Wherever you settle on this brilliant white Punta Cana coastline–counting 11 Blue Flag certified beaches in its inventory–go beach hopping to enjoy its full splendor. From scenic surf-hub Macao and Bávaro’s hipster beaches Corales and Cortecito–lined with shops, water sports, and beachfront bars–to secluded Juanillo, among others.
Spend a day away from the sand and you’ll find a myriad of inland adventures. Cool off in fresh water azure cenotes and lagoons tucked inside forests at Ojos Indígenas and Scape Park, where the family’s tweens can also enjoy ziplines and caving expeditions. Explore the lush Dominican countryside on an off-road safari, tumbling past roadside meat shops, and sugar cane plantations. Along the way, visit the country’s top pilgrimage site at the Basílica Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia, and feel the DR’s deep spiritual roots.
If daytime activities are abundant, nights are no less vibrant. The young at heart can dance the evening away until their feet tire at the DR’s modern nightclubs, while classy evenings under the stars await at marinas and seaside lounges, with cocktails, bites, and hand-rolled cigars.
Punta Cana is the quintessential water, sun, and sand escape.
Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ) is the most-connected airport in the Caribbean and Central America, receiving flights from 26 countries and up to two million passengers a year. Since 2017, the area is also a cruise ship destination thanks to Marina Cap Cana, which now welcomes small luxury cruise ships. By land, the Oscar de la Renta highway, also known as Autopista del Coral, puts visitors less than an hour away from La Romana’s beaches and multiple attractions, and just two and a half hours from Santo Domingo and its Colonial City.
Brian P.
TRAVELER