What to do in La Romana and how to plan your trip
The south-east coast: a fishing village that launches the best boat trips in the country, a Mediterranean village rebuilt on a cliff, and the calmest water in the Dominican Republic.
- 1transportation zone
- 12hotels
- 1897the sugar mill
- 26 °Csea, year round
- UTC−4no daylight saving
Everything you need to know about La Romana
La Romana was built around a sugar mill in 1897 and stayed a working town until the same company laid out Casa de Campo in the seventies — a resort estate the size of a small city, with its own marina, three golf courses including Teeth of the Dog, and a Mediterranean village rebuilt stone by stone on a cliff above the Chavon river. The tourism ministry calls it the country’s most sophisticated destination, and that is the register: golf, marina, spa, culture. Twenty minutes east, Bayahibe is the other half of the story — a fishing village turned dive centre, inside Cotubanama national park, and the departure point for Saona and Catalina, the two island trips everyone on this coast ends up taking.
Getting to La Romana
- Punta Cana Airport (PUJ)About an hour and a quarter east on the Coral highway. The airport with the most international flights, and the one our transfers run from.
- La Romana Airport (LRM)Small, ten minutes from Casa de Campo, with seasonal charters and a handful of scheduled routes. Convenient when the schedule happens to fit.
- La Romana cruise portShips dock beside the town, which is why Altos de Chavon and Bayahibe are busiest in the middle of a port day.
Beyond the beach
Three completely different days out, all within half an hour of each other.
Good to know
- LanguageSpanish, with English in the resorts and the dive shops, and Italian more than you would expect in Bayahibe.
- CurrencyDominican peso (DOP). Casa de Campo and the marina price in US dollars; the town does not.
- Time zoneUTC−4 all year, no daylight saving.
- Power110 V, 60 Hz, the same flat plugs as in Canada.
- WaterBottled water. Resorts supply it; buy it in town rather than use the tap.
- Emergencies911 nationwide. Casa de Campo has its own medical centre.
Transfers from the airport to every zone of La Romana are a fixed price per vehicle, with the driver waiting at the exit. See availability.
What to see and do in La Romana
The full list, not a top three: what the tourist board of the destination puts first.
A replica sixteenth-century Mediterranean village on a cliff above the Chavon river, with galleries, workshops and a five-thousand-seat Roman amphitheatre that still hosts concerts.
Inside Cotubanama national park, reached by catamaran and speedboat from Bayahibe, with the natural pool sandbar on the way.
The one for snorkelling and diving: a wall close to shore and the clearest water on this coast.
The protected water and forest that both islands sit inside, and the reason the diving here is regulated and good.
A fishing village turned dive centre, with the calmest water on the south coast and boats still pulled up on the sand.
Seven holes run along the sea. It is routinely ranked the best course in the Caribbean, and it is why a good share of visitors come at all.
Casa de Campo’s marina is a small town of its own, and the ministry sells the whole destination on this register: comfort, wellness and quiet.
The amphitheatre has been running international concerts since 1982, and the art school at Chavon keeps working year round.
Beaches of the south-east
Reef-protected water on the mainland, and the islands the boats go to.
The village beach: shallow, protected and where the boats leave from. Busy in the morning, empty by two.
A long blue-flag beach ten minutes from the village, with resorts behind it and calm, clear water.
An hour by boat, inside the national park. Shallow turquoise water, palms and no development — the classic day out.
Closer and less visited than Saona, with better snorkelling on the wall at one end.
The private beach at Casa de Campo, sheltered and groomed, for guests of the estate.
When to visit La Romana
Four seasons for one destination. Pick yours by weather, crowds and price.
Dry, breezy and the busiest. The boats run every day and the sea is at its clearest.
Warm with short showers and noticeably lower rates. The south coast is sheltered and usually stays calm.
Hot, humid and the peak of the hurricane window. Some operators reduce sailings.
Quiet and cheap, with the rain easing off. Late November is the best value of the year.
Getting around La Romana
A small city, a resort estate and a village, and the distances between them.
Fixed fares by route, posted at hotel receptions. The main way visitors move between the town, Casa de Campo and Bayahibe.
Local minibuses run the coast road to Bayahibe and towards Higuey for very little. Cash, crowded and slow.
Catamarans and speedboats to Saona and Catalina leave every morning. Book through a real operator, not from the beach.
From Punta Cana Airport to any hotel on this coast at a fixed price per vehicle, with the driver waiting at arrivals.
Areas of La Romana we serve
1 transportation zones, each with its own page: hotels, times and fixed transfer prices from the airport.
Hotels in La Romana we pick up from
Fixed price to every hotel in the zone. If yours is not here, type it in the search box.
Tips from our local team in La Romana
What travellers ask us most, answered by the people who live here.
Book Saona with an operator, not on the sand
The park has boat limits and the licensed operators sell the same trip at a fair price with insurance. What is sold on the beach often is not the trip you think.
Bayahibe empties after lunch
Every boat leaves at eight and comes back at four. Between those hours the village is quiet and the beach is yours.
Casa de Campo is not a hotel, it is a district
It covers several square kilometres and you need a cart or a car inside it. Distances there are real distances.
The south coast is the calm one
Unlike the Atlantic north, this water is sheltered and shallow. It is the best coast in the country for children and for first-time divers.
Altos de Chavon before eleven
The cruise buses arrive mid-morning. Before that it is a quiet village with a view over the river.
LRM exists but the flights may not
La Romana has its own airport, and depending on the season it may have nothing useful from where you are flying. Check both before assuming Punta Cana is the long way round.
La Romana travel guides
Practical, written by the team that drives the area every day.
Bayahibe: a village, a national park and the boats to Saona
Bayahibe is a fishing village on the south-east coast that became the departure point for Isla Saona, and never quite became a resort strip. It is small…
3 read
La Romana: a sugar town that ended up with a golf resort attached
La Romana is a real Dominican city built around a sugar mill, and the most famous resort in the country happens to sit next to it. Casa de Campo, Altos …
3 readGetting to La Romana from the airport
Fixed price per vehicle to every zone, driver at the exit with your name. Full details on the airport page.
Transportation prices per zone in La Romana
| Transportation zone | Drive time | Passenger van8 8 | See availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Romana | 75 min | US$116 | See availability |
One way in USD per vehicle, taxes, tolls and luggage included. Round trip is the total for both legs. Drive times are estimates without traffic, calculated from distance and speed limits; those marked ≈ are approximate.