Today’s review of Juan Dolio (Dominicana) will interest, first of all, lovers of a calm, unhurried holiday. Compared to other Dominican resorts, the prices here are quite affordable, but there is no abundance of attractions. The main goal of the trip is comfortable beaches, excellent places for scuba diving.
General information
If you turn to the geographical map and look for Juan Dolio there, you need to focus on Santo Domingo and La Romana, the locality is located between them. On the west side of Juan Dolio is the fishing village of Guayaquanes, just behind it is the beach of Playa Caribe, if you go even further west, you can come to the village of Boca Chica.
Useful to know! The capital of the Dominican Republic is half an hour’s drive from the village.
The resort town is located in a quiet, secluded place, life boils exclusively on the main street, as it is here that many hotels and the best restaurants are concentrated. In Juan Dolio in the Dominican Republic, it is quite possible to do without transport, since it is not difficult to walk from the coastal highway to the sea.
The town is called the Caribbean Riviera — the coastline of Juan Dolio is perfect for family and romantic holidays. Of course, this place is less popular in comparison with such resort towns as Punta Cana or Puerto Plata, but still, tourists choose this resort. Let’s find out why Juan Dolio is popular with tourists.
Travel agencies advertise Juan Dolio as a place where you can enjoy peace and privacy. You should not expect absolute loneliness, but there are an order of magnitude fewer tourists here than in other more popular places in the Dominican Republic.
Useful to know! You can get to Juan Dolio from three airports — Punta Cana (2 hours by bus), Santo Domingo (40 minutes by bus), La Romana (1 hour by bus).
Juan Dolio is close to many of the Dominican Republic’s attractions, as it is close to Santo Domingo with a large number of historical and architectural monuments, shops, nightclubs, discos and bars. La Romana (in the opposite direction from the capital) attracts tourists with its beaches, picturesque places for diving. A quarter of an hour’s drive from the resort is Boca Chica — a lively place with a large selection of nightlife options.
There are very few places to hang out in Juan Dolio, this is the main street of the city, which runs along the sea coast. Parallel to the street, further from the coast, there is a highway connecting the cities of the coast. Since traffic in this part of the Dominican Republic is minimal, you can easily travel between settlements by bike, even on foot.
Useful to know! Hotels that accept tourists on the “all inclusive” system, the best restaurants, are located in the area of Villas Del Mar.
Weather and climate
In general, the climate of Juan Dolio is suitable for recreation throughout the year, the main thing is the purpose of the trip. From early summer to mid-autumn, the Dominican Republic has a hurricane season. However, according to local residents, there are practically no strong winds in the city. With the beginning of autumn, rains are added to the wind, but they are short-lived and do not spoil the travel experience at all.
Useful to know! Read the weather forecast carefully before traveling. Even if it rains in Juan Dolio, you can spend a comfortable time at the spa or go on a guided tour.
In winter, Juan Dolio is in high season — this is the most favorable time for beach relaxation and swimming in the sea. During the day, the air warms up to +30 degrees, the sea is slightly cooler, but always warmer than +25 degrees.
In the first half of spring, locals prepare for the rainy season, which comes in April. However, a large amount of precipitation does not affect the temperature indicators, walking around the city, visiting excursions is quite comfortable.
Important! During the year, air temperature fluctuations do not exceed 3-4 degrees — from 27 to 30 degrees. At night it is cooler — from 21 to 24 degrees. The sea always remains warm — not lower than +25 degrees.
Transport
Juan Dolio in the Dominican Republic is a calm, unhurried, small town that you can get around on foot. Hotels provide bicycle rentals, but you should be careful because there are a lot of speed bumps on the streets. In addition, it is not recommended to leave the locality by bicycle, it is better to take a taxi (1 km costs $1).
Also, buses run between the cities of the Dominican Republic, drivers always stop if they see a person on the highway.
Entertainments
The lack of attractions is compensated by the choice of opportunities for active, sports recreation. In Juan Dolio there are golf courses, a casino, a disco, and various water sports are available. You can go for a horse ride or take a few horse riding lessons, go river trekking, or go on an excursion to a nearby island.
On a note! Fishing, including deep-sea fishing, is very popular.
Diving is especially popular in Juan Dolio, where hotels have specialty shops where you can buy equipment or buy a certificate for completing courses. Catalina Island, the best diving center in the Dominican Republic, is just an hour’s drive away. Tourists will find picturesque reefs and sunken ships. Beginners can go diving directly at the shore, as the coral reef is close to the beach.
Since there are no interesting sights in the city, tourists prefer to buy excursions. Most interesting: romantic evening excursion to Santo Domingo, extreme jeep safari, artists ‘ settlement. In the latter, they will paint a portrait and perform a traditional Spanish serenade.
In the vicinity of Juan Dolio, several caves have been preserved, one of them has a 7 km long river, and in some of them you can see unique rock carvings. The most popular cave is “Three Eyes”.
Beaches
Since the main type of recreation in a resort town in the Dominican Republic is beach, many people are interested in the question-what is the sea in Juan Dolio? Since the city is located on the Caribbean coast, accordingly, the water near the coast is warmer, compared to other tourist places – Puerto Plata or Punta Cana, since they are washed by the Atlantic Ocean.
Important! The sea temperature throughout the year is above +25 degrees, so families with children often come here to relax.
The coastline is divided into three beaches:
- Playa Caribe-intimate, quiet;
- Playa Guiaacanes-calm, there are always few tourists here;
- Playa Juan Dolio is picturesque, surrounded by coconut trees.
Juan Dolio Beach
The main beach is considered to be Juan Dolio in the Dominican Republic — white sand, clear, turquoise water, a small coconut grove. This landscape creates a sense of paradise. The length of the beach is about 4 km, the coast is cut by numerous bays, some of them are suitable for bathing babies. The width of the bank is from 10 to 200 m. You can relax on a towel or a chaise longue, they are installed directly on the beach. The sea is clean, seaweed is regularly cleaned, and there are no jellyfish, so swimming in the sea is a pleasure. The only thing that can slightly spoil the impression of beach relaxation is the small depth of the sea.
As for the cleanliness of the coast, it is cleaned near hotels, and in other places the sand can be dirty, but in any case, it is not difficult to find a clean place to relax.
Important! Near the beach there is a coral reef, which protects the beach from strong waves, but adds inconvenience to tourists — you need to go into the water in shoes.
Guayaquanes Beach
Playa Guiaacanes is considered a more suitable beach for tourists. Vacationers themselves note that of all the beaches of Juan Dolio, this is the most colorful-locals like to spend time here, so you can watch the life of Dominicans. Fishermen are moored at the end of the beach, and they also come here to take beautiful photos on the artificial spit.
On the shore there are many restaurants where delicious seafood is prepared. There are several souvenir shops, but the sellers are not intrusive.
The order is monitored by rescuers, so it will not be possible to swim too far into the sea, such brave tourists are asked to return closer to the shore. There are umbrellas on the beach, but you will have to pay for the opportunity to relax in the shade. Also lucky owners of transport-near the beach there is a Parking lot. There are massage parlors on the beach, local women offer to braid pigtails, and there are also representatives of travel agencies that offer excursions. The sea is quite shallow, so lovers of scuba diving will have to swim away, to the depth.
There are hotels on the beach, sun beds and umbrellas are installed near each of them, and you can also use the facilities by buying something in a cafe.
Accommodation
Juan Dolio offers hotels for every taste and budget. Tourists note the friendly staff, who strives to please vacationers, so that tourists do not deny themselves anything.
Hotels in Juan Dolio are modern, many have SPA centers, gyms, swimming pools, tennis courts, bars. Each hotel takes care of its own part of the beach, so the beach near the hotels is clean, there are no algae in the water.
The hotels offer a variety of rooms — single, double, family, luxury apartments for a romantic holiday. The apartments are cleaned daily, and there is also a 24-hour service for vacationers.
Price of double rooms in the hotel:
- 2-star categories-from$30;
- 3-star categories-from$40;
- 4-star categories-from$110;
- 5-star categories-from $ 140.
Where to eat
You will not feel a shortage in places where you can eat. Haun Dolio offers a wide variety of cafes, restaurants, bars, and street food and fast food options.
Of course, seafood deserves special attention, since the resort is located on the Caribbean coast and fishermen come to the market every day at 12: 00 with fresh catch. It is cheaper to buy fish and seafood at the market. For example, a lobster will cost$ 6-10, and in a restaurant you can buy it for$30.
The restaurants serve delicious, refined wines, and the Juan Dolio cellars will impress the most discerning customer.
The national cuisine of the Dominican Republic combines the traditions of Creole, European and African cuisines, so the choice of dishes in the restaurant is extensive and diverse. Most of the establishments are open in the fresh air, near the sea. Unfortunately, there are no restaurants serving haute cuisine in Juan Dolio, but if you want to visit such an institution, you can go to Santo Domingo.
Useful to know! The cheapest places in Juan Dolio are cafeterias, where lunch costs$2 per person.
Breakfast and lunch options in family-style restaurants cost from$ 8 to $ 26. Dinner in an expensive restaurant will cost $ 35. Be sure to leave a tip at the restaurant — 5-10% of the total bill.
Street food costs about$ 5, and you can buy a pizza or sandwich at this price.
Should I go to Juan Dolio
In reviews of the resort of Juan Dolio in the Dominican Republic, tourists note several advantages in comparison with neighboring competitors — peace, tranquility, lower prices. Hotels here are aimed at budget tourists and people who travel independently. There are night discos and bars, but they do not bother tourists who prefer to sleep at night.
Juan Dolio (Dominican Republic) is located in the heart of popular resorts and with the help of sightseeing tours you can diversify your vacation and visit interesting tourist places.
