Santo Domingo

A quick taxi tour of the old section takes about an hour; if you're interested in history, you'll want to spend a day or two exploring the many old "firsts," and you'll want to do it in the most comfortable shoes you own. Buy a walking tour map in English. Or you can jump on one of the green, open-air trolleys that pass the Parque Colón every hour; a 45-minute tour costs about $7, a full-blown two-hour excursion $20. Multilingual guides hit the highlights, and you can hop out to take photos.

Parque Independencia separates the old city from the modern Santo Domingo. (Note: hours and admission charges to sights are erratic.)

The Amber Coast

The Autopista Duarte ultimately leads (a three- to four-hour drive) from Santo Domingo to the Amber Coast, so called because of its large, rich amber deposits. The coastal area around Puerto Plata is a region of splashy resorts and megadevelopments; the north coast has more than 70 mi (110 km) of beaches, with condominiums and villas going up fast. The farther east you go from Puerto Plata and its little sister, Sosúa, the prettier and less spoiled the scenery becomes. The autopista runs past the village of Cabarete, a popular windsurfing haunt, and Playa Grande. Its white-sand beach is miraculously unspoiled.

Cibao Valley

The heavily trafficked, four-lane, divided highway north from Santo Domingo, known as the Autopista Duarte, cuts through the lush banana plantations, rice and tobacco fields, and royal poinciana trees of the Cibao Valley. Along the road are stands where for a few pesos you can buy pineapples, mangoes, avocados, chicharrones (fried pork rinds), and fresh fruit drinks.

Southwest

A region of dense forests and mountains and gorgeous natural wonders. Nature lovers will find no end of satisfaction, and bird watchers will wonder if they haven't died and gone to heaven.