Top Spots
The luxury DR is a different country from the spring-break DR. Tortuga Bay at Puntacana Resort — originally styled by Oscar de la Renta — is the quiet standard at the island's eastern tip. Eden Roc Cap Cana (Relais & Châteaux) does Riviera-style suites around a lagoon pool, minutes from Juanillo Beach. Casa de Campo in La Romana is a 7,000-acre institution: villas, a marina, polo, shooting, and Teeth of the Dog — the Caribbean's most famous golf course. On the north coast, Amanera sits alone above Playa Grande with a clifftop golf course and Aman's trademark emptiness.
High-End Dining
La Yola at the Puntacana marina — thatched, over-water, seafood-driven — is the east coast's signature table. Mediterráneo at Eden Roc handles the fine-dining end of Cap Cana. At Casa de Campo, dinner in Altos de Chavón — a replica 16th-century Mediterranean village above the Chavón river — is half meal, half film set. In Santo Domingo's Colonial Zone, the new-guard Dominican chefs (mofongo tasting menus, cacao-and-rum pairings) reward a night in the capital on the way through.
Little-Known Gems
- Bahía de las Águilas — a 5-mile undeveloped beach in the remote southwest, reached by boat through Jaragua National Park; routinely called the country's best and almost nobody goes.
- Samaná Peninsula — humpback whales fill the bay January–March; pair with the El Limón waterfall horseback ride and Playa Rincón.
- Los Haitises National Park — mangrove channels, karst islets, and Taíno cave art, an hour by boat from Samaná.
- Altos de Chavón's amphitheater — Sinatra opened it in 1982; check the concert calendar.
- Playa Frontón — climbers' cliffs and reef snorkeling at the tip of Las Galeras, by boat or jungle hike only.
Best for
Golfers (Teeth of the Dog, Corales, Playa Grande), multigenerational villa groups, and value-hunters who want Four-Seasons-grade grounds at two-thirds the price of the smaller islands. Direct flights from every NYC airport into PUJ make it the easiest big-luxury trip on the board.