Sosúa

Sosúa is a compact town wrapped around a sheltered horseshoe bay about 10 minutes east of Puerto Plata's airport, which sits inside the municipality. It has an unusual history: in 1940, the Trujillo government accepted Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany and Austria under an offer made at the Évian Conference, and several hundred settled here, founding the dairy and meat company Productos Sosúa. Their descendants still maintain a small synagogue and the Museo Judío de Sosúa, which tells that story.

Today the town has two main sides. El Batey, east of the bay, is the tourist and expat area, with hotels, restaurants, dive shops and the main street, Calle Pedro Clisante. Los Charamicos, to the west, is busier and more Dominican, with colmados, music and a lot of street life. Between them is Sosúa Beach, the main reason people come: calm, clear water that you can swim and snorkel in most days of the year, which is rare on this Atlantic coast. Just north is the smaller, quieter Playa Alicia, with the sunset tables of Waterfront Playa Alicia.

Accommodation is mostly small hotels, apartments and condos, plus the all-inclusive Casa Marina Sosúa on Playa Alicia. Prices are moderate, and long-stay rentals are common, which gives the town a large expat community.

There is a side of Sosúa worth knowing about before you book. In the late 1990s and 2000s, the town became known for sex tourism. A crackdown since the late 2000s has reduced it a lot, and the daytime beach scene is family-friendly, but parts of the nightlife strip around Pedro Clisante still have that edge at night. Families usually prefer to stay near Playa Alicia or in quieter streets and eat early.

Sosúa works well as a central base. Cabarete is about 20 minutes east, Puerto Plata about 30 minutes west, and the airport is the closest of any town in the region. Diving and snorkeling trips, deep-sea fishing and day tours leave from here.

Who it suits: snorkelers and divers, families who want calm water, travelers on a moderate budget and long-stay visitors. Who should look elsewhere: travelers who want a polished resort zone, or a wind and surf scene, for which Cabarete is the obvious choice.