Dominican Republic: accommodation + fun things to do!

Accommodation in the Dominican Republic! Answering all your questions!

There are plenty of all-inclusive resorts (and it’s cheaper to book a tour via an agency than booking directly from Booking.com) but if you are interested in long term stay like we did renting an apartment might be better. We rented via Airbnb but then we had to leave that place and found a better (and cheaper!) option. There are usually discounts for weekly/monthly rates and you can live like a local – go grocery shopping, cook your food, and clean your place. Such apartments are from $600/month (2 beds + kitchen). You can basically stay for a month for the cost of a week stay in all-inclusive!

I booked a modern and super nice apartment via Airbnb BUT there was a thing that wasn’t on pictures – a bar right under our windows… It was crazy enough every day, but the night they brought a band that played drums all night was the last straw for us! It was so crazily loud, our windows were literally shaking and all the parked cars would siren one after another. â €

So we went to find another place and we were just walking around the area coming to nice looking buildings and asking if they rent apartments. We found such a good place – it’s on the pictures below! 2 beds 2 baths, kitchen, living room, balcony, laundry room, first floor with pool view. A bit remote from all the bars and nightlife, not on the beach (half a mile away) and cheaper. Also, the good thing about Airbnb and the host – they refunded me the whole amount, including the nights we stayed there which was good.

While in the Dominican Republic, we took tours to go whale watching, visit Saona Island and Altos de Chavon – a cultural center for artists. 

Whale Watching. 

January-March is the season when humpback whales come to the coasts of the Dominican Republic to reproduce in warm waters of Atlantic.

We took a whale watching tour and went to Samana bay which is in the north-eastern part of the country. There is a rule that only three catamarans can approach a whale at the same time and the fourth catamaran should wait for the turn. So we were always the fourth one and didn’t get to see them as close as others. We watched other people watching whales 🙂 I guess that depends on your luck but we still did see them! We also visited a nice little island – see the pictures below!

Saona island.

Saona Island is a Caribbean paradise!  That’s a smaller island to the south from Punta Cana (the main touristic destination) with pure white sand, light-blue water, and lots of beautiful palm trees close to water. There are also beaches with starfish – I had no idea they can be that big!

Altos de Chavon – a cultural centre for artists.

It was built a few decades ago by a multimillionaire that was charmed by the nature of this beautiful island and loved old European towns (and probably didn’t want to do transatlantic trips to Europe). He recreated 16th-century Mediterranean village as a gift for his daughter. That is such a charming place with an artistic atmosphere!