Archive for the ‘Sports’ Category

The Dominican Republic is a hidden surf gem in the Caribbean with both the Atlantic ocean and the Caribbean Sea producing quality surf. With an average year long temperature of 28C.

Dominican Republic receives consistent North Atlantic swells all year long with the winter months of November to March being the best period for surf over 4ft. The rest of the year will experience 2 to 3ft on average.

The entire north coast of the Dominican Republic is a surfing paraside.  There are so many places to surf that most of them don’t even have a name.  To summarize a few:

Encuentro (4km west): some of the best surfing in the Caribbean. On the one side the white water peals along the beach and is perfect to learn the sport. On the other side the barreling waves on the reef are ideal for intermediate and advanced riders.

6 feet over (right out front) : In smaller waves a paddle board is a fun option with lefts and rights breaking over the reef.  When the swell is out of the north, out front provides perfect conditions with 4-8 ft faces.  A bit of a challenge to get out there because of the distance (about 1 km) but totally worth the effort.

Robbie’s point: (2 km west):  A consistent beach break with steeper peaks and shorter rides on the left, and a nice and mellow reef rights in front of beach bar and famous rave location El Racon.

More on Surfing:

The most popular surf break near Cabarete is Encuentro. It`s a short motoconcho away from the Kite Lounge, making for am epic downwinder. Encuentro is a reef break that breaks left and right depending on the swell direction. A few hundred yards away is Coco Pipe, a hollow peak that starts breaking when the swell is big. If you are in good shape, take a 12 minute paddle straight out from the Kite Lounge early in the morning when a swell is running. The break is called 6 Feet Over. The reef off Kite Beach is shallow with spotty Elkhorn coral, so it is recommended for more advanced surfers. Further towards the point in between Bozo Beach and Kite Beach is a nice left hand break that can reel for hundreds of yards on the right swell and wind conditions.

The north coast of the Dominican Republic is an overlooked and often understated gem of surf travel.
During the winter, strong cold fronts push off the east coast of the United States and create large NW swells that head directly towards the northern Caribbean islands.
	Cabarete is fortunate to have several world-class surf breaks nearby, some of them remaining uncrowded most of the year.