The Dominican Republic occupies the eastern two thirds (48.511.44 km2) of the island of Hispaniola. The Dominican Republic has a varied terrain, ranging from beautiful beaches to large mountains with abundant tropical vegetation and native forests. Located in the center of the Caribbean Sea, the Dominican Republic is close to North American markets and forms a nexus between South, Central and North America, the Caribbean and Europe. Its geographically strategic position makes the Dominican Republic a natural haven for ship transportation facilities.

The Dominican Republic enjoys an average annual temperature of 25°C (77°F) which falls into a warm tropical climate. Beaches and rivers can be enjoyed all year round. The warmest temperatures, around 34°C (93°F), occur in June, July and August, and the coolest as low as 19°C (66°F), during December, January and February. The two rainy seasons take place from May to July and in October and November. Humidity averages form 65% to 80%.

The official currency of the Dominican Republic is the Dominican Peso. The Dominican economic is supported by four basic pillars: Agriculture, Mining, Tourism and industrial free zones. The Main Dominican export supplies are: Raw sugar, green coffee beans, tobacco leaves, Ferro nickel and fresh bananas. Our tropical weather also permits the production and export of fruits and vegetables.

Merengue is regarded as the Dominican dancer par excellence. Our traditional merengue is combined expression of the aboriginal Guiro, The African tambora, a double-Patched percussion instrument played on the musician's lap and the European Accordion, a portable air instrument with a keyboard and metallic bellow.

Painting and sculpting are a big part of Dominican art, a heritage from Spanish artist and academic. Handcrafts are the heritage from the Taínos, preserved through bateas, (big, concave wooden trays), Higueros, hammocks and baskets made by Dominican hands. Amber is our national stone, a fossilized vegetal resin with a variety of yellow hues, which millions of year ago captured vegetal and animal fossils of species already extinct. Another treasure of Dominican handcraft is called Larimar or Dominican Turquoise, a hard semi-precious sky-blue gem that serves as raw material for beautiful jewelry pieces. Both Semi-precious stones are used in exquisite pieces of jewelry.

North of America 963,521 America central and America of the Caribbean: 40,922 South of America: 175,069 Europe: 1,105,475 Rest of the world: 2,298.121

The North Coast of the Dominican Republic is called the Amber Coast, because of its rich deposits of semi-precious amber. This is where Columbus landed on his first voyage of discovery. It is comprised of an assortment of beach towns, resorts and communities, nestled between the Atlantic and a chain of majestic coastal mountains. Mountain biking, hiking, horseback riding, water park, white-water rafting, casinos, jeep and catamaran tours, diving and snorkeling excursions, fine restaurants, shopping, golf - the North Coast has it all. A new sea life park and marina at Cofresi. Puerto Plata is the largest town and just outside of it is located Playa Dorada, a large resort area containing over a dozen hotels. Just west of Puerto Plata are the seaside communities of Costambar and Cofresi.

Thirteen miles east of Puerto Plata is Sosua, which was originally settled by Jewish refugees in the early 1940's. Here you will find many hotels - from basic rooms to luxurious accommodations, as well as many restaurants, bars and discos. A 15 minute drive from Sosua is Cabarete's 6 km.(4 mile) wide beach ist host to windsurfing and kite boarding world competitions. The bay's outline, along with the continuous winds of 16-25 knots (30-46 m/h) and the far-off coral reefs make of Cabarete one of 10 best places in the world for the practice of windsurfing. Each year, the town hosts the world Cup competition for Professional windsurfing and, stating four years ago The Amateur Windsurfing Cabarete Race Week. Cabarete's natural beauty, sandy beaches, blue-hued water and skies, as well at its non-stop, exciting night- life, make it a favorite. By night, windsurfer comes out of the water and the sea becomes the splendid background to a relaxing dinner in the paradise. The Dominican Jazz Festival is celebrated in Cabarete during the first week of October, grouping the top artists of this music, The Festival take place at three places: Playa dorada Hotel Complex (Puerto Plata), Sosua and Cabarete An hour east of Cabarete is the Rio San Juan/Playa Grande area and on the northeastern tip is Las Terrenas and Samana.

Of Santo Domingo you will come to the coastal villages of Boca Chica and Juan Dolio, where you will find many beautiful resorts. Boca Chica boasts the largest reef-protected ocean lagoon in the Caribbean. A little further east is Juan Dolio, more tranquil and less hectic than Boca Chica. These beach towns are only 10 minutes away from San Pedro de Macoris, the nation's third largest city, renowned for endowing the Major Leagues with many illustrious baseball stars.

Bayahibe is a newly-developed area further to the east, not far from La Romana, and located approximately 90 minutes from Santo Domingo, that offers picturesque stretches of white-sand beach and lagoons protected by coral reefs. From here you can take a boat to Catalina Island and Saona Island, with their beautiful beaches. Catalina Island is one of the nation's top dive spots.

Punta Cana - Bavaro has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. There are over two dozen beautiful hotels in this area, spread over more than 23 miles of white sand beaches, dotted with groves of palm trees, as well as several golf courses. You can fly directly into Punta Cana, with it's thatched-roof airport, like something out of Gilligan's Island. Most hotels are within 30 minutes of the airport

There is no town at Punta Cana - it is just a resort area. The nearest town is Higuey, about an hour away by bus. Other than water-related activities, of which there are many, there's not a lot to do in the immediate area. The hotels put on nightly entertainment, and some hotels have casinos and discos.

An area attraction is Manati Park, with exhibitions of animals, birds, and fish, resident performing dolphins, sea lions, and parrots. Swimming with the dolphins is available.

Or Caribbean Coast, has miles of beautiful coastline and beaches, and is also where Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, is located. Santo Domingo is known as the "birthplace of the Americas", for it was the first European city of the Western Hemisphere

Today, with a population of over 2 million, it is the largest and most populated city in the Dominican Republic. Its colonialqaazaz heritage is preserved in the Colonial Zone where you can see the first cathedral, first monastery, first hospital, first university, and first court of law, all dating back to the 16th century.