Dancers twirl to the rhythms of salsa music at El Conuco Restaurant in Santo Domingo. It’s a favorite with visitors seeking local flavor.

From coastal villages such as Bayahibe, Dominican fishermen still take to the sea in small wooden boats, landing their catch with traditional hand-line techniques.

Dominican Republic beaches are favorites with windsurfers and kiteboarders, who harness the trade winds sweeping the island’s eastern and northern shores.

Twilight in Santo Domingo’s Colon Park, where a statue of Christopher Columbus overlooks the Cathedral of Santa Maria la Menor, the oldest cathedral in the Americas.

Known for ecotourism, the coastlines of Barahona Province, in the southwestern region of the DR, are more mountainous and wooded than beaches to the east.