Things to do in the Dominican Republic

Punta Cana, on the eastern tip, is a long coast of white-sand beaches and calm, reef-protected water, with trips to the natural pools of Saona Island and catamaran days along the shore. It is the best-known beach area in the country.

Santo Domingo, the capital, is the oldest European city in the Americas, and its Colonial Zone keeps a cathedral, a fortress and cobbled streets of stone houses. Samaná is known for humpback whales in winter, Puerto Plata for a cable car and a colourful old centre, and the mountains around Jarabacoa for rivers and waterfalls. Pico Duarte is the highest peak in the Caribbean.

La bandera, the everyday plate of rice, beans and stewed meat, is served all over the country, alongside sancocho stew, mangú, fresh fish, tropical fruit and rum. Most visitors come in the drier months from December to April, while the hurricane season runs from early summer to late autumn. Merengue and bachata, both born here, are heard everywhere.