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Condé Nast Traveler picks
 Best of Dominican Republic
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Southeast of Cuba, occupying the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic has plenty of what travelers come to the Caribbean for: preserved colonial towns, untouched beaches, and resorts that run the gamut from small, exclusive enclaves to all-inclusive behemoths. Attractions & Activities Most visitors fly nonstop from New York or Miami to the airport near Punta Cana (on the east coast) or Puerto Plata (in the north), check in to an all-inclusive resort nearby, order bottomless piña coladas by the pool, and never leave. But instead, channel the adventurous spirit of Christopher Columbus—who landed on Hispaniola on his first voyage to the New World—and see more of the country. On the southern coast is Santo Domingo, the oldest capital in the New World. In its Zona Colonial, historic buildings abound, reminding you that this city was founded in 1496 (by Columbus's brother Bartoloméo). The first governors lived in the Casas Reales, on the Plaza de la Hispanidad, now a museum with majestic sixteenth-century palatial architecture in brick and coral and an eclectic collection: relics and maps that take you from Columbus's voyages to the bizarre weaponry and military uniforms of dictator Rafael Trujillo (809-682-4202). In contrast, the private Museo Bellapart is the acme of modern culture and arguably the best art gallery in the Caribbean. In it, Spanish-born entrepreneur Juan José Bellapart displays highlights of his vast collection of local art, hung in chronological order, with pride of place in the simple marble-floored space going to several masterpieces by the most famous Dominican artist, Jaime Colson. The museum is largely unknown, because of its newness but also its location—on the fifth floor of the Honda headquarters on Avenida John F. Kennedy (809-541-7721; museobellapart.com). A bright, welcoming space in the concrete maze that is the Plaza de la Cultura, the Museo de Arte Moderno is festooned with huge, colorful modern canvasses and banners. Highlights include works by the country's earliest painters, among them Luis Desangles, Celeste Woss y Gil (Mercado), and the more recent, and more famous, Yoryi Morel (look for his Campesino Cibaeño). The museum follows no real order—you might turn the corner from gazing at an Expressionist painting to face a wall of pop art—but that is part of its charm (809-685-2154; museodeartemoderno.org). East of Santo Domingo, Altos de Chavon is an ersatz old-world village colonized by artists and ateliers and home to the Museo Arqueológico Regional. More than 3,000 relics recall the centuries-long migrations from South America through the Lesser Antilles. They range from tools and weapons from the pre-ceramic age to simple necklaces worn by the Taíno, who became the dominant population in this region. Exhibits are bilingual, as is the catalog (809-523-8011; altosdechavon.com). The Dominican Republic's second-largest city, Santiago, lies just an hour south of Puerto Plata's beaches and offers far more authenticity than the country's gated beach resorts. Rove the hilly roads between the towering Monument to the Heroes of the Restoration of the Republic (Santiago's anchoring landmark) and the central Parque Duarte and you'll find pretty tree-lined streets, colonial architecture, and bustling shops along Calle del Sol. In February, the D.R.'s most riotous Carnival festivities take place in the nearby town of La Vega. To see Carnival exhibits and masks at other times of year, visit the Museo de Arte Folklórico (164 Restauración). Unlike the packed beaches of the all-inclusive resorts that surround it, the Samaná Peninsula, a lush pincer of land protruding from the northeast coast, has independent charm and limited development. This is largely due to the Cordillera Samaná, a mountain range that makes much of the area impenetrable. Its slopes roll down to the island's finest, most powdery beaches. The cape has three main towns: Santa Bárbara de Samaná, usually shortened to Samaná and popular with whale watchers in winter; Las Terrenas, increasingly dominated by Europeans who have opened businesses there; and the jewel, Las Galeras, a quiet fishing village on the peninsula's eastern tip (it was wired for electricity only in the late 1990s). Here, you can expect to do little except snorkel the reefs, explore on horseback, and bask on sublime beaches, including the two-mile, coconut tree-backed Playa Rincón—rated one of the Caribbean's ten best by Condé Nast Traveler. Lodging There is no shame in pampering yourself at an all-inclusive. The Sivory, in Punta Cana, is a newcomer known for its understated elegance and restorative tranquility: There's not an activities board, kids club, casino, or swim-up bar in sight. Even the small gym, tucked away beside the spa, is positioned so as not to induce stress among guests by suggesting that they should actually use it. The resort's three menus—created by chef François Bouvet, who helmed a Michelin-starred restaurant in Brittany—emphasize French, Mediterranean, and Asian cuisine, and the 8,000-bottle wine cellar is especially strong in Spanish varietals. The country's hottest address is hidden in plain sight, a short drive east of Puerto Plata in the Playa Dorado Resort Complex, better known for its rollicking all-inclusives than its high style. That's where you'll find the coolly elegant Casa Colonial, with 50 spacious rooms, a swell spa, and a cordoned-off patch of beach. The look is an artful blend of Spanish colonial—graceful archways, wrought iron grillwork—and contemporary touches such as clean-lined furniture draped in monochrome fabrics and a rooftop pool deck made of glass and wood. On the north shore, nestled between Rio San Juan and Cabrera, is Playa Grande, a 2,000-acre resort/retreat whose boldface-name investors (Moby, Alex von Furstenberg) promise that it will be nothing less than this generation's Bloomsbury—with beach volleyball, of course. The property, currently in development, will open in 2007. In the Zona Colonial of Santo Domingo is the Hostal Nicolás Nader, in a colonnaded sixteenth-century palace where the staff has a gift for service. The high-ceilinged rooms have carved beds, and the walls are hung with modern Caribbean art, most of it for sale. Nearby, the traditional Hotel Santo Domingo was renovated in 2000; book one of the rooms in the third-floor Excel Club, where guests receive extra attention. On the Samaná Peninsula, Villa Serena, in Las Galeras, is a quiet, well-maintained hotel with a pool, a small stretch of white sand, and a tiny island just a short canoe ride from the beach. The rooms are bamboo- and rattan-furnished with terraces facing the ocean. Hotel Bahia Las Ballenas, also on the peninsula, is a 15-minute drive from the town of Las Terrenas but is right on Playa Bonita. It has 32 rooms, each with an open-air bathroom, on grassy grounds just a stone's throw from the beach. There's a pleasant pool and a dive shop, and the waves are great for surfing and boogie boarding. Dining At the all-inclusive resorts, many of the menus mix local specialties (rice and beans and grilled seafood) with more international flavors meant to appeal to the French and German guests. In Santo Domingo's Plaza Toledo, longtime Tennessee transplant Bettye Marshall sells some of the best Dominican, Cuban, and Haitian art in her Galería Toledo and, on the exquisite plaza right outside, serves sublime salads and pastas (809-688-7649; entrées, $10). An old sugar mill or a colonial-era warehouse is often the most architecturally interesting site in the Caribbean, which makes the hillside town of Altos de Chavon, east of the capital of Santo Domingo, all the more special. As you ascend the hill to reach Casa del Rio, you pass through a faux Mediterranean village. At one of the restaurant's window tables, you look down from your cantilevered perch at the twists and turns of the Chavon River while dining on Lyonnaise chef Virginie Dumonceau's dishes, which combine French techniques and Caribbean ingredients: seafood with mango chutney in a phyllo crust, lobster in vanilla broth with glazed chayote. Reservations required; dinner only (809-523-3333; entrées, $25-$62). In Santiago, Sabor Criollo, a small canteen on the corner of Calle San Luis and Calle Vincente Estrella, serves juicy meats and tasty sides of rice and beans (no phone; entrées, $3-$12). On the Samaná Peninsula, tiny Las Galeras has few dining options. The best-tasting meals are the lunches served by locals at makeshift stands right on Playa Rincón. For about $15, you get grilled fish, shrimp, lobster, or whatever else is caught that day, and local women also sell fresh coconut bread. At the Hotel Bahia Las Ballenas, outside Las Terrenas, El Bohio's chef, known simply as Paco, serves eclectic cuisine reflecting European, Caribbean, and French Antillean influences, as well as those of Asia and South America (809-240-6066; entrées, $4-$11). Truth in Travel is the guiding principle for all content published in Condé Nast Traveler. Other travel publications often accept free travel and accommodations. Condé Nast Traveler does not. It is independent of the travel industry. The magazine always pays its way, and, as far as possible, its correspondents travel anonymously. By doing so, they experience the world—both the good and the bad—as other travelers do, and their reports and recommendations are fair, impartial, and authoritative.
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