Santo Domingo Holidays

Santo Domingo is the oldest European city in the Americas, where you can walk the first paved street in the New World before lunch, swim in underground caves after it, and eat the best Dominican food on the island while merengue plays in the background.

Highlights of your Holiday to Santo Domingo

• Zona Colonial - A UNESCO World Heritage Site and the oldest permanent European settlement in the Americas. Cobblestone streets, sixteenth-century fortresses, and buildings that were already old when Shakespeare was born.

• The City of Firsts - Santo Domingo holds a collection of "firsts in the Americas" that no other city can match. The first cathedral (Catedral Primada de America, completed 1540), the first hospital (Hospital San Nicolas de Bari, 1503), the first university (Universidad Santo Tomas de Aquino, 1538), the first fortress (Fortaleza Ozama, 1502), and the first paved street (Calle de las Damas). All within walking distance of each other.

• Los Tres Ojos - Three underground limestone caves, each containing a lake a different colour, blue, green, and clear. A fourth lake is reached by hand-pulled raft. The whole thing sits inside Mirador del Este park on the edge of the city and feels like something from another planet.

• The Malecon - An eight-kilometre waterfront promenade along the Caribbean, lined with bars, restaurants, and locals gathering at sunset. The kind of strip where you start with a cold drink and end up staying for the evening.

• Dominican Food Capital - Santo Domingo is where Dominican cooking is at its best. La bandera (rice, beans, and meat, the national dish), mangu (mashed plantain), sancocho (a slow-cooked seven-meat stew), tostones, and street empanadas that cost almost nothing. The Zona Colonial and Gazcue neighbourhoods have the best restaurant concentration.

Good to Know

• ☀️ Weather - Santo Domingo gets warm sunshine year-round with temperatures between 25°C and 32°C. The dry season runs from December to April, and the wet season brings short, heavy afternoon downpours that clear within the hour rather than washing out the day.

• 💶 Money - The Dominican Republic uses the Dominican Peso (DOP), and US dollars are accepted in tourist areas. Santo Domingo is significantly cheaper than the resort areas. A meal at a local restaurant costs around £3-£6 / €4-€7, a street empanada is about £1 / €1.25, and a cold Presidente beer is about £1.50-£2.50 / €1.75-€3.

• 🏛️ Fun Fact - Santo Domingo holds more "firsts in the Americas" than any other city on the continent. The first cathedral, first hospital, first university, first monastery, first fortress, and first paved street built by Europeans in the New World are all here, and all within walking distance of each other in the Zona Colonial.

Best beaches in Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo is a city, not a beach resort, but the coast east of the capital has three beaches worth knowing about, all within an hour's drive.

• Boca Chica - About thirty minutes east of the city. A coral reef creates a natural lagoon with calm, shallow water that barely reaches your waist in places, which makes it popular with families. Beach bars and vendors line the sand. It gets busy at weekends when city residents head out, but midweek it is a different story.

• Playa Guayacanes - About forty minutes east. The quieter alternative to Boca Chica, favoured by locals who want sand without the crowds. No reef protection so there is a bit more wave action, but still gentle enough for swimming. Less developed, fewer vendors, more space.

• Juan Dolio - About fifty minutes east. Open Caribbean water with proper waves, which makes it the pick for windsurfing and active water sports. More of a resort strip than the other two, with hotels lining the beachfront. Good if you want a full beach day with lunch options on your doorstep.

Travel Guide

What are the best things to do on a Santo Domingo family holiday?

Los Tres Ojos is the standout. Three underground caves with different-coloured lakes, a hand-pulled raft to reach a fourth, and the kind of setting that makes kids (and adults) feel like they have discovered something secret. The Zona Colonial is walkable with children, and the Alcazar de Colon, the palace built for Christopher Columbus's son Diego in 1510, works as a history lesson without feeling like homework. The National Botanical Garden covers two million square metres with a Japanese garden, orchid pavilion, and enough space that smaller kids can run freely. For a beach day, Boca Chica's shallow lagoon is purpose-built for families with young swimmers.

What are the best things to do for couples on a Santo Domingo holiday?

The Zona Colonial at dusk is where it starts. Cobblestone streets lit by old lamps, courtyard restaurants where you eat under the stars, and merengue drifting from bars that have been open since before you were born. The Malecon sunset walk is eight kilometres of waterfront promenade with stops for cocktails whenever you feel like it. For something different, the rooftop bars above the Zona Colonial give you city views with a drink in hand. During the day, Mercado Modelo is worth an hour for rum, cigars, larimar jewellery, and the experience of haggling in a Caribbean market.

What are the top things to do for groups on a Santo Domingo holiday?

Start with a rum tasting. The Dominican Republic produces some of the best rum in the Caribbean, and Santo Domingo has bars that take the tasting seriously. Mercado Modelo is good for groups because everyone leaves with something different. The Malecon strip at night is where Santo Domingo's nightlife concentrates, with merengue and bachata clubs, live music venues, and bars that stay open until they run out of reasons to close. For a day out, Estadio Quisqueya hosts Dominican baseball, which is louder, more colourful, and more fun than almost any sporting event you have been to. Boca Chica works as a group beach day with easy transport from the city.

More Destinations

• Dominican Republic - The Caribbean's biggest all-inclusive destination, with mega-resorts in Punta Cana, stunning south-coast diving at Bayahibe, and enough variety across the island to fill a dozen holidays.

• Punta Cana - The headline act on the east coast, with the longest stretch of white sand in the Caribbean, dozens of all-inclusive resorts, and a buzzy atmosphere that keeps going well past sunset.

• Bavaro - The quieter, reef-protected neighbour on the east coast, where the water is calm, the resorts are big, and the beach shacks at El Cortecito serve the best local seafood going.

• Bayahibe - A former fishing village on the south coast with world-class diving, Blue Flag beaches, and all-inclusive resorts that let you switch off completely.

• Jamaica - Reggae, jerk chicken, waterfalls you can actually climb, and a laid-back energy that gets into your bones from day one. Montego Bay and Negril are the headline acts.