Continent
Caribbean
Country
Dominican Republic
Next Big City
Puerto Plata
Next Town
Cabarete, Sosua
 
Type:
Ocean
Rider Ability:
Beginner, Intermediate, Expert
Features:
Rooms, School, Shop, Repair, Rental, Shower, Toilet, Food, Parking

Water

Type:
Chop, Small wave
Hazards:
Swimmers
Quality:
Clean
Best Tide:
Tide independent

Choppy water inside the bay, reef waves outside (1-3 m). Special areas: the kiting area is just downwind of the Estrella and special windsurfing area. Watch out for the swimmers and their zones. Can have a strong shore break. Further in to the bay less shore break.

Beach

Type:
Sand
Size:
Medium
Hazards:
Trees, Bystanders
Beach Users:
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Long bay with a nice beach and soft sand. Very secure: beach downwind. The beach width is less during winter, and bigger during summer. Always people walking along the beach and kite lessons, so be careful when launching and landing.

Weather

Spring:
Shorts
Summer:
Shorts
Fall:
Shorts
Winter:
Shorts

Water temperature about 28°C, air temperature about 30-38°C. No wetsuit necessary. Sun protection is recommended. Rainy season: September to December.

Wind

Best Months:
June, July, August
Wind Type:
Thermal, Trade
Best Direction:
NE, ENE, E
Main Direction:
NE, ENE, E

Best (wind-) season June to August. Less wind more waves during winter times. Less wind in the morning (<15 knots), good wind in the afternoon (15-30 Knots) from 12:30 until 17:30. The further you get into Cabarete Bay, the less constant wind you will get. Cleanest wind out on the reef. In later afternoon the wind switches more to NE, then in the center of the bay gets very gusty. Will be harder to get back to shore, but downwind no problem.



How to get there

Transport
Car, Bus
Access
Short walk

From the airport of Puerto Plata by bus or taxi to Cabarete, about 20 km. Share a taxi ride, just talk to someone with a surf bag. Or fly to Santiago, the taxi ride takes one hour, but compare flight and baggage prices and you might save some money.

Extra information

Rules
Zones

No kiting inside the bay from Villa Taina onward (to the east), for windsurfers only (wind is gusty here anyway). No water sports at Easter holidays (3-4 days). But you can kite on Kitebeach.

Nightlife

Fun nightlife in Cabarete or Sosua (short taxi ride).