Montecristi & Punta Rucia

The north-west corner of the Dominican Republic runs from the town of Montecristi, a few kilometers from the Haitian border, east along a coast of mangroves, salt flats and sandbars to the fishing village of Punta Rucia. Montecristi is known for El Morro, a flat-topped limestone mesa about 240 meters high inside Parque Nacional Montecristi, and for boat trips to Isla Cabra and the Cayos Siete Hermanos. Punta Rucia and Playa La Ensenada, just over the provincial line in Puerto Plata province, are the departure points for Cayo Arena (also sold as Cayo Paraíso or Paradise Island), a tiny sandbar ringed by coral.

This is not a resort coast. There are no large all-inclusives, hotels are small, and most visitors are Dominican families on weekends or day-trippers bused in from Puerto Plata, Sosúa and Cabarete. The nearest airport is Cibao International in Santiago (STI), about 133 km and roughly 2 hours by road from Montecristi. Puerto Plata (POP) is about 171 km from Montecristi and around 2 hours from Punta Rucia. Plan on a car, a tour, or at least one night in the area.