Land Of The Rising Sun

Bavaro and Punta Cana constitute the granddaddy of all beach resort areas in the Dominican Republic, if not the entire Caribbean Basin. This is where the Atlantic and Caribbean meet in a wide-open expanse of emerald seas sprinkled with a million shades of cobalt, turquoise and sapphire blues. Nowhere else (besides the east coast of the Dominican Republic) will you find so many hotel rooms lining a longer pearly white stretch of talcum sand beach that’s dotted with literally thousands of palm trees just feet from the water’s edge.

Today, Bavaro and Punta Cana are the island’s new tourism frontier and its fastest growing region by far, with over a million tourists arriving per year to this tropical island paradise. The beaches are alive with visitors from Houston to Hamburg, walking and mingling among one another in a seemingly orchestrated social parade while the sun performs like an impromptu bandleader from the heavens. Massive all-inclusive hotels are almost small towns unto themselves. They offer with myriad diversions to satisfy, the whims of every type of vacationer from eco-tourists to high-stakes gamblers. Some of the amenities include: Vegas-style casinos and shows, restaurants serving cuisine from around the world, oceanfront golf courses, nature preserves and mini-zoos, high-decibel nightclubs shows and multiple lagoon-style swimming pools. Every type of water sport imaginable is within easy reach, and newer activities like early morning yoga sessions and mud spa baths are keeping pace with modern trends.

There comes a time though, when visitors to the Dominican Republic just want to slow down and relax for an afternoon—, or a month—in solitude. With so much sandy acreage available, couples can still find a special quiet spot to read a book together. Or have a siesta. Or build a sandcastle with their son while their daughter has her hair braided. This is a big beach. If someone tried to walk the entire length, he or she would look a lot like Tom Hanks in Cast Away before it was all over.

Lastly, buzzing beachside restaurants in areas like Cortecito Beach serve up some lip-smacking fresh seafood dishes overflowing with lobster, crab and delicate tropical fish accompany this with a tall, frosty ’n fruity drink and consider yourself parked. Check out establishments like Capitan Cook, perhaps the coolest place to eat, with the freshest food on the eastern coast. Cortecito is also a good place to pick up Dominican souvenirs before heading back to the resort hotels.

Diversifying Development
Ten years ago in Bavaro and Punta Cana, it was good enough to have a clean hotel with plenty of sun, sea and sangria to go around. Not anymore. Throughout the Caribbean’s continually diversifying tourism industry, visitors are now demanding healthier and more educational pursuits on top of the traditional recreation amenities. One can only play so much beach volleyball.

To that end, two major developments in Punta Cana are forever changing the eastern Dominican landscape and making headlines on both sides of the Atlantic. Based on the wildly successful model of Casa de Campo in La Romana, they are a combination of resort style hotels, residential communities, upscale marinas, and soul-stirring golf courses.

Opened in the late 1990s, the Punta Cana Resort & Club offers a variety of accommodations on its swath of beachfront paradise, including a series of villas with interiors designed by fashion designer and resident Oscar de la Renta. The villas face the new P.B. Dye championship golf course layout, whose, fairways include four wrapped around the twisting contours of the sea. A new marina provides anchorage for a gleaming stable of deep-sea fishing boats to go after swordfish and blue marlin. And with a careful eye towards preserving the Dominican environment, the owners have partnered with Cornell University and opened a $1 million bio-diversity laboratory to learn more about the endemic plant life.

A little to the south, the US$3 billion Cap Cana development is now under construction on 30,000 acres of oceanfront land. This colossal, planned city is expected to take 10 years to build on a scale never before seen in the Caribbean. The first golf course will be a signature Jack Nicklaus design, and already major U.S.-based hotel companies without a current stake in the Dominican Republic are signing on to build new properties. The initial design calls for a huge grand canal with gondoliers transferring guests to their hotels à la Venice.

On the northern end of Bavaro Beach, a growing number of hotels offer more than just a good night’s sleep. Influenced by the grand, ballrooms in of the Las Vegas today and Cuba in the 1950s, professional dance and song reviews are staged at resorts like the Barcelo Bavaro Palace Resort. Popular Latin music numbers and scintillating dancers charge up the crowd with the aid of glamorous costumes and high-energy dance routines. Afterwards, the casinos and nightclubs carry on the excitement into the wee hours, where tourists and locals can mingle and practice their own salsa and merengue dance moves.

For eco-tourism visiting the eastern shore, hotels such as Bavaro Princess All-Suite Resort and Natura Park offer hundreds and hundreds of acres of lush grounds with their own rainforests and zoo-like settings. These are especially great for families, who like to poke around in the gardens to see the many peacocks, flamingos, ibises and other waterfowl that call Bavaro Beach home. If you’ve never dined in a restaurant built on stilts over a lagoon—while lights illuminate the lush rainforest at night and a pianist and classical singer circle the restaurant in a boat—this is the place to do it.

Farther south, the Punta Cana Resort & Club is re-creating the exceedingly successful country-club atmosphere popularized by Casa de Campo in La Romana. The vast property was co-developed by singer Julio Iglesias and fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, adding a certain cachet to the place. In fact, de la Renta designed some of the suites at the hotel with his signature clean lines and quiet romanticism.

The whole project is dedicated to preserving the Dominican environment, and Cornell University has opened a $1 million bio-diversity laboratory to learn more about the medical benefits of the endemic plant life.

Also in this area, a new marina provides anchorage for a gleaming stable of multi-million dollar yachts ready to motor out into the deep sea in search of swordfish and blue marlin.

Manatí Park
Just a few minutes’ drive away from the bulk of beachfront hotels, Manatí Park is an expansive eco-theme attraction examines the early history of the island and some of its most colorful animal species, in one lush, exotic setting. The wildlife here is the main attraction, and includes dolphins, flamingos, crocodiles, parrots, sea lions, turtles, iguanas, and manta rays—a stunning collection for tourists of all ages to appreciate. Some of the flamingos in Manatí Park are the first ever on the island to be raised in captivity.

In addition, a re-created Taino Village offers insight into life before European settlement. Resident staff in native Taino garb practice the handicrafts of their ancestors, and onlookers can purchase the wooden jewelry and small decorative household items that the Taino people once created more than 1,000 years ago. Other exhibits educate guests about what a day in the Taino life might have included, from cooking to hunting and housekeeping.

The park goes into high gear during different parts of the day, through a variety of entertaining shows. These include traditionally dressed actors, performing rituals and dances on the center stage of the Taino Village. A rather unique parrot show plays out a story that’s especially popular with the kids. Dancing horses and dolphin/sea lion shows demonstrate the acrobatics and grace of these beautiful creatures. But perhaps the best show is when the audience takes part, such as swimming with the park’s school of dolphins. This 30-minute adventure in the water with the loving and docile mammals should be booked at least one day in advance through the concierge desk at any of the area hotels.

MUSTS:

• Try the combo seafood barbecue special at Capitan Cook in Cortecito Beach.
• Have your picture taken while kissing a dolphin at Manatí Park.
• Take in the Las Vegas-style shows at Bavaro Beach Palace.
• Play a round of golf at the oceanfront P.B. Dye golf course at the Punta Cana Resort & Club.
• Book a spa treatment on the beach at sunrise and promise yourself to do it again every year for the rest of your life.

Photos Courtesy of The Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism

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