Welcome @ Dominican Republic - information about arrival + departure - transfers between airport + seaport + cruiseship, vacations in a hotel, villa or apartment

This is a portal for anyone planning vacations in the Dominican Republic, heading to the cruise-seaport of La Romana or the Santo Domingo Cruise Terminal, "Sansouci" - taking a break with a Caribbean cruise, or relaxing in one of the many hotels the peninsula provides.

General information about the country and selected services such as transfers to/from one of the country's airports or to one of the seaports or an hotel in one of the many hotel-areas like Punta Cana, Puerto Plata, Boca Chica, Juan Dolio, Santo Domingo, Samana, etc. ... are to be found here

... as well as information about golfing @ Casa de Campo and vacationing in a villa or a furnished apartment in the Dominican Republic.

Information on popular excursion destinations , locally well-known hotels , local attractions and interesting facts about the "pueblo" La Romana and the country's capital Santo Domingo and much more ...

The Dominican Republic presents itself even more as a paradise, if one moves off the beaten tourist tracks. Every year thousands of visitors from all over the world arrive by plane or cruise ship and get to know only the most tourist part of the country ... but the Peninsula has to offer much more ...

Leaving from Central Europe towards the Dominican Republic, the approximate travelling time to the Dominican Republic is about 9-10 hours (eg. from Frankfurt airport). Upon arrival the typical Caribbean weather with its high temperatures and high humidity welcomes the traveller - ... and a time difference of 6 and 5 hours (in winter).

Calls to Europe from the Dominican Republic via an European mobile phone is not "the most economic way" of communication and for more frequent or longer conversations, it's highly recommended visiting a local call center. European country codes start with 011** (e.g. 01149... - for calls to Germany, 01143... - Austria, 01141... - Switzerland, ...).

The local currency is the Dominican Peso (DOP) - EURO and US$ are generally accepted - sometimes at some less favorable exchange rates for the consumer. Official currency exchange offices are available almost everywhere in the country; it's definitely not advisable to exchange money on the street.

The "Pueblo" La Romana is well known as the Caribbean home port for the cruise ships of AIDA, TUI, COSTA, CARNIVAL. etc. When the European winter season begins, cruise ships of the great European lines, go for their transatlantic trip towards the Caribbean region and start out for the Caribbean routes. From the cruise-seaport La Romana or the Santo Domingo "Sansouci" cruise terminal - out to Caribbean waters - towards the northern Greater Antilles, or the Lesser Antilles the South, or heading for North and South America before by the end of March the make their transatlantic trip back towards the European waters.

The small but very professionally run airport of La Romana [LRM] is located approximately 15 minutes away from the La Romana seaport (Muelle turístico internacional Casa de Campo). The airports of Punta Cana [PUJ] and of the capital Santo Domingo [SDQ] are each at a distance of an approximately 1,5 hours ride from La Romana.

La Romana

located in the southeast of the island of Hispaniola - opposite the "Isla Catalina" is one of the largest cities in the Caribbean and of the Dominican Republic, as well as the capital of the "province of La Romana". La Romana has its own airport and cruise-seaport and features a respectable number of interesting nearby destinations - there are to be mentioned Bayahibe, a village with all-inclusive hotels and a beautiful beach only about 45 minutes away ... but also the nearby island of "Isla Catalina" or the slightly more distant "Isla Saona" or the "Bacardi-Island" Cayo levantado are very popular destinations ...

During the cruise season - in the European winter months - hundreds of visitors arrive or leave each week at the airports of La Romana , Punta Cana and Santo Domingo (Las Americas) in order to board a cruise ship or leaving for their home.

In European holiday peak seasons - June-September, Christmas, New Year and at Easter time - every year tens of thousands of visitors from Europe and the world visit the beautiful beaches of the Caribbean island and the country with its broad variety has to offer something for everyone.

Transfer or shuttle services to/from the airport, cruise-seaport or hotel generally can be booked in advance. The cruise lines take the majority of their passengers in high-capacity air-conditioned buses to their destinations.

The large hotels chains offer with the booking of the hotel vacation also a group transfer service, which expects several guests at the airports to bring them each to the various hotel destinations - which can be quite time consuming and tiring after a long haul flight due to numerous stops.

Transfers arranged with an airport-located local taxi company upon the arrival at one of the airports can be significantly more expensive and complicated.

Information about transfers from/to airport, hotel or cruise-seaport for individuals, small groups, crew transfers and transfers for guests with special requirements can be found here ...

Arriving at the cruise-seaport of La Romana or the "Sansouci" cruiseship-terminal of Santo Domingo the passenger will be received at a modern, generous ship terminal and a well-organized ground crew which takes care of the guests and their luggage. After having completed the formalities concerning the immigration ("migracion") finally the "ride" may begin - heading into one of the probably most beautiful regions in the world - visiting a big variety of islands, cultures, people and most impressive landscapes.

After 7 or 14 days on sea the cruiseships head back to their origin seaport. Disembarking at the seaport offers various interesting destinations in the vicinity of La Romana - such as - hitting the beach in the about 45 minutes away Bayahibe (day-passes available for a short all-inclusive stay), where to enjoy the sun at the beach - or a trip to the islands "Isla Catalina" or "Isla Saona" - a trip on a catamaran or aboard a chartered yacht, or just a short shopping trip in the center of La Romana, where to get everyday´s needed goods as well as more unusual, high-quality souvenirs. ... visiting one of the large cigar factories , one can convince oneself of the outstanding quality of the hand-made cigars produced here and of course buy cigars, too. It's advisable to book any excursion in advance, especially if one is not interested in just being part of a large group - individually and most flexibly guided excursions for people with special interests or needs are to be found here

In the very worst case of a medical emergency, which the doctors aboard the cruiseships may not treat efficiently enough, La Romana and Santo Domingo have some private clinics, which are very well staffed and technically equipped. However it is most advisable to be able to communicate in English, or look out for for some spanish-speaking company.

World famous is La Romana also for its incredible villa-resort "Casa de Campo"

- with its private yacht harbor "La Marina" and the (artificial) artist village "Altos de Chavon", where Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley got married.

With ist more than 1,600 villas and the "most beautiful golf courses in the Caribbean" - Paul "Pete" Dye's creations "Teeth of the Dog", "Dye Fore" or "The links" golf courses - Casa de Campo offers incomparable amenities to its visitors, who want to spend their vacation in one of the propably most luxurios ressorts of the world. Its top-rated golf courses attract every year thousands of golfers from all over the world. A private service for golfers who want to vacation in one of the villas near the golf course or the hotel in Casa de Campo is available upon request.

Besides the big all-inclusive hotel chains, La Romana and its vicinity offer quite a number of smaller and more private hotels with clean rooms and local food - at quite reasonable prices.

Mainly owned by the "Central Romana Corporation" La Romana has not only in tourism affairs but also economically an important role for the country. With its in 1917 built sugar refinery (sugar cane) and his big and famous cigar factories (brands like "Monte Cristo", "H. Upmann", "Romeo y Julieta") the Central Romana Corporation is the major employer and an important economic factor, who over the years has invested millions of dollars into the infrastructure of the city and meanwhile has created a more than respectable economic empire. Another important economic role in La Romana is the free trading zone "Zona Franca Romana"

Also in sports La Romana can show up with some big sons and daughters. What is football in Europe is baseball to the Dominican people. Here in La Romana the baseball games ("pelota") set fire on its fans and heat up the tempers of the "fanaticos". As the hometown of "Los Toros" or "Azucareros del Este", here in La Romana have started great international careers of baseball top-stars, which have beaten themselves in the international baseball heaven

Much more than just locally prominent is La Romana´s media guru "Tony con el pueblo", who plays an important role in the national media scene, daily commenting local and national news and being a highly appreciated source of information - to the locals as well as to the dominicans abroad