bodhijack

we will be in DR for 1 week in april. i'm going nuts trying to figure out where to stay. generally, we like white sand beaches with palm trees, inviting water (waves or calm), in or near a town for shops and restaurants. and of course the least chance of full day rains. can someone give us some thoughts and/or recommendations?

doug_stallings

I think the best beaches are in Punta Cana, particularly the beaches facing the Caribbean rather than the open Atlantic (so only Puntacana Resort and Club Med are on this stretch, though there are some resorts further down the coast to the south, where I don't know the beaches well enough to comment).

My second choice would be Bayahibe (which is near La Romana). The beach at Casa de Campo is average at best, but I like the beaches by the Iberostar and the Dreams Resort in Bayahibe. Not Anguilla beautiful, but still very nice.

There are some good beaches in the Puerto Plata area, but some beaches get a lot of surf and wind.

bodhijack

thank you, doug! my wife will be giving a talk in puerto plata, so we may as well stay there. my next question (and i may do a seperate post), should we look at playa dorado or sosua? we are comfortable in 3-4 stars that are smaller rather than larger, on the beach. recommendations welcome. jack

demi56

If you are in Puerto Plata, I would suggest Cabarete, little bit farter then Sosua. A nice small town with great beach. Sosua beach is very small. I find Cabarete is more fun then Sosua, but that's my opinion. You can try Viva Wyndham in Cabarete for all inclusive, or some smaller hotels, that I like more, that way you can try all different restaurants in town.
Denise

Oldanalyst

I'll back Cabarete. We were there in January last year. The beach was great and not crowded. Sunrises were absolutely beautiful. Go not too far east (highway 5) to the outstanding and nearly deserted (at least during the week) Playa Grande near Cabrera. I agree that Sosua beach is small (and much harder to get to) especially if you compare it to both Cabarete or Playa Grande.

There are many places to stay in Cabarete ranging from inexpensive to expensive. (Try Casa Blanca for comfortable low cost.) Additionally, I agree with demi56 that there are a lot of good places to eat.

However, Puerto Plata has much more to offer in terms of shopping. Sosua also has more shopping than Cabarete. You need to decide what is most important.

As an aside - highway 5 is generally good BUT there are some stretches with a lot of potholes. Road markings are not in abundance. We had no trouble driving but had to be careful.

Buy some local fruit. It is excellent!!!

bodhijack

thank you, both! the choice is down to (i think) velero beach resort in cabarete, or vh victoria in playa dorado. vh victoria is $270 less for the week (which we like), but we may be "stuck" in the playa dorado complex. taxi to town (puerto plata ) is $34 r/t. any thoughts?

Steelersfan

Punta Cana is a great area, and Bavaro is supposed to be the best beach area, although other sections of Punta Cana area are also nice.

BeachGirl247

I vote for Cabarete as well. We're here now and heading there for the surf competitions. It has a nice beach, lots of palm trees, restaurants, small shops and a great beach vibe. It is about 25 min from the airport in Puerto Plata.

If you don't have a car, I would go the taxi route rather than be stuck. Cabarete is definitely worth a visit.