Domingo

My last stop in the DR was Santo Domingo, the Capital for one night only.

I stayed at Casas del XVI: Boutique Luxury Hotels in Santo Domingo & I recommend it.

• Walk in old town and historical Santo Domingo
• Zona Colonial
• Parque Colon
• National Pantheon
• National Botanical Garden
• The 3 Eyes National Park