The Dominican Republic
A 76-metre marina at a river mouth in the south, an island national park a morning’s run beyond it, and a bay in the north that fills with calving humpback whales each winter — two very different weeks under one flag.
December – May · Nearest jet: LRM / AZS · The vibe: two coasts, one country
Most charters here pick a side. In the south, Casa de Campo’s marina at La Romana is one of the Caribbean’s most complete yacht bases — several hundred slips, a proper shipyard, and Pete Dye’s oceanside golf course, with the reef, mangroves and empty beaches of Parque Nacional Cotubanamá a short run away at Saona and Catalina. Round the eastern point and up the north coast, Samaná Bay does something almost nowhere else in the charter world manages: for ten weeks each winter, North Atlantic humpbacks arrive to calve within sight of the anchorage. Clearance paperwork ties the two halves together; a good agent makes it disappear.
“You go to Casa de Campo for the marina and the golf course. You go north to Samaná for something no marina can give you: a whole bay turned nursery, humpback mothers and calves within sight of the anchorage, every winter, like clockwork.”
Signature anchorages
Two hubs and a passage between them — a river-mouth marina and a national park in the south, a whale-filled bay in the north.
- Casa de Campo Marina, La RomanaA fully protected river-mouth marina where the Chavón meets the Caribbean — length overall (LOA) to 76m (250ft), draft to 4.9m (16ft), an Azimut Gold-rated, Benetti-network shipyard with a 300-ton travel lift on site. The south coast’s one true superyacht base, and a Puerto Habilitado (an official Dominican port of entry) in its own right.
- BayahíbeA fishing-village-turned-dive-town a short run east of La Romana; open roadstead off the town beach, moderate shelter, a small-boat harbour crowded with the excursion fleet running into the park. The practical stop for provisioning and an agent before Saona.
- Isla Saona (Parque Nacional Cotubanamá)Anchor off the north shore in settled weather — sand bottom, fair holding, open to the swell — or off Mano Juan, the island’s one fishing village (some 350 people, brightly painted timber houses) on the more sheltered south side. The Piscina Natural (natural pool), a waist-deep offshore sandbank, is the standard tender stop on the way in.
- Isla CatalinaA steep-to reef off the leeward side, good holding on sand in the lee, rated among the country’s best snorkelling and diving. The main beach runs under a cruise-line lease (Costa, among others) — check the day’s ship calls before planning a landing, or hold to the quieter east end.
- Samaná Bay & the whale sanctuaryVast and well protected — roughly 40nm east–west, 15nm north–south — with deep, calm anchorage off Puerto Bahía or Cayo Levantado. Mid-January to end-March, licensed-boat-only humpback watching runs inside the sanctuary: a 5-knot limit, and every boat out by 4pm.
- Puerto Bahía & Las TerrenasPuerto Bahía’s full-service marina sits at the bay’s north end — LOA to 46m (150ft), customs and immigration on site. Round the peninsula, Las Terrenas is open roadstead off Playa Bonita — tender ashore for a cosmopolitan run of French- and Italian-inflected kitchens.
The scene
A hand-built village, a Pete Dye golf course, and a winter spectacle no marina anywhere else can offer.
Altos de Chavón
A hand-built replica of a 16th-century Mediterranean village, raised above the Chavón river gorge from stone blasted to build the road to it. Its 5,000-seat open-air amphitheatre opened in 1982 with Frank Sinatra and Carlos Santana on the bill and still stages major touring acts; by day the cobbled streets hold artist studios tied to a Parsons-affiliated design school.
Teeth of the Dog
Pete Dye’s Caribbean masterpiece, seven holes run hard along the coral shoreline at Casa de Campo — the Caribbean’s number-one golf course by most rankings, and a fixture of the world’s top 100. Tee times through the marina office, a short run from the pontoon.
The humpback season
Samaná Bay and the offshore Silver and Navidad Banks together form the Dominican Republic’s Marine Mammal Sanctuary, where North Atlantic humpbacks arrive by the thousand each winter to breed and calve. Watching inside Samaná Bay itself runs through a small pool of licensed local boats — forty-three permits, a 5-knot limit, out of the sanctuary by 4pm — the yacht anchors, the encounter goes by tender.
Table & stay ashore
Two resort worlds, a marina apart — Casa de Campo’s own village in the south, the Bannister’s dockside pool and Las Terrenas’ kitchens in the north.
SBG
Casa de Campo Marina’s social anchor, poolside and Mediterranean-leaning, at its liveliest on weekend evenings when the marina, the resort and La Romana itself all turn out. Sunday brunch from 11am is its own, more relaxed institution.
Lago
The main dining room at the Casa de Campo hotel, known first for its breakfast and brunch, taken with a view over the Caribbean and the closing holes of Teeth of the Dog.
Minitas Beach Club & Restaurant
The resort’s own stretch of sand, where beach, dining and pool life converge — three pools, a reef running close to shore for the snorkelling, kayaks and paddleboards off the beach hut.
Casa de Campo Resort & Villas
The estate around the marina — hotel rooms and private villas, two further golf courses beyond Teeth of the Dog, and the whole of Altos de Chavón within a buggy ride.
The Bannister Hotel & Yacht Club
Puerto Bahía’s dockside partner at the north end of Samaná Bay — three restaurants and bars, an infinity pool at the Ocean Club and a spa, all a short walk down the pontoon.
Porto by Mosquito, Las Terrenas
On Playa Bonita, a short hop round the peninsula from Puerto Bahía — the boutique hotel’s beachfront kitchen, usually the first name out of a town built on French and Italian expat cooking.
A week, sketched
South to north, the long way round Punta Cana — the itinerary most owners actually run is one hub or the other, but the whole loop fits inside a week.
La Romana / Casa de Campo
Embark at Casa de Campo Marina, where the Chavón meets the sea; provision, then a buggy up to Altos de Chavón for the amphitheatre and the gorge view before dinner at SBG, back down on the water.
Isla Saona
South to Bayahíbe, then into Parque Nacional Cotubanamá — a stop at the Piscina Natural sandbank on the way in, and an anchorage off Saona for Mano Juan’s fishing village and a stretch of the park’s empty beach.
Isla Catalina
A short hop to Catalina’s reef for the morning, timed against the day’s cruise-ship calls on the main beach; back to Casa de Campo by evening for a late round at Teeth of the Dog or a slow afternoon at Minitas.
Passage north to Samaná
The long leg: round Punta Cana and Cabo Engaño and up the north coast into Samaná Bay, arriving at Puerto Bahía to clear in.
Samaná Bay
In season (mid-January to end-March), out with a licensed operator’s boat for the humpbacks — mothers and newborn calves inside the bay itself — back at the marina ahead of the sanctuary’s 4pm cut-off. Outside the whale season, Cayo Levantado or a guided boat run into Los Haitises’ mangrove channels fills the day instead.
Las Terrenas
Round the peninsula to Playa Bonita; anchor off and tender in for the town’s cosmopolitan run of kitchens, dinner at Porto by Mosquito on the beach.
Puerto Bahía & disembark
A short run back to the marina to close the loop; fly out from El Catey, or position south again for the return passage.
Pair with
Read on: WAKE — the magazine · the guides · the glossary
The year, measured
Monthly means at the heart of this water — daily maxima averaged, wind as mean daily peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air, day °C | 28 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 30 | 29 |
| Sea °C | 27 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 29 | 28 |
| Wind, peak kt | 10 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo · 2019–2023 means · sea temperature 2022–2023
The yachts that run these waters
Profiles from the record — introductions via the harbour desk.
Read on: WAKE — the magazine · the guides · the glossary