10 Reasons Cruising the Dominican Republic Belongs on Your Bucket List
I found an under tapped cruising destination and its name is Dominican Republic. This underappreciated country sits on the second largest of the Greater Antilles Islands and boasts the first permanent settlement in the New World by a European nation. There are three different cruising grounds with roughly an overnight sail between each. First you have the southern coast, which is protected from the winter swell. Second is the Samana Bay area, which is a 25-mile-deep bay on the east coast. Third, you have the northwest coast, which is probably the least visited of the three cruising grounds. The only negative my wife and I have found in the Dominican Republic is a fact that you have to get a despacio every time you leave an anchorage and turn it in at the next anchorage. But with that said let me tell you our top ten list for the Dominican Republic.
10. Lago Enriquillo – Located next to the Haitian border on the southwest part of the interior is a large lake 151 feet below sea level. It’s fed by 10 different rivers but has no outlet, therefore the salinity of this lake has risen to seawater levels and above. I highly recommend taking a boat tour of the lake to see the iguana colonies, the submerge forest, and the large island. On the road along the north coast, you can find some well-preserved petroglyphs.
9. Bayahbe – On the far west end of the southern coast is this great party beach town. This was our first stop on our 6-week cruise through the Dominican Republic and it was a fun beginning. Besides the nice beach and party atmosphere we found an amazing Taino Indian Museum, the Gringo Restaurant, and of course an ice cream shop.
8. Bani – Located on a peninsula on the southern coast west of the capitol you will find a large set of salt ponds, which are beautiful because some are pink and some are white. We also went to the sand dunes and while you can admire the view of the Caribbean from the top, the highlight is sandboarding down the dunes. We had so much fun and I’m surprised there was any dune left after we found how much sand was in our clothing that night.
7. Northwest Coast – This is a 50 mile or so section of the coast that is a great little cruising ground. It starts at Lupron, which has a great protected anchorage and many cruisers use it during hurricane season so there is a fun and active community here. As you cruise west you will find the first Spanish attempt at a colony in the New World including a house for Christopher Columbus (La Isabela), a small sandy island that has a few shacks on it and hosts daily barbecues (Cayo Arena), and a huge monolith protecting a mangrove swamp that has many dinghy channels that go for miles and in the middle is a dock and swimming hole (Monte Cristi). Pepillo Salcedo is a settlement right on the border with Haiti and has a well-protected harbor. Last but not least is a collection of small sandy islands you will have to yourself called the Seven Brothers.
6. Northern Interior – We were lucky and had some guests visit and the father was half Dominican. We rented cars and he took us around. We stayed at Camp David, which is a high-end resort and had a cool car collection. We also stayed at the very rustic Tubagua Ecolodge where my favorite part was the bathroom that only had three walls and the fourth one looked out over the valley, so you had the best view ever while you poop. The Aurora cigar factory was very interesting, but the highlight was definitely Monkey Jungle where we had squirrel monkeys climbing all over us. It was unbelievably amazing.
5. Samana Bay – This is a 25-mile indention into the east coast and is another great cruising ground. At the mouth you will find Cayo Levantado, which is a fun day destination with the beautiful beach. You will use the town as a hub and Luis is the guy that will help you get anything you want. During the month of April, the bay is filled with whales and you can take day trips to go see them, but we happen to have two come right up to our boat as we were cruising across the bay. It was an amazing couple of hours as we floated with them. Inland you will find El Limon Waterfall and on the north shore I got to kite surf at this great beach town called Los Terrance. I am holding out on one other place here, but you will find it later in the list.
4. Isla Saono – This is a national park encompassing the southeast part of the mainland and the island just offshore. The beaches on the island are fantastic. On the way to the island there is a shallow spot called Las Palmillas, where boats love to anchor and people party in waist deep water. We also found a mangrove lake on the southern tip of the mainland that included a fantastic frigate bird colony. The channel between the mainland and the island is navigable and if you are wanting to go to Samana Bay it can cut almost 10 miles off your trip.
3. Larimar mine – Everywhere I have been during my 13 years in the Caribbean I find people selling larimar, which looks similar to turquoise but is baby blue and beautiful. I found out it came from only a 1 square mile area of the DR and I always wanted to visit the mine. When I got there, I was amazed at the deplorable conditions the miners work in to find this semi-precious gem. Some of the shafts go down a hundred feet and are barely wide enough for a man to be lowered down in a bucket. It gave me an even greater appreciation for Larimar and the men that risk their lives to find it for tourists.
2. Santo Domingo – How could this city not be this high on the list? It’s the first permanent European city in the New World and boasts the first European university, cathedral, castle, monastery, fortress, governor’s house, bar, and street in the New World. While his brother was the founder, Christopher Columbus himself walked the streets of this settlement and his son was the governor. Everywhere we went we could feel the history seeping out of the buildings. We also made our own chocolate bars at Kahkow Experience, which was much more informative than a simple tour and a lot more fun.
1. Los Haitises National Park – We have arrived at the number one spot and we have to go to the southern coast of Samana Bay in order to visit Los Haitises National Park. This place is so surreal and different from everything else I found in the Caribbean. It reminded me more of Phang Nga Bay in Thailand than the Caribbean. There were many rocks and small islands undercut by the waves and you thought they would break off and topple over into the water. There are numerous narrow bays to anchor and at least four different caves. At night the bioluminescence was spectacular. The entire time I was there I half expected dinosaurs to pass by the boat. The only negative is you are only allowed to be here for 3 days at a time, so we came back three different times.
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