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The modern metropolis encompasses crowded downtown streets, charming suburbs, and relaxing parks, where art galleries rub shoulders with US-style shopping malls .

Only two hours from the capital, the rugged interior is a walker’s paradise of green meadows and clear rivers, surrounded by pine forests and mountains. Pico Duarte, the highest mountain in the Caribbean, lies here.

The laid-back second city is different in ambience from bustling Santo Domingo. Its streets are filled with monuments to its past glories as a tobacco boom town.

An inland saltwater sea surrounded by cactus-studded wilderness, this natural wonder involves a boat trip and close encounters with crocodiles and tame giant iguanas.

One of the coolest spots in the country, a once-tiny fishing village surrounded by idyllic beaches has become a magnet for independent travelers and sun-seekers.

A town built on sugar now offers a different sweetness in the form of the country’s most luxurious resort, Casa de Campo, and an unforgettable transplant from Italy, Altos de Chavón.

The modern face of Dominican tourism, this long and idyllic coastline of white sand and swaying palms is home to a cluster of all-inclusive resorts. It’s a paradise for windsurfers and surfers alike.

The historic jewel in the capital’s crown, this district of restored colonial buildings and shady plazas is filled with well-preserved reminders of a bygone age.

The place where European colonization of the Americas really began, the beautiful bay reveals the story of Columbus’s first settlement. Other highlights include some wonderful beaches such as Playa Isabela and Punta Rucia Beach.

Both Catholics and followers of vodu celebrate the Day of the Dead, when, as elsewhere in Latin America and the Caribbean, families visit cemeteries to commune with the deceased, and take small offerings such as flowers and food. This ritual is taken most seriously in the areas near the Haitian border.

A big patriotic celebration commemorating a historic Dominican victory over Haitian forces in 1844.

Images of Nuestra Señora de Regla, the town’s adopted saint, are carried through the streets in celebration.

San Andrés or Saint Andrew has his lively fiesta patronal in the South Coast tourist town.

Every Dominican village, town, and city organizes some sort of event in the last week of February. La Vega is famous for its devil-like Carnival masks, while the northern city of Monte Cristi (see Parque Nacional Monte Cristi) witnesses boisterous street battles between rival factions.

The cowboy country lets its hair down with a rustic Festival of the Bulls.

As in all Latin countries, Semana Santa is the year’s most important religious period, and all activity grinds to a halt as Dominicans go to church or parties or both. The Catholic celebrations are paralleled by African-influenced vodu (voodoo) ceremonies near the border and in the sugar plantations where Haitian migrants live.

The Carnival period reaches an ear-splitting climax in Santo Domingo with a parade of costumes and bands along the Malecón. This also marks the anniversary of the country’s independence from Haitian occupation.

The latter part of the month witnesses a spectacular showcase of Dominican musical talent, as the seafront Malecón in Santo Domingo hosts a series of concerts by household names and newcomers alike.

In the third week in October, the northern port of Puerto Plata hosts a week-long celebration of merengue talent. Most of the action takes place on the long and normally rather rundown Malecón, but at this time of year the place comes to life, with bands performing and countless outdoor bars.

Fernando Rey festivities are in honor of the 16th-century Spanish monarch, turned into local patron saint.

Dominicans welcome the New Year with an exuberant open-air concert on the riverside Avenida Francisco Alberto Caamaño Deñó, Santo Domingo, where some of the country’s top bands perform. Other towns and villages hold smaller-scale but equally loud outdoor fiestas.

The northern town noisily celebrates San Felipe, the votive day of its local saint.

The grandiose Monumento a los Héroes de la Restauración is the scene of a huge party to commemorate the country’s “second independence” from Spain in 1865 after a guerrilla struggle that started in Santiago (see Santiago). Another celebration, with plenty of music, takes place in Santo Domingo’s beautiful Plaza España.

Santa Bárbara’s day is the pretext for processions and partying in Santa Bárbara de Samaná (see Samaná). The local popular music bamboula is played.

San Juan Bautista, or Saint John the Baptist, is revered in this folkloric religious festival.

The city celebrates its patron saint, San Pedro Apóstol, with lots of music and dance.

Santiago Apostól, or Saint James the scourge of the Moors, is the object of great veneration.

The big present-giving day is a crucial part of the extended Christmas–New Year holiday season. In San Pedro de Macorís, some of the town’s millionaire baseball stars traditionally hand out bats, balls, and gloves to kids.

The rooms and suites offer the latest communications technology and are designed for business travelers as well as vacationers. There is a restaurant, a mini bar, and cocktail lounge.

Rooms and suites are well appointed with air conditioning, TV, good service, and the benefit of a restaurant on site. Breakfast included in the rates.

This is a wonderful place to admire the changing turquoise hues of the sea, so clear you can see the coral. The rooms are simple and clean with basic amenities. Meal plans are available.

Off the beaten track, this is a quiet, peaceful place popular with backpackers and budget travelers. The rooms sleep up to four people and have bathrooms. You may use the kitchen and barbecue.

This guesthouse overlooks La Churcha with views of the bay and the dock below. The rooms are simple with private bathrooms and hot water. Each room has a fan. Those upstairs are brighter with large windows to catch the breeze.

Studio apartments in a small hotel just behind the all-inclusive Wyndham Dominicus Beach Resort (see Wyndham Dominicus Palace/Beach, Bayahibe), where you can buy a day pass to use the facilities. They also have a restaurant and a bar.