Destinations / Dominican Republic

Overview

While the countryside offers villages influenced by a Spanish heritage, only a handful of visitors see them. Most go to the beach resorts or to Santo Domingo.

World-famous resort complexes at Casa de Campo, Puerto Plata and Punta Cana attract droves of European visitors, but Americans are now slowly catching on to the delights of the D.R. Visitors with limited vacation time are often hard-pressed to choose their activities: Golf, tennis, fabulous beaches and horseback riding compete with world-class windsurfing (at Cabarete) scuba diving and outstanding sport fishing for marlin, sailfish and dorado.

Some of the world's finest cigars are made here from Cuban-seed tobacco brought by Cuban expatriates after the Revolution. In addition to hand-rolled cigars, the Dominican Republic cultivates heavenly coffee beans. Larimar, the Dominican version of turquoise mined near the Haitian border, is another bargain.

LOCATION :

The Dominican Republic lies about 800 miles/1,280 kilometers southeast of Miami and is bordered in the Greater Antilles chain by Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east. The island of Hispaniola, which the Dominican Republic shares with Haiti, totals some 48,482 square miles/126,053 square kilometers, making it the second-largest island in the Caribbean.

LANGUAGE :

Spanish (English is widely spoken)

CURRENCY :

Dominican Peso

TIPPING :

Most restaurants add a 10% service charge, so patrons kick in another 5-10% for good service.

ELECTRICITY :

110 volts/60 cycles

HIGHLIGHTS

Whale-watching by boat off the Silver Bank
Golfing at Casa de Campo's famous Teeth of the Dog course in La Romana
Gallery hopping at Altos de Chavon, a recreated 16th-century Spanish village
Windsurfing at Cabrete

OVERVIEW
While the countryside offers villages influenced by a Spanish heritage, only a handful of visitors see them. Most go to the beach resorts or to Santo Domingo. This is a city of firsts - the first cathedral in the New World (Santa Marma la Menor), the first hospital in the New World (Hospital San Nicolas de Bari), the first European castle in the New World (Alcazar de Colsn) and the oldest surviving European stone house (Casa del Cordsn). The oldest hotel building in the New World, the Palacio Nicolas de Ovando, is on the oldest surviving street in the New World (Calle las Damas).

Until the rest of America catches on, the Dominican Republic could be your personal hideaway.

GEOGRAPHY

Topography: The Dominican Republic lays claim to both the highest and lowest points in the Caribbean basin. Pico Duarte rises to some 10,417 feet above sea level and is occasionally dusted with snow in the winter. Lago Enriquillo, a large, brackish lake, is some 130 feet below sea level, the lowest land point in the Caribbean. The rest of the island ranges from Alps-like mountain ridges to rain-forested jungle to arid seaside plains.

Climate: Primarily tropical climate, the DR - because of its size- has more regional temperature variations than seasonal ones. As is typical in the Caribbean, the summer is slightly hotter and muggy, while the winter is just a bit cooler and less humid. The elevated mountain regions are somewhat cooler. There are two rainy seasons, October to May along the northern coast and May to October in the south. And when it rains in the DR, it really rains. June to September is hurricane season.

HISTORY
The Columbus family - Christopher, his brother Bartolomeo and his son Diego - controlled Hispaniola in the years after European contact. As the capital of Spain's New World possessions, it was here the Admiral reigned briefly over his domains. Diego followed his father as viceroy, and his palace became the seat of the Audencia, or high council of the Indies. It's now a museum.

The Spanish and French vied for control of the island until 1821, when Dominicans declared themselves independent. Soon afterward, the Haitians, having gained emancipation from the French on their third of the island, seized the other two-thirds. In 1844, the Dominicans again declared independence. This time, it sort of stuck. Today, the Dominican Republic has free elections every four years.

WEBSITE :

wwww.dominicanrepublic.com

CAPITAL :

Santo Domingo

TOURIST INFORMATION :

888-374-6361

POLITICAL STATUS :

Representative democracy

AREA SIZE :

30,000 sq. miles

TAXES :

US $10 departure tax. Hotels and restaurants add a 10% service charge plus an 8% sales tax to the bill. Hotels add an additional 5% for room tax.

AREA CODE :

809

TIME :

Eastern Standard Time all year round.

DOCUMENTS :

U.S. citizens must have a valid passport or an original birth certificate and photo ID. Upon arrival, visitors must purchase a tourist card for US $10.

POPULATION :

8.7 million

AVERAGE WATER TEMPERATURE :

78 degrees F

AVERAGE VISIBILITY :

80ft

TYPES OF DIVING :

Wreck, boat, shore

BEST TIME TO DIVE :

June to September is hurricane season.

WHAT TO WEAR :

A skin or a 1.5-3mm full suit in the cooler months or on deeper dives.

DIVES NOT TO MISS :

Many of the Dominican Republic?s dive sites are found in the underwater park at La Caleta, which boasts brightly colored fan and Elkhorn coral. The area also attracts whale sharks, mantas and dolphins. The waters off Barahona and Cabo Rojo, near Pedernales are also two popular spots.
The Dominican Republic also has plenty of wrecks to explore including the Hickory and Limon Wrecks, in the underwater national park of Santo Domingo. The "Limon", a 115 feet tug boat, and the famous "Hickory", a 130 feet transport freighter are both lying in 60 feet. The underwater park can be reached in about 17 minutes by fast boat from Boca Chica, or about 25 minutes by slow boat from the public park on Las Americas highway.
The Zingara is a 45-meter long cargo ship with a six-foot long resident moray eel, prone to surprising the unsuspecting diver.
The historic 1563 fleet consists of the Spanish ships Santa Catalina, San Jorge and Santa Mar?a de Guadalupe that left South America en route back to Spain in 1563. The ships were caught in a storm, and crashed into a reef in the Montecristi area. The Santa Mar?a was salvaged but the remaining two ships drifted off the reef into 60-90 feet of water. Among the lost cargo were jewels, gold, and more than 300,000 silver coins.