Cuba or Dominican Republic โ where is it better to relax in 2021
The Caribbean islands are considered a heavenly place to relax. You can spend it surrounded by beach exotics of the tropics. Over 50 islands of ancient Antilia, located between North and South America, call for interesting entertainment, acquaintance with an interesting historical past. The question of which country to visit during the next trip always arises. The choice is almost made. The last step is to analyze the information โ where to go to rest in Cuba or the Dominican Republic.
The best time to relax
Cuba is open for tourism all year round. The country is located on a long island with a diverse topography and different weather conditions. The combined influence of the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea create seasonal stages in Cuba's climate. Conventionally, they are divided into dry (October-May) and wet (June-September).
The peak of the beach season lasts from November to April. The best time to visit many people call the period from November to April. At this time, the air temperature is +28ยฐC. The absence of stuffiness, extreme heat, hurricanes makes it possible to endure even long excursions well.
The tropical climate of the Dominican Republic allows you to relax here all year round. The relief, the direction of the winds create a microclimate at every resort in the country. This must be considered before the trip. Experts advise to rest in the Dominican Republic from December to March. In the so-called โwinter periodโ it is hot, dry, the sea water is warm and reaches +26ยฐC. Rest on the white, clean beaches is considered the most comfortable. At this time, the weather is cooler on the northern coast of the country.
Rain season
In Cuba, the rains begin in May. Most often, showers are of a short duration and occur in the evening, at night. They dampen the heat, which stays at +32ยฐC until sunset. Even on a cloudy day, it is necessary to use a protective cream. The level of harmful solar radiation in May reaches its maximum value. Hurricanes rarely form, despite the appearance of strong winds. It forms high waves on the sea coast of Cuba.
The rainy season creates excellent conditions for windsurfers. In the southern part of the island, the sea is calmer at this time. Bathing in the sea under a tropical downpour attracts many tourists. Moreover, at this time it is warmer in the water than in the air. The number of tourists at this time in Cuba is reduced. This affects the prices of travel and the emergence of the possibility of a secluded beach holiday. The June rains of the wet season are good for enduring the heat.
The warm, humid weather of the Dominican Republic is complicated for recreation by strong hurricanes and rains. The conditional rainy season starts from mid-May and lasts until October. But there are no such showers as in the countries of Southeast Asia. For example, in the resort of Puerto Plata, there is more precipitation in winter than in summer. Strong hurricanes are considered a serious complication that interferes with carefree swimming in the sea, sunbathing on the beaches. Their season coincides with the rainy season. At many resorts at this time, swimming in the sea is difficult, dangerous due to floods.
View prices for tours to the Dominican Republic
Popular resorts
You can fly to any resort in Cuba by local flights. Arriving in Havana, you can stay among the luxurious nature, snow-white beaches, in the realm of eternal holiday. And spend a wonderful holiday here. If you wish to travel around the country, the following resort areas of Cuba are offered:
Resorts of the Dominican Republic are located on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Bavaro is considered a popular recreation area on the Atlantic coast. In the southern part of the Dominican Republic (Juan Dolio, Boca Chica), among the rocky shores, numerous coral reefs, there are small beach recreation areas. Modern hotels have been built in the areas of La Romana and Bayahibe.
Sunken ships attract the eyes of divers around the world to explore the seabed. In the northern part of the country, the resorts of Puerto Plata, Cabarete, Sosua are considered popular. Windsurfers come here. Championships are held on the beaches of Cabarete. The best resorts in the Dominican Republic have grown on the Samana Peninsula.
Entertainment
It is impossible to come to Cuba and not find yourself in a general holiday, fun. The proposed programs of active recreation include boat trips, sports water activities, trips around the area. The following activities are of interest:
The main entertainment in the Dominican Republic is considered to be all events taking place on amazing beaches in coastal waters. Resting in the resort of Punta Canu, it is proposed to visit Manati Park. Performance of smiling dolphins, joint swimming with nurse sharks, walks around the neighborhood with a visit to the ancient village of Taino. Behind the reliable mesh of the underwater park Marinarium, which protects from dangerous inhabitants of the ocean, you can safely swim and even touch the stingray with your hand.
Along with marine entertainment, you should definitely look at the ancient sights of the country: the forts of San Diego, Casa de Bastidas, Casa de Ovando, the Alcazar de Colon Palace, the city of San Diego. Have a fun night out at Imagine Punta Cana. It is located in three halls of real caves, turned into dance halls, inside the rock.
Excursions
Cuba attracts tourists not only with a beach holiday. It is interesting to get acquainted with the exotic culture, traditions, history of the country. Moreover, friendly, hospitable Cubans are ready to talk about it for hours. Many excursions allow you to plunge into the revolutionary spirit of the island, to understand its life. These trips include:
Many interesting excursions are organized on the island, starting in specific resort areas.
On the territory of the Dominican Republic there are a large number of natural, man-made attractions that are of interest to residents of different countries of the world. You can get to know them along with excursions for a long time.
Only in the capital of the country, the city of Santo Domingo, which has preserved the ancient architecture of churches, cathedrals, palaces, you can find a lot of interesting things. For example, the Columbus lighthouse is a majestic building with the tomb of a navigator. Among the list of popular excursions are the following offers:
Hotels
The place of residence during the holidays is of great importance. I would like to spend it in comfortable, ideal conditions for the chosen type of vacation. In Cuba, you can take advantage of the following offers when staying in Havana:
The Dominican Republic has a large selection of 5 star complexes that meet international standards. Even among hotels with fewer stars, there are no bad hotels here. Many hotels are located in low buildings of elegant architecture, built in colonial style or real bungalows. For example, as in The Grand Reserve at Paradisus Palma Real 5 in the form of a two-story bungalow.
Popular are Paradisus Punta Cana, Majestic Colonial. The most popular 5-star complex is Catalonia Santo Domingo in Santo Domingo. It has its own beach, swimming pools, SPA center, restaurant. All resorts in the Dominican Republic are modern, comfortable hotels.
Service
Cuba offers resort recreation areas with different service options in the existing infrastructure. It always has a lot of elements related to servicing vacationers on beach areas. Numerous sports equipment rental offices, diving centers, schools for teaching various sports activities. Yachts, boats, fishing boats are available everywhere. The opportunity to have fun here is for 24 hours.
A convenient offer of service is considered to be booking a place in a hotel, air tickets, ordering an excursion. All hotels use the service of the necessary meals for residents (buffet, lunches, dinners in restaurants, food delivery to the room, breakfasts). Most often, vacationers are concerned about the poor performance of the Internet, a large number of insects, and the lack of sufficient means of protection against them. The disadvantages of service maintenance differ in different seasons of stay on the island.
Large and small resort regions of the Dominican Republic are famous for their thoughtful service, numerous infrastructure offers that make it possible to have fun at sea, in the ocean. Wander through the mountains, admire the rocks, beautiful scenery on interesting islands. Countless bars, restaurants, nightclubs attract many young people here.
Holiday prices
By choosing a specific travel time, duration, flight option to the country, you can roughly calculate the necessary financial costs. If the journey starts in Moscow, then the price level will be as follows:
You can buy a tour to Cuba at a bargain price right from home. It is necessary to find time to analyze offers from different tour operators and arrange everything in advance.
The lowest prices for accommodation in the Dominican Republic are observed in May, September, October. In December, you can become a happy participant in a burning tour. When departing from Moscow, the cost for one traveler can be seen from the proposed table.
Demand for tours, and hence their price is considered an unpredictable factor. It is necessary to closely monitor the offers of many tour operators. Buy a last-minute tour to the Dominican Republic, it is profitable to choose a hotel, make an โearly bookingโ.
All inclusive or breakfast
When buying a tour to Cuba, there is always the possibility of choosing a method of eating during the holidays. Prepayment is made at the agency and after arrival at the hotel. When making a prepayment, many restaurants in Cuban hotels do not provide all the menus, but only specific items from the entire list of dishes. To visit the restaurant in the evening, you need to make a special (paid) table reservation.
If the plans of vacationers consider a large number of excursions, then you should not immediately book lunches and dinners in a restaurant. You can arrange only โbreakfastsโ. A convenient type of food is a โbuffetโ, built according to the self-service method. Nowadays, rooms with a kitchen for self-catering have become popular.
This is convenient for a large number of trips around the country, the presence of small children. During a beach holiday in Cuba, it is recommended to use the all-inclusive system. Three times a day it is not difficult to go to a restaurant and taste delicious local cuisine.
The resorts of the Dominican Republic have a well-developed food system for vacationers based on the well-known โNutrition Conceptโ. Her offers, opportunities can be found in detail when buying a tour. The main directions of nutrition:
Beaches
A distinctive feature of the beaches of Cuba is their relative freedom at any time of the year, free admission, unusually soft white sand. Funny concerts, festivals, musical meetings are held day and night. Sunrises, sunsets over pristine nature attract many guests to the beaches. Among the huge number of large, small, private beaches, the following beach areas are considered popular:
Luxurious hotels, turquoise sea, majestic palm trees are offered in abundance in the Dominican Republic, which has grown among the waves of the sea. Not every day you can safely be among this wild beauty. High waves, gusts of wind make it difficult to swim, require safety precautions. But this does not prevent visiting and loving these heavenly places on our planet. Beach holidays, taking into account the climatic seasons, can be spent on the following beaches:
shopping
There are no large shopping centers in Cuba filled with profitable goods. Most often, souvenirs are brought in memory of a wonderful vacation among untouched nature. Among them are cigars, rum, coffee. Crocodile skin products, bright tropical shirts. Shops are open from 9 am to 6 pm. Sunday is a day off.
The development of tourism in the Dominican Republic has changed the situation with the acquisition of various goods in the country. Now modern shopping centers have grown in large resort cities, many goods from different countries have appeared. To go only for them from Russia, for example, is not profitable. But you can buy clothes from American firms during the summer season during your holidays. It should be borne in mind that there is no refund (tax free) in the Dominican Republic.
You should always bargain for lower prices. Also how to check the date of receipt of goods. Humid climate provokes deterioration of seams after several months of storage. Discounts and other promotions that reduce the price of goods are regularly held in shopping centers.
Conclusion
The choice of traveling to one of the countries with equal financial opportunities largely depends on the age of the travelers. For young people dancing, singing, having fun all day long, at night, the first trip is better spent in Cuba. Those wishing to lie on secluded beaches, be alone with amazing nature, do sports activities on the water, in the mountains, the road lies in the Dominican Republic. Next year, do the opposite. A tropical paradise, intriguing obscurity is equally present in the two Caribbean countries.