Dominican Republic Beach Guide: Cabarete Beach
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The north coast of the Dominican Republic is lined with endless golden beaches tucked among the tropical greenery. For decades these landscapes have and continue to woo visitors from all corners of the globe. In this local beach guide series, we outline our favorite beaches within a stone’s throw from our properties in Cabarete. We’ll kick things off with the longest and windiest beach in the Dominican Republic, Cabarete Beach. Spanning roughly 3km with an average of 300 windy days per year, it was this beach that put the Dominican Republic on the map as a coveted windsports destination!
The Recent History of Windsports on Cabarete Beach
In the 1980s Canadian windsurfer, Jean Laporte was recommended by his travel agent to explore the Dominican Republic as new training spot. After finding the conditions on the south side disappointing and discussing the wind directions with local fishers, Jean and his travel partner set out to explore the north coast. The pair scoured the coastline and excitedly happened upon the small fishing village of Cabarete Beach. Surprisingly, they stumbled upon a small group of fellow windsurfer bums! Jean couldn’t believe that the perfect conditions for windsurfing existed all in one place. The cross onshore trade winds, waves on the reef, warm waters and weak tidal currents is every windsurfers dream! So he opened a school, wrote a few magazine articles and the news started to spread. Before anyone knew it, Cabarete was hosting the The Professional Windsurfing Association World Cup. Since 2006, the world renowned annual windsurfing event Pablito Guzman’s Cabarete Classic keeps the local windsurfing scene bumping.
Kitesurfing blew onto the scene in the 1990s and history was made again when Cabarete became known as one of the top places for kiteboarding in the world. Since then, Cabarete Beach has played host to many prestigious kite competitions like the PKRA, DR Open, and WKL. Most recently, Cabarete Beach was chosen as the hosting venue for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games qualifier for all of North America, the Caribbean, South America, and Central America. Around the world, Dominican pro kiters are well respected because they are often found on the podium.
Things To Do On Cabarete Beach
Aside from the epic watersports conditions, Cabarete Beach is a hive of activity both day and night, making it a fun place for everyone from families to singles. Below we have summarized a few of our favorite things:
Watersports On Cabarete Beach
There are plenty of schools and watersports centers along Cabarete Beach that offer paddleboard classes, rentals and yoga, kitesurfing, windsurfing, and sailing! So whether you’re already a seasoned pro and need some equipment, or want to learn something new, you can find it here! Check out these reputable centers to get you started : Vela Cabarete, Cabarete Windsports Club, Carib Wind. You will also notice this is a hotspot for skimboarders, and when there is a decent shore break, you can find body boarder sand surfers shredding here, too.
Shout out your favorite Cabarete watersports center in the comments.
Swimming In Cabarete Bay
Although swimming technically counts as a watersport, we decided it deserves individual mention. Cabarete Beach is a great place to take a dip since it has a sandy bottom for as far as you can walk. However, from time to time, particularly in winter, tropical storms cause big waves. During this time, waves are breaking on the shoreline accompanied by a strong current that could pull you in even if you’re only knee deep. If you notice a red flag or large breaking waves, avoid swimming until it calms down.
Lounging On Cabarete Beach
As you stroll the beach, you’ll notice an abundance of sun loungers lined up with umbrellas and tables. If you love to lounge, the east corner of Cabarete Beach is the best place for it since there are not as many kitesurfers and windsurfers in that section of the bay. You can chill all day for RD$50-100 and rest assured that you won’t be woken up by kite landing next you.
Volleyball On Cabarete Beach
Volleyball is the ultimate beach game that everyone can play. Cabarete Beach has two nets, one in front of VoyVoy, and one in front of Hotel Villa Taina. They are free to use so grab a ball and spike away! VoyVoy hosts a tournament every Thursday night, so round up a team and put your skills to the test!
Bars and Restaurants On Cabarete Beach
Cabarete Beach has a grand selection of bars and restaurants offering a variety of delicious food. You’ll find everything from local cuisine to authentic imported cuisine – all while enjoying a delightful ocean breeze. When the sun sets and the stars come out, there is always a party at one of the bars. Monday night is karaoke night at Voyvoy, Thursday night is salsa night at Lax/Ojo, and any other night of the week you’ll surely find a fiesta wherever the music captures your soul.
Tell us your favorite restaurant on Cabarete Beach in the comments. We will add it to an upcoming post on our blog.
Shopping Near Cabarete Beach
If you forgot to pack something or simply fancy a stroll around the shops, a mix of little boutique, jewelry, souvenir, and surf stores are plentiful on Cabarete Beach. There are also a plethora of beach vendors selling cigars, mamajuana, tours, jewelry, maracas, and fruit so that you can shop straight from your sun lounger.
If you’re lounging and don’t care to buy anything from the vendor, no biggie! Simply say, “no gracias,” and they will kindly oblige.Â
Cabarete Beach also has a happening scene of artesian markets with one or two popping up per week at different locations. You’ll find lots of impressive hand made items like bikinis and other beach clothing, soaps and scents, art and jewelry, food and a whole lot more.
What are your favorite activities to enjoy on Cabarete Beach? Let us know in the comments below.
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