After seven trips to the Dominican Republic, I am smitten. I am smitten with its people, its beauty and its diversity. This country really does fulfil the old cliché of ‘having it all’. You can drive for days and see mountains, verdant valleys, bustling cities, charming villages, rolling farmland, and incredible beaches. From high desert to cloud and rain forests, the list of the DR’s highlights goes on and on, but right at the very top of the list has to come its main asset -  the people, because a happier, friendlier bunch, you just won’t meet. They just love their lives and love their country, and want to share every bit of it with you.

DR occupies the eastern two-thirds of the Caribbean’s second-largest island, Hispaniola, and it famously shares the land mass with Haiti. It is a country of huge contrasts. You have the highest and lowest points in the Caribbean, with Mt. Duarte jutting 10,319-foot into the clouds, and Lake Enriquillo dipping 135-feet below sea level. You have the oldest city in the New World, Santo Domingo, founded in 1498, and the newest rambling resorts in the Western Hemisphere. There are pockets of poverty, and excesses of wanton wealth, all of which makes it a fascinating place to visit.
The influence of the Catholic Church is omnipresent, yet one can’t ignore the Dominicans’ desire for the ‘good life’ and carnal pleasures. Ubiquitous reminders are the turisticos - cabana motels that dot the roadways, sating lustful drivers.

DR boasts almost 20 distinct topographical areas – there is a climate and terrain for every taste, and five vegetation zones, so your hikes will take you past more than half the species of orchids in the world. The rich soil and ample run-off from the mountains allows the island to feed itself with plentiful beef, fruits, vegetables, and ground provisions.

Life’s never predictable here, even on the roads. While sleek comfortable Euro-style motor coaches ply the modern four-lane highways between Santo Domingo and Puerto Plata, between the smaller towns you still find  old gaily-painted converted US school buses (gua-guas), and watch out for the moto conchos (small motorbikes, used as taxis). Check out their incredible passenger loads. I’ve even seen two adults ‘sandwiching’ two children between them, with a third child straddling the tank in front of dad! Yet still  I lost the bet for the most outlandish rider combo when my wife spotted a driver with a 100-pound propane tank laying sideways on the seat between himself and a friend, with two young teens sitting on each
end of the tank!

THE COLONIAL CITY
Santo Domingo is the nation’s capital, and it was from here that much of the exploration of the New World started. The ‘Old City’ is a seriously impressive area – indeed, the highlight of the country. Thanks to its being declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site the 500-year-old buildings in the 20-square block in the historic centre are slowly being restored. These old Colonial buildings are used by businesses and families, so there isn’t a ‘museum’ air as you walk the streets, instead you’re in the midst of a  vibrant town with a remarkable architecture and history.

A good way to get the feel of the city is to climb the ramparts of the Forteleza Ozama, a collection of three old forts built in 1503 to protect the fledgling town from rival upstarts coming up river. As I climbed the stairs for the impressive panorama, which encompasses the river, the Caribbean Sea, and countless rooftops and spires, I couldn’t help reflect on all the individuals through the century’s history who had made this same trek. Take some time, and soak it all in, it’s the very essence of the Dom Rep.

A Colonial City walking tour is a must, especially at dusk, when the period gas lamps illuminate and magnify the ornate architecture. Be sure to stroll down the cobblestone Calle de Las Damas (The Walk of the Ladies), the oldest street in the Hemisphere dating back to 1502 and named after  Diego Columbus’s wife, who loved to stroll here.

Herman Cortes’ house (the conqueror of Mexico) is also in this area, along with the remarkable Hostal San Nicolas de Ovando – a recently renovated period hotel. Christopher Columbus’ son Diego, who was appointed the first Viceroy of the Indes, built the stone and coral Alcazar de Columbus, which is well worth a visit to see the furnished rooms illustrating early Dominican life.

Las Atarazanas (The Dockyards) was the centre of trading in the new world, and today is a line of former warehouses, converted into shops and restaurants. The 16th-century buildings also contain a small museum depicting maritime life in the colonial era including objects salvaged from the galleon Concepción.

Shopping-wise the DR has some terrific bargains, some attractive products, and a lot of kitsch. There are numerous tourism ‘collectibles’ (tin-work, carvings, woven baskets, hats, hammocks),  as well as up-market artwork and basic naïf street paintings. You can also find tasteful leather goods, excellent cigars, coffee, rums from the 3B’s (Burmudez, Brugal, and Barcello) – and the country’s natural gemstones: amber and larimar. The US dollar and the euro go a long way in the DR. 

Those with an adventurous spirit shouldn’t miss the Mercado Modello – a raucous warren of indoor and outdoor stalls selling  everything from foods to wooden furniture, ‘bush’ remedies to underwear.

The seven million Dominicanos take great pride in the capital city’s museums, palaces and  cathedrals– including the El Faron Columbus Memorial where the great Italian explorer is reportedly interred. Not always on the tourist trail, but well worth a visit, is the National Botanical Gardens with its tasteful displays of indigenous and introduced species. The 200-acre celebration of flora includes a stunning Japanese Garden; a separate palm exhibition; orchiderium, and countless flowering plants. The nearby Zoo is different from many others in so far as the animals are contained without bars, just cleverly designed moats keep you at safe eyeballing distance.

The Plaza de la Cultura is the centre of the country’s art scene. Here you find the Gallery of Modern Art which has a collection of permanent and rotating exhibitions of Dominican artists. Close by is the Museum of the Dominican Man – a unique natural history museum, with detailed displays of the origins of the three groups making up the Dominican populace (Amerindian, European, and African).

EXPLORING THE COUNTRY
Driving north from Santo Domingo, you immediately see that the country has more to offer than beaches. With tropical bush-covered peaks rising steeply from the cultivated coastline, the Dominican Republic looks like a rugged, misplaced chunk of Central America.

While mass tourism has altered the north coast town of Sosua, and it’s now lost much of its sleepy feel, parts of the original settlement are still quite interesting, especially the businesses run by the descendants of the Eastern European Jewish immigrants who settled here in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s following the outbreak of World War II.

Jarabacoa is becoming a little city, and has some interesting shops that cater to the surrounding farming community. Nearby Costanza is a small valley town, 4000ft up in the Cordillera Central, and surrounded by fruit orchards, commercial flower gardens and forests.

Seventy per cent of the Dominican Republic’s cultivated flowers (roses, chrysanthemums, gladioli and birds of paradise) are grown there for export. In an effort to develop the country’s temperate fruit crop in the 1950s, Japanese immigrants settled farms around here, and their influence and presence is still noticeable in the architecture and gardens surrounding their homes, and of course in the restaurants that are scattered throughout the town.

If you’re seeking an adventure holiday in the DR Iguana Mama offer an array of short and longer duration bike trips throughout the country. I’ve been on their guide-led coast-to-coast van-supported bike trips where we saw amazing landscapes, stayed at a variety of remarkable small inns, and skipped the single-track trails through El Choco National Park.They also lead trips into Cordillera Central mountain range, where there are 33 peaks above 6500-feet, but the accolade has to go to the 10,414-foot Pico Duarte, the highest peak in the Caribbean.

Santiago is a mountainous city north of Jarabacoa on the way to Puerto Plata, known for its furniture and ceramic tile factories. Puerto Plata, the ‘Silver Port’, is an interesting city that has lost a lot of its lustre due to tourism development. But look deeper: underneath there are still some notable Colonial and Victorian buildings with gingerbread trim and broad porches.

For most travellers Puerto Plata is the gateway to the Amber Coast and the hotel complexes of  Playa Dorado, with close to 4000 rooms in the dozen or more hotels.

The local Amber Museum features many different types of fossil trapped in the amber, from small bugs and leaves to assorted objects collected in the resin of the pine trees millions  of years ago. It is this ‘gem’ – found along the north coast of the DR – that was the fallacious basis for the dinosaur re-birth story in Jurassic Park, parts of which were filmed in the DR.

Heading east, there are endless golf courses lining the shore, and some interesting small hotels dotting the hillsides around Rio San Juan. Along the way is Cabarete, once a tiny fishing village, now a haven for  windsurfers, kite boarders and surfers. This sleepy town, with the perfect combo of wind and waves, has quickly grown from a backpacker refuge into a booming adrenalin-fuelled sports mecca.

Driving down the east coast one reaches Samana, the largest town on the remarkable Samana Bay. In the late winter/early spring, hundreds of humpback whales rendezvous here in the protected waters before heading north for the summer, allowing you to view these 100-foot, 60-ton marvels up close and personal.

Samana also has an interesting footnote in American and Caribbean history. The DR has been under US military rule several times over the past 150 years, all under the guise of the protectionistic Monroe Doctrine and Manifest Destiny. The US Senate came within a few votes of annexing the eastern part of the country around Samana Bay in the late 1800s, with the plan of making it a state coaling station and military base. A decade later Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay, and Puerto Rico’s San Juan harbour, became the home of the US Caribbean fleet – and the protector of the Panama Canal – after the Spanish-American War. One can’t help wondering if America would have needed to purchase the US Virgin Islands if the seizure of the Samana Peninsula had been completed.

The east coast beaches, from Bavaro to Punta Cana, are some of the prettiest in the Caribbean, with miles of gently sloping shoreline lined by coconut palms, and now accented by large waterfront resorts. New marinas, golf courses, and villas designed for the top end of the tourism market abound. It’s impressive, not only for its man-made beauty, but also for the scale and breadth of the projects coming out of the ground each year.

No trip to the DR, on paper or in person, can leave without a stop at Casa de Campo. This ‘house in the country’ is arguably the most distinctive and alluring resort in the Caribbean.

This place is billed as the country’s premier destination, and it’s easy to see why, as there are few holiday activities that are not available on site.
So what will it be today? The beach or one of the water sports options? Maybe some riding, jumping or polo lessons at the Equestrian Centre; tennis, or trap shooting, or a try at the 10 position sporting clay course within the Shooting Centre? Oh, and don’t forget about golf on one of three Championship courses, including the Teeth of the Dog links, where seven of the 18 manicured holes border the sea.

Want to relax? Grab a chaise at the beach, or lounge around one of the many pools on the property. Your decision-making isn’t over, as there are a dozen restaurants to choose from throughout the day.  No wonder most of the guests never leave the resort throughout their vacation.

The 300 hotel-style casita rooms, and 150 privately-owned villas, are clustered around the 7000-acre property – which is larger than many Caribbean islands. The grounds, scenery, and service are impeccable, with everything about the resort truly first-class. While I’m off volleying with a junior pro, negotiating a double-fence jump, looking for lost balls in the rough, or trying to track and fire at an elusive skeet, my wife is lounging at the beach pouring over the evening menu options. Just what the doctor ordered.

One of the most impressive aspects of Casa de Campo is the Dominican Cultural Centre Altos de Chavon – a 16th-century replica of a Mediterranean village, perched high above the Chavon River.

Period stone and brick buildings line the village’s cobbled alleys and piazzas. The stone archways, carved wooden doors, vine-covered balconies, and hand-forged wrought-iron work transport you back centuries, even though the village was actually only inaugurated in 1982.

The new marina is another exercise in architectural good taste. Situated on the Caribbean Sea along the Chavon River, and housing more than 50 shops and restaurants, the marina flows around the cobblestone piazza and the piers are filled with Dominican and international yachts. The entire property is meant to evoke a Mediterranean village.

However you look at it, this destination has it all. Whatever your budget, whatever your preferred itinerary – pretty much whatever turns you on, it’s here, in abundance, and delivered with a smile.

FACTBOX
• Passports & Visas
All visitors must have a valid passport as well as a tourist card, which can be purchased at the airport on arrival. Visitors must also be in possession of an outward ticket. A departure tax of US$10 is payable on leaving the country.
• Currency
The DR currency is the peso (RD$), divided into 100 centavos. US dollars are widely accepted, except in more remote rural locations, as are credit cards.
• Seasons
The country’s main tourist season runs from December through April, when fares and accommodation are most expensive. This period is rather drier and less warm than the rest of the year, but temperatures still average 77°F (25°C). The hurricane season lasts from June to November, with most storms occurring from August onwards, but the weather can still be fair.
• Language
The official language is Spanish, but English is spoken in the major tourist areas.
• Customs Regulations
Visitors can bring in 200 duty-free cigarettes and two litres of spirits. Customs searches tend to be relaxed, but the DR authorities take an extremely hard line on anything connected with firearms or illegal drugs. Food products, especially meat or dairy produce, are confiscated.
• Insurance
Medical insurance is a must, as any illness or accident will involve paying for treatment and medication, and the best private facilities can be expensive. It is also worth having insurance cover against loss or theft of valuables.
• Packing
Don’t forget the essentials for a beach holiday, as swimwear can be expensive if bought locally. Visitors should also take a few formal jackets for dining out, and it’s a good idea to have long trousers and long-sleeved shirts for mosquito-infested areas. Those intending to visit the ‘Alps’ should remember that it can be chilly at night.
• Health Precautions
There are no particular innoculation requirements for those entering the country, but travellers are advised to ensure that they are protected against tetanus, polio, and hepatitis A and B.
• Insect Repellent
This is one of the most vital things to bring with you. It should be applied liberally on exposed skin, especially ankles, and particularly at nightfall. Avoiding mosquito bites is an essential part of staying healthy.
• Electricity
The country’s erratic electricity supply works on a 110-volt system, as in the US and Canada. Plugs are the two-pin North American type. While most Dominicans endure lengthy daily power cuts, due to a creaking power network, nearly all tourist facilities enjoy the benefits of private generators or inverters.

LIAT flies from Antigua to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic four times per week non stop.

Must-sees
It’s impossible to see everything the Dominican Republic has to offer in one visit. So here are ZiNG’s top attractions... or alternatively come back again and again.

• Playa Bonita
Paradise is an often overused word, but when it comes to this 13km stretch of uninterrupted white sand, we mean it. An offshore reef also offers the best snorkelling in the Samana peninsular.

• El Limon Waterfall
Hidden deep within the Samana mountains, accessible only on horseback and foot, is this stunning 50m-drop waterfall. Enjoy a swim in the crystal clear waters at its base.

• Isabela de Torres cable car
Experience stunning views from Puerta Plata’s premier attraction. At the top of the mountain is a diminutive version of Rio’s Christ the Redeemer, spreading its arms out to the city.

• Lago Enriquillo
Sitting at the lowest point in the Caribbean, is a saltwater lake larger than the size of Manhattan. Take a boat trip and spot crocodiles, rhinoceros iguanas and thousands of tropical birds.

• Santo Domingo Malecon
 A scenic, seven-mile-long boardwalk and party zone dotted with bustling bars and cafes. Take in the old city wall, San Jose Fort and La Obelisca, stopping for an ice-cold drink or two along away.