Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean island nation on the eastern half of Hispaniola, sharing a western border with Haiti. It covers about 48,671 square kilometres and is home to roughly 11.5 million people by the 2025 estimate. Santo Domingo is both capital and largest city. Spanish is the official language, the Dominican peso the currency, and Atlantic Standard Time runs year-round.

On the south coast, the Colonial City — Ciudad Colonial — sits on the west bank of the Ozama River: an early sixteenth-century street grid listed as World Heritage since 1990 across 106 hectares. Within it stand Fortaleza Ozama, built between 1502 and 1508; the Cathedral of Santa María la Menor, begun in 1504 and finished in 1550; and the Alcázar de Colón, raised between 1511 and 1514.

To the east stretch the white sands and turquoise water of Punta Cana and Bávaro; Punta Cana International Airport handles about 64% of the country’s arriving flights. Further south-east, boats leave Bayahíbe for Saona Island inside Cotubanamá National Park — the island alone covers about 110 square kilometres. In the north-east, the Samaná Peninsula offers beaches such as Rincón and Las Terrenas, and humpback whale season from mid-January to mid-March.

Inland, the Cordillera Central rises to Pico Duarte at 3,101 metres — the highest summit in the Caribbean — with a trail of about 23.1 kilometres from La Ciénaga. Near Jarabacoa, waterfalls such as Salto Jimenoa tumble through rock and greenery. In the south-west, Lake Enriquillo sits about 46 metres below sea level, the largest lake on Hispaniola and in the Caribbean.

The climate is tropical maritime, tempered by the mountains: rain falls across much of the country from May to November, and hurricane season runs from June to November with a peak in August–October. December to April is the most reliable window for a general visit. Food is part of the journey: mashed green-plantain mangú, hearty sancocho, the three-colour “flag” plate of rice, beans and meat, and cacao from island farms.

Practically: the main airports are Punta Cana, Santo Domingo, Puerto Plata and Samaná. The overall price level is about 39% of the United States level by World Bank figures for 2025 — a whole-economy measure, not resort rates alone. Entry rules depend on nationality; check the official page before you travel. The explore journey moves from coast to mountains to the colonial city, one station at a time.[1,2,8,7,9,10,11,5,13,14,21,22,20,15,33,24,23,27,28,29,30,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,3,4]Source1. Dominican Republic · Wikipedia2. Geography of the Dominican Republic · Wikipedia8. Santo Domingo · Wikipedia7. Ciudad Colonial (Santo Domingo) · Wikipedia9. Alcázar de Colón · Wikipedia10. Fortaleza Ozama · Wikipedia11. Cathedral of Santo Domingo · Wikipedia5. Colonial City of Santo Domingo · UNESCO World Heritage Centre13. Punta Cana · Wikipedia14. Bávaro · Wikipedia21. Saona Island · Wikipedia22. Cotubanamá National Park · Wikipedia20. Bayahíbe · Wikipedia15. Samaná Province · Wikipedia33. Medio Ambiente y Turismo dan inicio a temporada de Observación de Ballenas Jorobadas · Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales24. Pico Duarte · Wikipedia23. Jarabacoa · Wikipedia27. Lake Enriquillo · Wikipedia28. Dominican Republic cuisine · Wikipedia29. Mangú · Wikipedia30. Sancocho · Wikipedia34. Punta Cana International Airport · Wikipedia35. Las Américas International Airport · Wikipedia36. Gregorio Luperón International Airport · Wikipedia37. Samaná El Catey International Airport · Wikipedia38. PPP conversion factor, GDP (LCU per international $) — Dominican Republic · World Bank39. Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) — Dominican Republic · World Bank40. Entry Requirements · Go Dominican Republic (Ministry of Tourism)3. Time in the Dominican Republic · Wikipedia4. Dominican Republic — World Heritage properties · UNESCO World Heritage Centre