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
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).