Much of Playa Bayahibe, the town beach to the right of the parking lot, is occupied by dozens of motorboats waiting to ferry tourists to Isla Saona. Beyond there is a relatively narrow stretch of sand with calm and shallow water good for bathing and lined with shacks selling cheap tourist paraphernalia and several open-air casual restaurants. Further along is the all-inclusive Hilton La Romana; the beach here is restricted to guests of the resort.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
18.08 MILES
There’s a reason why boatloads of tourists descend upon this island every day. The powdery, white-sand beach doesn’t seem real from afar, and a dip in the…
Basilica de Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia
18.71 MILES
From the outside, this basilica is a strange mixture of the sacred and the profane. A utilitarian concrete facade, not far removed from a military bunker,…
4.88 MILES
Much more than simply Isla Saona, which is all that most people see on a group tour, the Parque Nacional Cotubanamá (formerly known as Parque Nacional del…
22.43 MILES
Extending for 840m between Río Cumayasa and Río Soco, this lighted and well-marked massive underground cavern complex is off the highway some 20km west of…
1.8 MILES
Located deep inside Parque Nacional Cotubanamá, Padre Nuestro is a weaving stalagmite- and stalagtite-filled 290m tunnel flooded with freshwater that can…
4.79 MILES
While a trip to a faux-16th-century Italian-Spanish village created by a Paramount movie-set designer won’t exactly give you a window into Dominican…
3.45 MILES
Parque Nacional Cotubanamá has more than 400 caves, many of which contain Taíno pictographs (cave paintings) and petroglyphs (rock carvings)…
11 MILES
In the 15th century, pirates including Francis Drake would lurk around Isla Catalina, waiting to pounce on Spanish ships sailing to and from Santo Domingo…
Nearby Punta Cana & the Southeast attractions
1.8 MILES
Located deep inside Parque Nacional Cotubanamá, Padre Nuestro is a weaving stalagmite- and stalagtite-filled 290m tunnel flooded with freshwater that can…
1.96 MILES
The advantage of staying in Dominicus Americanus is being able to walk to Playa Dominicus, a beautiful stretch of thick, nearly white sand, with good…
3.45 MILES
Parque Nacional Cotubanamá has more than 400 caves, many of which contain Taíno pictographs (cave paintings) and petroglyphs (rock carvings)…
4.79 MILES
While a trip to a faux-16th-century Italian-Spanish village created by a Paramount movie-set designer won’t exactly give you a window into Dominican…
4.88 MILES
Much more than simply Isla Saona, which is all that most people see on a group tour, the Parque Nacional Cotubanamá (formerly known as Parque Nacional del…
8.82 MILES
Modeled after the George Washington monument in Washington, DC, this obelisk is a much smaller version in central La Romana, with contemporary and…
11 MILES
In the 15th century, pirates including Francis Drake would lurk around Isla Catalina, waiting to pounce on Spanish ships sailing to and from Santo Domingo…
11.7 MILES
Just east of the two-lane highway linking Higüey to Boca de Yuma, outside the small town of San Rafael del Yuma, is a fine rural Dominican town surrounded…