Cabarete

Known internationally as a top windsurfing [1] and kitesurfing [2] spot, Cabarete has been a choice location for adventure-sport enthusiasts. The area has also appealed to young and young-at-heart travelers, with its many low-budget accommodation options and easy-going nightlife [3]. Charming, hip, and low-key, Cabarete was the sort of place that you’d purposely miss your flight home for so that you could deny that the rest of the world existed for just a little while longer.

But when Cabarete stepped into the world’s windsurfing spotlight, people and businesses suddenly started coming in droves. Now the once-small fishing town is a jam-packed, horn-beeping hotbed of tourist activity. There are still budget accommodations and places to eat, but now there are amenities to please every type of traveler.

Cabarete is, without a doubt, the water-sports capital of the Dominican Republic [4]. It could even be why you chose to vacation here. Cabarete is chock-full of outfitters, schools where beginner lessons are given, and places to rent the equipment you will need.

Getting to Cabarete

Guaguas can be hailed anywhere along the main road that skewers Cabarete. Remember to stand on the side of the road for the direction in which you want to travel; that way you’ll be certain to catch the right one. When in doubt, say the name of the town you wish to go to and they either will or will not let you on, depending.

Trips to Río San Juan [5] (US$2.25) take an hour, Sosúa [6] (US$0.50) is a 30-minute ride, and to Puerto Plata [7] (US$1.75) it’s a one-hour ride. No major bus company comes to Cabarete, but you can catch one to Sosúa and then hop a guagua to Cabarete

There are taxi stands along the main drag and motoconchos can always be waved down if you feel like taking part in a more dangerous activity than kitesurfing. It is always standard practice to haggle for taxis and motoconchos before agreeing on a price. Don’t be shy, this town is crawling with them. You can take a motoconcho to all the area beaches for under US$3.