Cabarete Beach

Cabarete Beach is the curving bay in front of the town of Cabarete, and it works more like a main street than a quiet beach. Restaurants, bars, small hotels and surf shops line the sand for well over a kilometer, and by evening many of them set tables right on the beach. If you want a beach where you can swim in the morning, watch the kites in the afternoon and eat grilled fish with your feet in the sand at night, this is it.

The water is shaped by a reef offshore that breaks the bigger Atlantic swell, so the inside is usually manageable for swimming, especially in the morning before the wind fills in. From around midday the trade winds and a thermal breeze build, and the bay turns into one of the best-known windsurfing and kitesurfing spots in the Caribbean. Cabarete Bay has hosted the Professional Windsurfing World Cup and professional kite events, and the annual Master of the Ocean competition is held here. In the afternoon, the water is choppy, windy and full of sails. Swim early, and stay inside the area where people are already swimming.

There are no lifeguard towers along most of the bay, and the currents near the reef gaps can be strong, so weak swimmers and small children should stay in the shallows. The sand is golden and fairly coarse in places. Sargassum reaches Cabarete in some summers; beachfront businesses rake their own sections, but coverage is uneven.

The beach itself is free. Chairs usually come with ordering food or drinks at the restaurant behind them. Getting here is easy if you are staying in town; almost every hotel is a short walk away. Drivers can park along the main road and walk through one of the many passages between buildings.

The western end of the bay, where the reef comes closer, is where many kiters launch, and further west still is Kite Beach, the main school zone. To the east the beach runs on past the edge of town and gets quieter.

Who it is best for: social travelers, water sports fans, couples who want walkable nightlife, and long-stay digital nomads. Who it is not for: families who want glassy water all day or anyone who wants a resort-style beach with lounge service. For a calmer swim, Sosúa Beach is 20 minutes west. For surf, Encuentro Beach is a ten-minute drive.

Best time: mornings for swimming year-round; afternoons from June to August and December to April if you want to watch or join the wind sports.