Picktheendofthebay,thenthebed
Surf camps, guesthouses, apartments and hotels along a single beach — where you sleep decides what you wake up to.
Where to sleep, and why
Surfers, early risers
Walk or moto to the waves before breakfast. Quiet at night; the town is a short ride away.
Wind sports
Step from your room to the launch. Busiest in summer.
First-timers, groups
Everything on foot: beach restaurants, bars, supermarket. Noisier.
Families, a bigger choice
A sheltered bay and more hotels, fifteen minutes west. You will drive to surf.
Getting away
An hour east: long beaches, a few hotels, the best waves on a big winter swell.
Big-city nights
The provincial capital with the airport, the Malecón and La Puntilla. A base for the west, not for Cabarete.
If you are coming to learn
For a week of coaching with the room, the breakfast and the board sorted, our pick is Swell Surf Camp in Cabarete: the lessons are at Encuentro every morning, the camp is walking distance from town, and the people who run it surf. We say this because we have stayed there and sent friends, not because anyone paid for the line.
If a camp is not your thing, the Encuentro end has independent guesthouses within a short ride of the schools, and the town centre has apartments by the week.
“Where you sleep decides what you wake up to. Sleep near the wave you want.”
Guide rule no. 1
Stays we have checked
Swell Surf CampSurf camp with coaching included · Cabarete, walk to town · from [PRICE]Encuentro lessons · pool · breakfast02
[GUESTHOUSE NAME]Independent guesthouse near Encuentro · from [PRICE]Encuentro end03
[APARTMENT NAME]Beachfront apartments by the week · town centre · from [PRICE]Town centre04
[HOTEL NAME]Small hotel on the bay · Sosúa · from [PRICE]Sosúa05
[HOTEL NAME]Beach hotel for the east · Playa Grande · from [PRICE]Río San Juan and Playa Grande