 Punta Cana is part of the newly Punta Cana-Bavaro-Veron-Macao municipal district in La Altagracia, the easternmost province of the Dominican Republic. The area is best known for its beaches, which face both the Caribbean and Atlantic Seas, and it has been a popular tourist destination since the 70s. The Punta Cana area has an estimated population of 100,000+ with a growing rate of 6%.To the north, it borders the village and beach of Cabeza de Toro, and then -northbound- the Bavaro and El Cortecito beaches. The nearest city, the 500-year-old capital of the Province Higuey, is 28 miles (45 km) away, and it takes about an hour to drive there. Europeans, particularly Spanish Hotel Chains, own all but two of the 50+ megaresorts of the Punta Cana tourism destination.Punta Cana-Bavaro's resorts show a eclectic variety of Achitecture and Interior design inspired in Spain, Mexico and native-Dominican. Areas bordering Punta Cana include Cap Cana to the south and the original tiny fishing-village of Cabo San Rafael. A 100-meter-high cliff is located more to the south, near of Boca de Yuma town, a fishing village dated from the 16th century. Nearby, you can find the Ponce de Leon's Fortress, in San Rafael del Yuma town. This is one of the most isolated area within the La Altagracia Province though.
 The province's 100-Kilometer coastline tends to be mildly windy. The ocean waters are mainly shallows, with several natural marine pools in which visitors can bathe without any danger.North to South the main beaches are: Uvero Alto, Macao, Arena Gorda, Bavaro,El Cortecito - all north of the cape - and Cabeza de Toro, Cabo Engano, Punta Cana, Juanillo - south of the cape.
Bavaro is an area starting from Cabeza de Toro until Macao Beach. As the hotels started to rise along the East coast, Bavaro itself became a center of services with shopping malls, fast-food stores, drug stores, fine restaurants, banks, clinics, workshops, supermarkets, schools... The major town in the distric is Veron, now bigger than Higuey in territory, an espontaneus -and poor- urban development running along the original road from the west. Veron, last name of the French propietor of a timberline business in the early 30s, is now the base-city for hotel workers and related. It has, besides Bavaro, the only two gas stations. The very next is located 30 miles west in Higuey.
Punta Cana has one of the busiest and best connected -private- airport in the DR's eastern region (the Punta Cana International Airport), serving about two million tourists per year and sometimes receiving more flights than the Santo Domingo airport, Las Americas  International Airport. The airport was built in 1984 by Grupo Puntacana to facilitate tourism in the area. At the time it was the world's first privately owned international airport.
The weather is fairly constant, with an average temperature of 30°C (86°F). The hottest -and humid- season lasts from May to October, and during the day temperatures might reach 35°C (95°F). From November to March, temperatures during the evening are around 20°C (68°F). Very little rain falls around the area, mostly because of the mostly flat landscape, a combination of savanna and mountains.
Activities
Punta Cana,part of the newly Punta Cana-Bavaro county, is considered the major resort area in the Dominican Republic with 28,000 hotel rooms. Puntacana Resort and Club (the first one, 1969), Cap Cana, Palma Real Villas and Roko Ki are some of the leading developments.Up to October 2009, Punta Cana has 12 professional golf courses that have already been built, from designers such as Jack Nicklaus, P.B. Dye, Tom Fazio, Nick Faldo and Nick Price...all within one hour drive from each other. The very first 18-Hole golf course was built in 1991 for the BARCELO complex. It was designed by Spanish Jose -Pepe- Gancedo, a former pro. Then, in 2000 it was followed by the La Cana Golf Course from P.B.Dye. In 2005, Cap Cana complete the first of their 5 golf courses (three Nicklaus-signature), the Punta Espada Golf Couse, a Nicklaus' masterpiece. Punta Espada, along with Teeth of the Dog in Casa de Campo figure among the very first 50 best golf courses in the world.The Punta Cana-Bavaro area now has a unique blend of top-quality golf courses -with several more in the planning stages- looking to become the golf mecca of the Caribbean.The nightlife inside the resorts is very lively with Las Vegas-style shows mostly from native artists. Outside of the hotels, half a dozen of high-quality discotheques allow tourists to interact with local residents. Besides, 80+ restaurants and bars, with exotic international cuisine from China, India or Thailand complete the Punta Cana-Bavaro's gastronomic offer.Other tourist attractions have also been installed in the area, among them, Manati Park (a waterpark built in the 90s), Puntacana Shopping Village, the Cap Cana 500+ docks Marina, Palma Real Shopping Village (one mile long) in Los Corales, Bavaro, with well-known retailers such as  Hard Rock Cafe-Punta Cana, Tony Roma's, Tomy Hilfiger stores, Puma...plus theather, local discos like Montecristo, MovieMax's store and others.
Other tourist attraction are the ATV/UTB/buggies all-terrain tours (the La Altagracia Province has 3,000 sq. Kilometers with 50 kilometers of sandy beaches, lakes and ponds, natural reserves, canopy/zip line adventure services and two Paintball/Speedball facilities)and some equestrian ranchs for horseback riding. Also, it has a Motocross/Enduro/Trail Riding Club and Mountain Bike Club.
Along the coast, Punta Cana-Bavaro has 22 diving sites, with year-long rent services plus catamaran party boats, fishing yatchs, speed boats... One of the most popular tours is to Saona Island (real Taino name Adamanai) located about 100 Kilometers west, which is popular for scuba diving.Visitors to the Punta Cana-Bavaro County will love to visit the Basilica Catholic Monument, built in 1962 designed by two French Architects, in Higuey, the 500-year-old capital of the Province. |
