Santo Domingo Dominicana
122
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Costa Cruises (108 Cruises)
Costa Favolosa
53 Cruises
Costa Serena
55 Cruises
Crystal Cruises (7 Cruises)
Holland America Line (1 Cruises)
Windstar Cruises (6 Cruises)
Star Pride
6 Cruises
Frequently Asked Questions
Two terminals share the calls: Don Diego, on the Ozama River right below the Colonial Zone walls, and Sansouci, on the opposite bank. From Don Diego the historic quarter is a five-minute walk; from Sansouci, count on a short five to ten minute taxi ride.
Yes, and from Don Diego it is the best way. The Ciudad Colonial is entirely walkable: about ten cobbled streets laid out on the first grid plan in the Americas. Wear good shoes, as the paving is uneven.
Because it all started here. Founded in the late 1400s, it is the first European city in the Americas, well before Havana or Cartagena. Its Colonial Zone is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it is no frozen museum: people live there, sing there, and play dominoes under the balconies.
Fortaleza Ozama, Calle Las Damas, the Catedral Primada de América, the Alcázar de Colón on Plaza de España, and the El Conde pedestrian street. All of it sits within a few hundred metres, with no transport needed.
The first cathedral on the American continent, built between 1514 and 1540 on Parque Colón. Gothic in its vaults, plateresque in its gilded doorway. Its cool interior makes it a smart stop during the hottest part of the day.
The palace built around 1510 for Diego Columbus, son of Christopher and viceroy of the Indies, on Plaza de España. Its rooms recreate the furniture, tapestries and tableware of a sixteenth-century viceregal court, and its loggias still watch ships pass on the Ozama, exactly as they did five hundred years ago.
The pedestrian street crossing the Colonial Zone east to west. Tight domino games, merengue spilling from shops, amber and larimar dealers, chocolate and cigar workshops where roasting and rolling happen in front of you, tasting included.
The Dominican peso, with US dollars widely accepted in the Colonial Zone, usually at a less favourable rate. The language is Spanish; English works in tourist businesses, French very little.
Yes, in measured doses. The ramparts, the Tower of Homage at Fortaleza Ozama and the ruins of San Francisco monastery appeal to children. But cobblestones, heat and walking distances tire the youngest quickly: plan shaded breaks and plenty of water.
December through April, when the heat stays manageable for walking the cobbled streets. In any season the temperature climbs fast by midday: save the museums and cathedral for the hot hours and start early.
