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Playita
Better than the beach in town, Playita (Little Beach) is easy to get to on foot or by motoconcho . It’s a stretch of tannish sand, with mellow surf, backed by tall, dramatically leaning palm trees. On the main road just south of Las Galeras, look for signs for Hotel La Playita poin
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Fuerte de Santa Bárbara
Built during the 1570s, this fort served as one of the city’s main points of defense. It proved no match for Drake, however, who along with his fleet of 23 pirate-packed ships captured the fort in 1586. Today the fort lies in ruins at the end of a lonely street. There isn’t much to
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Catedral de Santiago Apóstol
Santiago’s cathedral, opposite the south side of Parque Duarte, was built between 1868 and 1895 and is a combination of Gothic and neoclassical styles. The cathedral contains the marble tomb of the late-19th-century dictator Ulises Heureaux, an elaborately carved mahogany altar and
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Playa Caletón
Located about 1km east of town, this small, peaceful bay with tawny sand, almond trees and towering palms is a good place to spend an afternoon. Food stands are near the entrance. The easiest way to get here is to take a guagua (RD$15) or a motoconcho (RD$35) to the turn-off, from
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Malecón
The completely paved Malecón (also known as Av General Luperón and Av Circunvalación Norte) runs along the shore. There are a handful of restaurants, as well as a half-dozen beachside shacks selling food and drinks on Long Beach , the main city beach around 2km east of downtown. A
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Amber World Museum
This museum features an impressive collection of amber samples from around the world and excellent exhibits explaining in Spanish and English its prehistoric origins, its use throughout the ages, Dominican mining processes, and its present-day value to the science and art worlds. T
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Boca del Diablo
‘Mouth of the Devil’ is an impressive vent or blowhole, where waves rush up a natural channel and blast out of a hole in the rocks. Car or motorcycle is the best way to get here – look for an unmarked dirt road 7km south of town and about 100m beyond the well-marked turnoff to Play
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Centro de la Cultura de Santiago
Though not much to look at from the outside, the Centro de la Cultura de Santiago , a half-block from Parque Duarte, offers a regular program of musical and theatrical performances, including plays, choral singing, children’s theater and holiday concerts. There’s also a rotating ex
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Playa Dominicus
The advantage of staying in Dominicus Americanus is being able to walk to Playa Dominicus, a beautiful stretch of thick, nearly-white sand, and good water for swimming. It does tend to get crowded, especially because there’s easy public access via a parking lot at the far eastern e
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Parque Mirador del Sur
A long tree-filled corridor atop an enormous limestone ridge, this park is riddled with caves, some as big as airplane hangars. One of the caves has been converted into a restaurant, another into a dance club. The park’s seemingly endless paths are a popular jogging spot for 30-som
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Playa Alicia
An ordinary and wide patch of brownish-yellow sand (no shade) lapped by calm waters, Playa Alicia has steadily grown and been replenished since its creation nearly a decade ago. Whether this has been done in an environmentally sound manner is disputed. Steps leading down to the bea
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Museo de la Comunidad Judía de Sosúa
This museum, near Calle Dr Rosen, has exhibits (Spanish and English text) describing the Jewish presence in the DR. At the multinational Evian conference in 1938 the DR was the only country to officially accept Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi repression in Germany. If the gate is lock
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Plaza de María de Toledo
Named in honor of Diego Columbus’ wife, this plaza connecting Las Damas and Isabel la Católica is remarkable for two arches that were once part of the Jesuits’ residence in the 17th century. Note the buttresses that support the Panteón Nacional: they are original, dating back to th
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Parque Colón
Beside the Catedral Primada de América, this historic park contains several shade trees and a large statue of Admiral Columbus himself. It’s the meeting place for local residents and is alive with tourists, townsfolk, hawkers, guides, taxi drivers, shoeshine boys, tourist police an
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Playa las Flechas
This small beach, around 5km east of Samaná, is easily accessible from town and quieter than the one on Cayo Levantado. Its thought by many historians to be the site of a small and short battle between Columbus’ crew and the Ciguayos, a Taíno cacique (chiefdom), in which the Spania
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Museo de Arte Moderno
The museum’s permanent collection includes paintings and a few sculptures by the DR’s best-known modern artists, including Luís Desangles, Adriana Billini, Celeste Woss y Gil, José Vela Zanetti, Dario Suro and Martín Santos. The temporary exhibits tend to be fresher and more invent
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Estadio Cibao
Santiago’s Águilas baseball team is one of six in the country and the most successful in the leagues history. Watching local fans root for the home side is almost as fun as the games themselves, held two to three times a week in winter. The 18,000 seat stadium is northwest of the c
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Galería de Ambar
Despite its unfortunate location, housed in a rundown office-like building, there are museum-quality exhibits on the history of amber mining in the DR as well as on rum, sugar, tobacco and coffee. Multilingual guides are on hand to answer any questions. Of course, the raison d’etre
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Taíno Park
This new museum, 15 minutes west of Samaná on the road to Sánchez, offers a well-done recreation of the history of the Americas and the indigenous Taíno people via a series of more than 25 outdoor fiberglass scenes, narrated in numerous languages via MP3 players. Some 200 pieces o
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Parque Nacional Sierra de Bahoruco
This national park directly west of Barahona covers 800 sq km of mostly mountainous terrain and is notable for the rich variety of vegetation that thrives in its many different climates, from lowland desert to cloud forest. Valleys are home to vast areas of broad-leafed plants, whi
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