Everything you need to know about the Dominican Republic
Explore the Dominican Republic from the Cibao valley and central mountains to Samaná, Santo Domingo and the Caribbean coast. Learn its provinces, cities and waters, read the history and everyday life behind the places, then practise Spanish. The lessons introduce general Spanish; Dominican speech has its own regional accents and vocabulary.
Read it, then make it stick
Geography of the Dominican Republic
Mountains and the Cibao valley between Atlantic beaches, Caribbean ports and a lake below sea level.
Know the shape of the country
Start with all 31 provinces and the separate National District, then place 24 selected cities, towns and tourism areas and explore six waters. Zoom in to distinguish Distrito Nacional from Santo Domingo province. This short waters round includes the Yaque del Norte and Lake Enriquillo; it is a selection rather than a complete river map. Boundaries, river and lake: Natural Earth, public domain. Lake Enriquillo’s shoreline changes over time. Marine answer areas are simplified learning zones clipped to land, rather than maritime claims. City coordinates are curated.
Places worth visiting
Essential · Colonial city
Zona Colonial
The first cathedral and the oldest European-built streets in the Americas fill Santo Domingo’s old quarter.
Start in Santo Domingo’s colonial zone, then head east to the beaches or north to watch the whales of Samaná Bay. Essential is our shortlist for a first trip, and worth a detour goes further. Select a pin to read about a place, then play the map and find them all.
Take Spanish with you
Greetings and politeness
Hello, please, thank you, sorry: the ten openers everything else builds on.
Keep going one country deeper
When you have had your fill of the Dominican Republic, the countries marked guide have a page like this one, and every other has maps of its own.
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