Lonely Planet Dominican Republic

Ashley Harrell

Description

Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisher Lonely Planet Dominican Republic is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Walk the cobblestone streets, past beautifully restored mansions, churches and forts, many now converted into evocative museums and restaurants, in Santo Domingo's Zona Colonial; boat out to Bahia de Las Aguilas, a stunning 10km-long stretch of postcard-perfect sand nearly hugging Haiti's shores; or grab a front row seat and watch the thousands of humpback whales that congregate off the Peninsula de Samana­ to mate and give birth, all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of the Dominican Republic and begin your journey now! Inside Lonely Planet's Dominican Republic Travel Guide: Color maps and images throughout Highlights and itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interests Insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots Essential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, prices Honest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sight-seeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss Cultural insights give you a richer, more rewarding travel experience - arts, baseball, history, music, dance, architecture, cuisine Over 40 maps Covers Santo Domingo, Punta Cana, Juan Dolio, Santiago, Port- au Prince, Haiti, Las Terrenas and more The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet Dominican Republic, our most comprehensive guide to the Dominican Republic, is perfect for both exploring top sights and taking roads less traveled. Looking for more coverage? Check out Lonely Planet's Caribbean Islands guide for a comprehensive look at what the whole of the Caribbean has to offer. About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company and the world's number one travel guidebook brand, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and phrasebooks for 120 languages, and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers. You'll also find our content online, and in mobile apps, video, 14 languages, 12 international magazines, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more, enabling you to explore every day. Lonely Planet enables the curious to experience the world fully and to truly get to the heart of the places they find themselves, near or far from home.'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - New York Times 'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves, it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' - Fairfax Media (Australia)

Sujets

• República Dominicana
• Dominican Republic
• République dominicaine

Informations

• Publié par: Lonely Planet
• Date de parution: 01 octobre 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781787011885
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 55 Mo

Extrait

Dominican Republic

Contents

Plan Your Trip

Welcome to the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic's Top 17
Need to Know
First Time Dominican Republic
What's New
If You Like...
Month by Month
Itineraries
Eat & Drink Like a Local
Outdoor Activities
Regions at a Glance

On The Road

Santo Domingo
Sights
Courses
Tours
Festivals & Events
Sleeping
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
Punta Cana & the Southeast
Juan Dolio
La Romana
Bayahibe & Dominicus Americanus
Higuey
Bavaro & Punta Cana
Playa Limon
Miches
Sabana de la Mar
Peninsula de Samana
Samana
Las Galeras
Las Terrenas
North Coast
Puerto Plata
Playa Dorada & Costa Dorada
Costambar
Playa Cofresi
Sosua
Cabarete
Rio San Juan
Luperon
Punta Rucia
Monte Cristi
Dajabon
Central Highlands
Santiago
San Jose de las Matas
La Vega
Jarabacoa
Parques Nacionales Bermudez & Ramirez
Constanza
East of Santiago
The Southwest & Peninsula de Pedernales
Bani
Azua
San Juan de la Maguana
Comendador del Rey (Elias Pina)
Parque Nacional Jaragua
Barahona
South of Barahona
Larimar Mine
Laguna Oviedo
Islas Beata & Alto Velo
Pedernales
Parque Nacional Sierra de Bahoruco
Lago Enriquillo & Isla Cabritos
Jimani
Haiti
Haiti Highlights
Port-Au-Prince
Around Port-au-Prince
Route de Kenscoff
Plaine du Cul-de-Sac
Cote des Arcadins
Northern Haiti
Cap-Haitien
The Citadelle & Sans Souci
Beaches West of Cap-Haitien
Gonaives
Southern Haiti
Jacmel
Kabic
The Southwest
Understand
History
Culture
Survival Guide

Understand

Understand Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic Today
History
Music & Dance
Baseball: A Dominican Passion
Arts & Architecture
Dominican Landscapes

Survive

Directory AZ
Accommodations
Children
Customs Regulations
Electricity
Food & Drink
GLBTI Travellers
Health
Insurance
Internet Access
Legal Matters
Money
Opening Hours
Post
Public Holidays
Safe Travel
Telephone
Time
Toilets
Tourist Information
Travellers with Disabilities
Visas
Volunteering
Women Travellers
Work
Transportation
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
Language
Behind the Scenes
Our Writers
Welcome to the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is one of the Caribbean's most geographically diverse countries, with stunning mountain scenery, desert scrublands, evocative colonial architecture and beaches galore.


Coastal Country
Hundreds of kilometers of coastline define the Dominican Republic (DR) – some of it white-sand beaches shaded by rows of palm trees, other parts lined dramatically with rocky cliffs, wind-swept dunes or serene mangrove lagoons. Whether it’s fishing villages with boats moored along the shores, or indulgent tourist playgrounds with aquamarine waters, the sea is the common denominator. Some of the bays and coves where pirates once roamed are the temporary home of thousands of migrating humpback whales, and form part of an extensive network of parks and preserves safeguarding the country’s natural heritage.

Peaks & Valleys
Beyond the capital, much of the DR is distinctly rural: driving through the vast fertile interior, you’ll see cows and horses grazing alongside the roads, and trucks and burros loaded down with fresh produce. Further inland you’ll encounter vistas reminiscent of the European Alps, rivers carving their way through lush jungle and stunning waterfalls. Four of the five highest peaks in the Caribbean rise above the fertile lowlands surrounding Santiago, and remote deserts stretch through the southwest, giving the DR a physical and cultural complexity not found on other islands.

Past & Present
The country’s roller-coaster past is writ large in the physical design of its towns and cities. Santo Domingo’s Zona Colonial exudes romance with its beautifully restored monasteries and cobblestone streets along which conquistadors once roamed. The crumbling gingerbread homes of Puerto Plata and Santiago remain from more prosperous eras, and scars from decades of misrule are marked by monuments where today people gather to celebrate. New communities have arisen only a few kilometers from the ruins where Christopher Columbus strode and where the indigenous Taíno people left traces of their presence carved onto rock walls.

People & Culture
The social glue of the DR is the all-night merengue that blasts from colmados (combined corner stores and bars), and this is true everywhere from the capital Santo Domingo to crumbling San Pedro de Macoris to Puerto Plata, where waves crash over the Malecón. Dominicans greatly appreciate their down time and really know how to party, as can be seen at Carnival celebrations held throughout the country and at each town's own distinctive fiesta. These events are windows into the culture, so take the chance to join the fun and elaborate feasts.

Bike riders on a joyride | B CRUZ/SHUTTERSTOCK ©


Why I Love the Dominican Republic
By Ashley Harrell, Writer
The idyllic beaches and all-included rum cocktails have their place, but for me, the DR is about other things: the wizened men puffing cigars and slapping down dominoes by the fire atop Pico Duarte, or dancing the merengue inside the crumbling ruins of the New World’s first monastery. I’ve never felt so inspired as when I zipped through desert hills on a scooter, past grazing goats and drying laundry, headed for a faraway fishing village where an ambitious expat started a kitesurfing school.
Dominican Republic's Top 17

Santo Domingo's Zona Colonial
Take a walk through history in the oldest city in the New World. With its cobblestone streets and beautifully restored mansions, churches and forts, many converted into evocative museums and restaurants, it’s easy to imagine Santo Domingo’s landmark quarter as the seat of Spain’s 16th-century empire. But the past and present coexist rather gracefully here: follow in the footsteps of pirates and conquistadors one moment, the next pop into a 4D movie theater or shop selling CDs from the latest Dominican merengue star.

Catedral Primada de America | WALTER BIBIKOW/GETTY IMAGES ©


Top Experiences
Bahía de Las Águilas
The remoteness and loneliness of the country’s most far-flung and beautiful beach adds savor and spice to the adventure of getting to Bahía de Las Águilas , a stunning 10km-long stretch of postcard-perfect sand nearly hugging Haiti in an extreme corner of the Península de Pedernales. The fact that you take a boat that weaves in and out through craggy cliffs and sea-diving pelicans to get here – and you'll only share it with a few other tourists – only adds to its allure.

MATT MUNRO/LONELY PLANET ©


Top Experiences
Hiking Pico Duarte
Hispaniola has some surprisingly rugged, pine-tree-covered terrain in the Central Cordillera, including Pico Duarte , the Caribbean’s highest mountain (3087m). You’ll need a sturdy pair of shoes, warm clothing, good stamina and several days, but if you summit when the clouds have dispersed, the views out to both the Atlantic and the Caribbean are more than worth the blisters. Along with the memories of a night huddling around the fire out under the stars, you'll take home a well-earned feeling of accomplishment.

M. TIMOTHY O’KEEFE/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO ©


Top Experiences
Sun, Sea & Sand at Playa Rincón
Consistently rated one of the top beaches in the Caribbean by those in the know – people who courageously brave heatstroke and sunburn in a quest for the ideal – the 3km of pitch-perfect sands at Rincon is second in the DR only to Bahía de Las Águilas. It's large enough for every day-tripper to claim their own piece of real estate without nosy neighbors peeking over the seaweed and driftwood. A thick palm forest provides the backdrop, and fresh seafood can be served upon request.

THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MINISTRY OF TOURISM/HTTP://WWW.GODOMINICANREPUBLIC.COM ©


Top Experiences
Whale Watching
North Americans and Europeans aren’t the only ones who migrate south to the Caribbean in the winter. Every year, thousands of humpback whales congregate off the Península de Samaná to mate and give birth, watched (from a respectful distance) by boatloads of their human fans. Get a front-row seat to this spectacle from mid-January to mid-March.

WESTEND61/GETTY IMAGES ©


Top Experiences
Mountain Biking the Dominican Alps
Hardcore cyclists rave about the rough trails of the DR’s central highlands , where they feel like pioneers. Free styling their way on rocky descents, through alpine meadows and coursing streams, is an adventurer’s dream. Less strenuous rides abound, too: pedal along dirt roads through farming communities and sugar-cane fields, and be greeted by smiles and friendly invitations to stop and grab a Presidente or two.

STEVE OGLE/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO ©


Top Experiences
Winter Baseball
Dominicans don’t just worship at Sunday Mass: baseball makes a solid claim for the country’s other religion. Hometown fanatics cheer their teams on with a passion and enthusiasm equal to bleacher creatures in Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park, but with better dancers and possibly a wider selection of stadium fare. The Dominican league’s six teams go cabeza a cabeza several nights a week – Estadio Quisqueya in Santo Domingo is home field for two longtime rivals – culminating in a championship series at the end of January.

OMAR TORRES/GETTY IMAGES ©


Top Experiences
Leisurely Las Galeras
The sleepy fishing village of Las Galeras at the far eastern end of the Península de Samaná is an escape from your getaway. Fewer tourists and therefore less development means that the area around includes some of the more scenic locales in all the DR. Swaying palm trees back beaches ready-made for a movie set, and waves crash over hard-to-get-to cliffs. Even more cinematic are the astounding views from a few elevated dining an