Punta Cana (Dominican Republic)
The world-famous resort of Punta Cana is located on the east coast of the Dominican Republic, which is referred to as the Costa de Cocos, which means “Coconut Coast” in Spanish. Punta Cana is a series of resort complexes with luxury hotels, shopping malls, restaurants, nightclubs and white sand beaches.
The Punta Cana resort consists of 5 long beaches: Bavaro, Cabeza de Torro, El Cortecito, Punta Arena Gorda and Macau. Bavaro beach is the most developed in terms of tourism, most of the hotels are located here Punta Cana. The beaches of Cabeza de Torro and Punta Arena Gorda are awarded the “blue flag” and are considered among the best in the region. El Cortecito Beach is famous for its seafood restaurants and its windsurfing and kitesurfing schools.
The hotel complexes of Punta Cana are entire small towns with their own infrastructure and operate on an all-inclusive basis. The hotel areas are so large that tourists have to use the services of special trams or take golf carts to move around them. Punta Cana is the best golf destination in the country. Many hotels have their own golf courses. Punta Cana is a great place for shopping, here you will find huge malls and small souvenir shops. Also, tourists are offered a wide variety of excursions on the Costa de Cocos – jeep safaris, all kinds of water excursions, helicopter excursions and scuba diving to the country’s largest reef. Every August, Punta Cana hosts the deep-sea fishing championship, because marlin, wahoo, tuna, red snappers, red drummers are found in coastal waters.
In the southern part of Punta Cana, the Eyes Ecological park is located, where on an area of 8 square meters. km there are about 500 species of exotic plants, 160 species of insects and 80 species of birds. Also interesting is the Manati Water Park. (Manati Park). Here you can see not only marine life and reptiles, shows with their participation and swim with dolphins, but also exotic animals and birds that live in the midst of lush tropical vegetation, as well as exciting performances with horses.
The coast of Punta Cana is surrounded by the largest coral reef in the country with a length of about 40 km. This is a great place for beginner divers: diving depth does not exceed 18 m, and underwater visibility reaches 30 m (visibility deteriorates significantly during the winter months from December to February). The part of the reef called “Marinarium” is the most popular among tourists. Here, anyone can swim with nurse sharks, stingrays and eagle rays. Also of interest are dives near Bavaro beach near the 120-meter Astron ship, which “landed” on the reef in 1979 and which can be seen from the shore, and in underwater caves near Macau beach.
Northwest of Punta Cana, the secluded beach of Playa Limon is interesting; two reserved lagoons – Laguna Limon and Laguna Redonda, along the banks of which mangroves stretch; and one of the most popular tourist regions of the country – the bay and peninsula of Samana (Bahia de Samana).
On the other side of Punta Cana (to the south) stretches a series of resort towns with beaches: Boca Chica, La Romana, Bayahibe and Juan Dolio).
Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic)
According to Politicsezine, Puerto Plata (Puerto Plata) is the central city of the northern coast of the Dominican Republic, which the locals call “Costa del Ambar” (Costa del Ambar), which means “Amber Coast”.
It is one of the most important ports in the Dominican Republic.. Here is the oldest fort in the New World – Fort San Felipe. It was built in the 1540s to protect the north coast from pirate attacks and was the main stopping point on the way from Europe to the New World in the 16th century. The fort stands on the shore of the city bay. Now inside the fort there is a small military museum. There is also an old lighthouse (1879) with a height of about 24 m. On the streets of Puerto Plata you will see many buildings from colonial times: the Casa de la Cultura Palace, where exhibitions of Dominican artists are held and concerts are given, the Church of San Felipe and mansions which were built in the 19th century. The museums of the city are interesting: the Museum of the Taino Indians exhibits copies of handicrafts of the indigenous people of the country, and the Amber Museum has an extensive collection of amber products and bizarre amber inclusions (plants, insects and reptiles in pieces of amber). It is worth visiting the Brugal rum factory (this is the largest company Dominican Republic, which produces rum) and walk along the 2-kilometer seaside Malecon boulevard with many restaurants.
To the south of Puerto Plata rises Mount Loma Isabel de Torres (805 m), to the top of which there is a funicular. This is the only funicular in all the Caribbean. The mountain and its surroundings have been declared a natural reserve. At the top of the mountain there is a botanical garden with about 600 species of tropical plants, and there is a statue of Christ the Redeemer, which is a copy of the monument in Rio de Janeiro. From here you have a beautiful view of the city and the coast.
Puerto Plata is surrounded by sandy beaches and resort complexes. On the western outskirts of the city are the resorts of Costambar, Cofresi and Luperon, and to the east stretch the resorts of Playa Dorada, Sosua and Cabarete. Resorts “Costa del Ambar” are among the best places in the country for diving, snorkeling, surfing, windsurfing, kitesurfing. Tourists are also offered a wide variety of excursions.
