Best value for your money. The Dominican Republic has the most hotel rooms and is the fastest-growing destination in the Caribbean. Every year, new resorts open. The competition keeps hoteliers on their toes, and the traveler benefits from great vacation prices.

There is something for everyone. Small beach inns to small hotels atop hills, hotels catering to windsurfers, colonial city hostels to adventure traveler hotels, all-inclusive beach resorts to deluxe metropolitan hotels. More than 45,000 hotel rooms are located throughout the length and breadth of the island.

Visit Santo Domingo, the first city in the New World. While here, watch a winter baseball game. Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire both played here in their early days. Remember that Santo Domingo is the site for the Pan American Games in 2003.

Adventure tourism is popular in the DR. Hike Pico Duarte, the tallest peak in the Caribbean. Cross Lake Enriquillo, the Caribbean's largest salt water lake; try rafting on the clear waters of the Yaque del Norte river; or get close up to a school of humpback whales cavorting in Samaná Bay.

Some of the world's best beaches are located right here. Discover the breaking fun waves of Playa Grande, or frolic in the pristine waters of Sosúa Beach, the mild surf of Playa Dorada or the calm waters of Boca Chica. Indulge in the caress of Punta Cana's coconut-dotted beaches on the East Coast. North, South, East or West, the variety and quality of the beaches is a definite reason to return time after time.

Enviable weather. The yearlong forecast is partly sunny with chance of pm showers. Showers are brief -ten minutes-, just enough to preserve the flora and fauna. Let the yearlong days of sunshine energize your nervous system.

Indulge in the delights of a variety of gourmet dining. The European influence is felt, with a truly international display. Most resorts tantalize the pallets of their guests with gourmet restaurants and grills, where the scents lure beachgoers back to the hotel.

Merengue music is king year round, epitomizing the "joie de vivre" of the Dominican people. Come in summer, in time for the Presidente Beer Latin Music Festival or the Merengue Festival. Come in winter, in time for the Christmas partying time. Catch the beat.

The Dominican Republic caters to honeymooners and couples seeking to celebrate their love amidst romantic settings. Also, its beaches and varied sports, including waterparks, make the DR also an excellent destination for entire families on vacation. This is a very child-friendly country. Note that 50% of the population is under age 18.

The friendliest people in the world. Dominicans enjoy having you over and do their best to help you, too, to be happy.

Diving
Catalina Island. Catalina Island is a longish boat ride from the Bayahibe area, maybe 30 minutes but many people consider it one of the highlights of their week. There is a true wall on the north side of the island, dropping from 15 to 130 feet. The shallow reef flat is rich with pillar and boulder corals, while the drop-off is filter feeder heaven, with black coral, vase sponge and large elephant ears. On the south side is a shallow reef known as the Aquarium. Here, pillar corals rule, and schooling grunts hide in coral recesses.
St. George. The St. George is a large freighter, about 200 feet in length, sunk in early 1999 as a dive attraction. Now she sits upright along a reef slope with her bow at 140 feet and her propellers in the sand at 100 feet. The wheelhouse and stack remain very much intact.
Hickory. The Hickory was purposely sunk as a dive attraction in 1986 and now sits perfectly upright on the sand seafloor at 65 feet. The 135-foot freighter got hammered by Hurricane Georges, but still hosts a massive amount of fish, particularly sergeant majors (obviously used to being hand-fed) and blackbar soldierfish. The sponge encrustation and marine life make this a must-do for underwater photographers.
El Limon. El Limon is a 120-foot tugboat sunk near the Hickory. Given their proximity and reasonably shallow depth, both ships can be easily visited on the same two-tank dive trip.
La Sirena Cave. This particular site can only be dived with Treasure Divers as they have an arrangement with the landowner, but it's an example of the numerous freshwater caves and caverns that are found throughout the DR. Here, an iron spiral staircase leads to a cavernous opening in the jungle canopy. Stunning water clarity washes a cave system decorated with perfectly intact stalactites and stalagmites. This dive is not done as a deep penetration and avoids long overhead obstructions, so it is safe for those without cave certification. But make no mistake, there is world-class cave diving in the Dominican Republic that is yet to be explored.
Sea Pro Reef. A fascinating coral ridge at about 55 feet, absolutely chock-full of sea fans, tube sponges and gorgonians. The ridge drops off seaward to nearly 130 feet, although the slope is gradual.
Tanya V. Purposely sunk as a dive attraction by the owner of the nearby Coral Costa Caribe Resort, the Tanya V is a 120-foot cargo ship sent to the bottom Oct. 22, 1999. Already the stern is home to large schools of grunts and goatfish. She sits in 110 feet of water.
Canyons. This site ranges in depth from 35 to 80 feet with crevices hosting moray eels, spiny lobster and a variety of invertebrates. Atlantic spadefish commonly cruise the water column above these coral canyons
The Tower (Cabo Cabron). Depth: 130+ feet. The boat drops you into the churning channel between rock and mainland. Keep your eyes peeled for dolphins, which frequent this spot. A giant pinnacle formation emerges from 165 feet, encrusted with sponge and cascading coral where lobster and crab are often found. The best way to see it all: drop down to 90 feet and slowly swim up and around the peak.

Getting There:

The easiest way to get to the Dominican Republic from the UK is on one of the charter flights that offer a certain number of seats-only tickets on their regular flights from the UK (London, Manchester and Birmingham, Glasgow). They fly to two airports in the country: to the Gregorio Luperon International Airport near Puerto Plata on the north coast (serving Puerto Plata, Playa Dorada, Sosúa and Cabarete); and to the new La Romana Airport, which serves the resorts on the south coast, including Boca Chica and Juan Dolio.

The country is relatively large, so if you are travelling independently, you need to make sure to arrive at the correct airport for your eventual destination.

Try the charter airlines: jmc (tel: 0870 0100434, www.jmc.com), which fly to Puerto Plata and La Romana, as do Air 2000 (tel: 0870 757 2 757, www.air2000.com).
Britannia Direct (tel: 0800 000 747, www.britanniaairways.com) flies into Puerto Plata.

Other international airports include Punta Cana International Airport for tourist resorts in the east of the island (Bavaro and Punta Cana) and Las Americas International Airport which serves the capital Santo Domingo and which receives regional flights from Florida.

There are no direct flights to Santo Domingo from the UK.
The flying time to the Dominican Republic is approximately 9˝ hours.
Departure Tax US$10, payable in Dominican pesos or in US Dollars.

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Many of the resorts are all inclusive. The diving is not as slickly organised (yet) as Cayman, but it deserves to be much better known. Avoid cruise ship days.

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