Geographical location
According to COUNTRYAAH, the Dominican Republic is one of the most popular travel destinations in the entire Caribbean and is colloquially known as “DomRep” for short.
Together with the state of Haiti, the Dominican Republic is located on the Antilles island of Hispaniola, and in the middle of the island they share a land border of more than 380 kilometers.
The Dominican Republic is located between the largest Caribbean island, Cuba, and the US suburb of Puerto Rico. Strictly speaking, the “DomRep” is not located directly in the Caribbean, but directly between the Caribbean (south coast) and the Atlantic (north coast).
The Dominican Republic in the Greater Antilles has about 10.6 million inhabitants, the capital is Santo Domingo. The island state now has six international airports, not least because of its tourist importance.
For a basic differentiation of the places and regions in the Dominican Republic, we would like to give the following, very superficial consideration as a rough orientation:
In Puerto Plata you will find very large hotel complexes close together, the sandy beach is mainly golden-yellow to beige. Around Punta Cana you will find equally large resorts with many holidaymakers close together, the beach is light and rather whitish.
Around Bayahibe there are other large all-inclusive resorts very close together, the rocky coast has been artificially piled up with light sand. In Samana, however, you will find very few tourists, the hotel resorts are much smaller and spread out over a large area, the beach is lined with palm trees and, like Puerto Plata, has golden-yellow sand.
- Abbreviation Finder: Check to see national geography, brief history, society description, domestic politics, economy overview, and a list of widely used acronyms about Dominican Republic.
The climate of the Dominican Republic
The weather in the Dominican Republic is largely typical of the tropical climate in the Caribbean, but there are regional differences. The south and east of the country (Santo Domingo, Punta Cana, Bavaro, La Romana) is drier than the north (Puerto Plata) and is also slightly hotter over the course of the year.
The water temperatures in the Caribbean are also slightly above the Atlantic. Nevertheless, all regions of the Dominican Republic are ideally suited as holiday regions, but the year-round warm climate is influenced by tropical hurricanes and a regular rainy season.
When to go to the Dominican Republic
The most risky travel time for a Dom Rep vacation are the months of July to October, in particular September and October are considered the high point of the rainy and hurricane season. Of course there are enormous fluctuations here, sometimes the region will be more severely affected, next year hardly at all. We ourselves have been to the Caribbean several times during the so-called “rainy season” and except for a few days we had fantastic weather.
The cheap off-season offers as well as relatively empty beaches and sights are a strong argument to deal with the Dominican Republic outside of the optimal travel time.
Basically it rains mostly in short, heavy showers in the afternoon, shortly afterwards the sun comes out again. Nevertheless, in view of the possible risks, we recommend December to April as the absolutely best travel time for popular holiday destinations such as Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Here you can be sure that your Caribbean vacation does not fall into the water.
Optimal travel time for the regions
In the following overview you can see the best travel time depending on the region (Dominican Republic).
| Place | Best travel time |
| Punta Cana | January, February, March, April, November and December |
| Santo Domingo | January, February, March, April, November and December |
| Samaná | January, February, March, April and June |
Temperatures, precipitation, sunshine in Punta Cana (Dominican Republic)
| Jan | Feb | March | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| Daytime temperature | 28 ° C | 28 ° C | 28 ° C | 29 ° C | 30 ° C | 30 ° C | 31 ° C | 31 ° C | 31 ° C | 31 ° C | 29 ° C | 28 ° C |
| Night temperature | 22 ° C | 22 ° C | 22 ° C | 23 ° C | 23 ° C | 24 ° C | 25 ° C | 25 ° C | 24 ° C | 24 ° C | 23 ° C | 22 ° C |
| Water temperature | 26 ° C | 26 ° C | 26 ° C | 27 ° C | 28 ° C | 28 ° C | 28 ° C | 28 ° C | 29 ° C | 29 ° C | 28 ° C | 27 ° C |
| Precipitation in mm | 66 | 54 | 54 | 69 | 124 | 104 | 78 | 103 | 102 | 152 | 117 | 79 |
| Rainy days | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Hours of sunshine | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Sunrise | 7:10 | 7:00 | 6:40 | 6:15 | 6:00 | 5:55 | 6:05 | 6:15 | 6:20 | 6:25 | 6:40 | 7:00 |
| Sunset | 18:15 | 18:35 | 18:45 | 18:50 | 19:00 | 19:10 | 19:15 | 19:00 | 18:35 | 18:10 | 17:55 | 18:00 |
Temperatures
The annual average temperature in Punta Cana is 26.3 ° C. For comparison: Munich reaches an average of 8.6 ° C, in Berlin it is 9.6 ° C. The warmest month is August (27.8 ° C), coldest month of February with averages of 24.7 ° C. The maximum water temperature in Punta Cana is 29 ° C. Comfortable bathing is possible at these temperatures. All months have a water temperature of at least 21 ° C and are therefore suitable for a beach holiday.
Precipitation
The annual precipitation is 1102 mm on 110 days with precipitation. For comparison: In Munich, 967 mm, in Berlin 570 mm, precipitation is measured annually. There is no rainy season, i.e. months with more than 175 mm of precipitation. You cannot expect snow in any month in Punta Cana.
Sunshine
As our climate table shows, March is the sunniest month with an average of 9 hours of sunshine per day. The average annual sunshine is 8.4 hours per day. For comparison: In Munich and Berlin, the sun shines an average of 4.7 hours per day throughout the year.
Cities nearby
The following larger towns are nearby and have a similar climate: Higüey and La Romana.
Highlights, excursions, sights
The Dominican Republic is usually a classic beach holiday destination, but the various regions of the country have numerous attractions to offer. Day trips to the island of Saona are particularly popular, usually by catamaran or speedboat, including swimming stops on a sandbank. Cayo Levantado, known as Bacardi Island, is also one of the most beautiful corners of the Caribbean.
The artist village Altos de Chavón offers a beautiful amphitheater as well as a picturesque church above the river bank. In several places, mega-truck tours are offered off the beaten track in the hinterland, often combined with ziplining and waterfalls such as Damajaqua Cascades or the Salto de Limon.
The two natural paradises Hoyo Azul and the 3 Eyes National Park are also exceptionally beautiful. Our beach recommendations in the Dominican Republic: Cabarete Beach, Paradise Island, Playa Bonita, Macao Beach and of course the classic Bavaro Beach.
