The official currency is the Dominican Peso. But US dollars and Euro are accepted in many places. It is easy to change money locally. Dominican banks offer accounts in Pesos , USD and Euros.

Cabarete:

Cabarete is a small and unique beach town with lots of International travelers and tourists , it's claim to fame; it's one of the 10 best places in the world to windsurf and kitesurf, nearby locations like "El Encuentro" also offer great conditions for surfing.

Cabarete was discovered more than 20 years ago by Canadian windsurfers who found out that this unique beach and its bay offered perfect conditions! The word got around fast and Cabarete became one of the favorite vacation spots in the Dominican Republic.

On the beach of Cabarete you will find many bars, restaurants and water-sport schools and rental centers. In a geographical sense Cabarete's beach stretches a one mile distance in an open arc, there are rock ledges at both ends in close proximity to the reef. This reef lies offshore towards the mid point of this arc, creating a uniquely sheltered bay on this stretch of coast.

At night time some of the restaurants turn into discotheques for those who like to dance to the Caribbean rhythm. Most of Cabarete's nightlife revolves around the beach and it's bars and restaurants.

Cabarete is a consummate water-sports resort town!

Sosua:

Located 10 minutes from the International airport of Puerto Plata.

Sosua was founded by Jewish immigrants around the 1940's . Still many businesses such as supermakets , Dairy farms and industries are owned by the Jewish families.

In the 90's Sosua became a well known all inclusive tourist destination. Sosua bay and other offshore reefs offer some of the best diving on the north coast. There are numerous dive shops on the beach and in town.

Sosua is divided into 3 parts . Coming from the airport you hit "Sosua Bajo" first, followed by the old part called "Los Charamicos". In bot of these parts the population is mainly Dominican. The newer part where most of the hotels , restaurants and residential areas are located is called "El Batey". "Los Charamicos" and "El Batey" are connected through the main beach inside of a horseshoe shaped bay.

Due to its very mixed crowd of foreigners (German, Swiss, Italian, American, Canadian, French, Spanish and Russian) living in the area , you will find an interesting European/ American influenced subculture, complete with its bakeries, butchers, restaurants, bars, pubs, travel agencies etc... .

Puerto Plata:

Cabarete belongs to the province of Puerto Plata. The center of Puerto Plata is around 20 miles west of Sosua, west of the international airport POP. Here you will find commercial centers , big supermarkets, movie theaters and many typical Dominican bars, restaurant and discos .

Puerto Plata has a beautifull Oceandrive, called "Malecon" . Some nice restaurants with oceanview are worth a visit and for those who like to walk, the oceandrive is around 3 miles long! Behind the town towers "Pico Isabel de Torres" a mountain 2600 feet or nearly 800 meters high, dominating the landscape.

Other Regions of the Dominican Republic!

Punta Cana and Bavaro

In contrast to the beaches on the Dominican Republic north coast the ones along the east coast, around Punta Cana and Bavaro, are beautifully white and well groomed and the water is classic Caribbean turquoise blue and clear. There is virtually no run off from rivers in this region. These beaches are lined with tall palms, and stretch for mile after mile. Numerous, all-inclusive resorts in this area are like small, self-contained cities. The resort offerings include swimming pools and watersports activities, different restaurant and nightlife options (including casinos), golf courses, spas, tropical gardens and even mini-zoos. All resorts are far from most of local communities, so it requires extra effort to make it a more active or cultural vacation and to get to know the country and its people.
Most visitors to the "East Cape" fly directly into Punta Cana Airport, due to it's is remoteness,  it is quite a drive from most of the country's other international airports.

Bayahibe Village, Bayahibe Resort Town

Bayahibe is located just east of Casa de Campo, it is the next (south west) tourist destination to Punta Cana/ Bavaro. You can reach it by a 2 hour drive via the capital city of Higüey. The town itself is more or less a small fishing village surrounded by large vacation resorts. Bayahibe provides one of the entrances to the Parque Nacional del Este and Isla Soana. It is also where you can hire a boat for a ride over to Isla Saona, a 25 by 5 km sized island. This picturesque island is a popular excursion due to its beautiful white sand beach, tall coconut palms and great snorkeling, with occasional sightings of manatees and bottlenose dolphins.

Destination Wedding/ Photography

Punta Cana, Bavaro Beach and Bayahibe have become two of the favored resort locations for Caribbean destination weddings. I work in the beach resorts there as wedding photographer same as here on the north coast.