Bayahibe Holidays - Compare Prices & Departure Dates

Bayahibe is a very popular tourist area on the eastern side of the Dominican Republic. Home to around 2000 inhabitants, Bayahibe was originally a fishing village first settled in 1874. Today the fishing boats mostly take holidaymakers from the jettys on the white sandy beaches around the crystal clear Caribbean waters.

Bayahibe is an indigenous word with Baya being a clam-like shell fish and Hibe being a sieve for flour. Even today you can see the heritage of the vast sugar plantations, but now it really is all about complete and utter relaxation on the beaches.

The official currency in Bayahibe is the Dominican Peso (DOP), but you’ll find the US dollar is accepted pretty much everywhere too. The official language is Spanish, but with a Dominicanese dialect. The Bayahibe area is four hours behind the UK.

Visitors who are UK nationals do not need a visa, but you will need a tourist card which is readily available on arrival at the airport and costs 10USD, but this is usually included as part of package holidays.

There are three airports on the Dominican Republic. The closest to Bayahibe is La Romana International Aiport (IATA code LRM) which opened in 2000 in the architectural style of an old sugar mill. La Romana airport is by far the most convenient, being just 25 minutes’ drive from the hotels and beaches of the Bayahibe area.

Although charter airlines from the UK do fly into La Romana, many also fly into Punta Cana airport (IATA code PUJ), or Santa Domingo Las Americas airport (IATA code SDQ). These airports are both around a 90 minute drive away if you head direct to Bayahibe, but a shared package holiday transfer can take up to two and a half hours.

In all cases, flights from London airports to Dominican Republic airports for onward travel to Bayahibe take around nine and a half hours, with flights from Manchester taking 10 hours.

If you arrive as part of a package holiday, your onward transfer to Bayahibe will most likely be included in the cost of your holiday. If you arrive independently, there are lots of shuttle mini bus transfer companies available as well as taxis.

Once in resort, you’ll probably spend most of your time just kicking back and relaxing on the beaches, but if you do get itchy feet there are organised excursions, local buses and bicycle hire available.

A holiday in Bayahibe really is just like finding yourself in your own Bounty advert. It sounds like a cliche, but it is the whitest sand and the bluest seas you’ve ever seen. Life happens at an altogether slower pace at Bayahibe, so just go with the flow.

The beaches in this area stretch for six miles beween Bayahibe and Dominicus. Many are private, to be accessed by hotel guests only, but there are public beaches too. Bayahibe has the honour of being the first ever beach in the Caribbean to be awarded the Blue Flag status of cleanliness and safety.

Macao beach truly is pristine and relaxed, whilst San Juan beach is a watersports and activities-rich beach with catamarans, kayaks and boogie boards to tempt you into the warm waters.

One big reason to go to Bayahibe is the fantastic and accessible scuba diving and snorkelling. There are around 20 official dive sites around the area, including three ship wrecks. There are lots of beach front dive shops and schools where you can hire equipment, book lessons and guided trips to discover the fine coral reefs.

If you do actually fancy moving away from your sunlounger for a bit of exploring, by far the most popular day trip is by boat to the Isla Saona. This small island just off the coast really is the Caribbean at its best with blue green waters and gorgeous beaches. The island (along with Catalinita and Catalina islands) makes up the Parque Nacional del Este, which is a protected nature reserve, making for a most tranquil daytrip from Bayahibe.

You can also take a trip to explore the Cueva de las Marvaillas (caves of wonder). Follow the footpath into the caves to wonder at the stalactites and stalagmites as well as drawings and carvings made by the traditional Tainos people.

If flora is more your thing, it’s well worth popping to the Plantacia Tropical, the botanic garden. Look out for endemic plants such as the Bayahibe Rose.

Culture is on the cards with a visit to Altos de Chavon, which is an artists’ village designed in a 16t century southern Spanish/Italian style by Italian architect Robert Coppa in the 1970s. The village is full of small workshops, artist types, cobbled streets, a quaint church and, of course, plenty of tourist shopping opportunities. Most impressive is a 5000-seat open air amphitheatre which hosts events and concerts.

If you’re looking for something more sporty to do away from the beach, there are golf courses, 6×6 off roading trips, horse riding, dune buggying and even zip lining to try.

Most of Bayahibe is made up of smart all inclusive-type resort hotels and spas with access to their own private area of the beach.

The best-known places to stay include Coral Canoc by Hilton, Iberostar Hacienda Dominicus, Viva Wyndham Dominicus as well as Palace and Venta Club. Around the public beach areas and further in land to the centre of Bayahibe there are other smaller, family run hotel options, but these are few and far between as so many people flock to the beach front hotels.

Whilst not being known as a shopping heaven, Bayahibe has enough shops to tempt you into parting with your hard earned holiday spending money. Especially worth visiting if you like handcrafted goods is the Altos de Chavon village full of small workshops for you to explore.

Elsewhere in Bayahibe centre there are all the touristy shops you need and best buys include rum and cigars.

Hotel culture is king here in Bayahibe and most people tend to eat in their hotel restaurants every night.

If you do venture out, you’ll find a plethora of simple beach front cafes and ‘Jimmys’, which are basically fast food vans, Caribbean style.

Restaurants offer all types of food, with Italian being particularly popular. You will also find restaurants offering everything from Caribbean to International and Cuban cuisine.

One local drink that everyone raves about is Jugo, a fresh fruit based type of smoothie, with ice, water and sometimes milk. Definitely has to be tasted to be believed and banana seems to be the local favourite!

Bayahibe enjoys a tropical climate being on the Domincan Republic in the Caribbean. August is usually very hot and muggy, with the rainy season being between October and May, but this is more pronounced on the north coast of the island. June to to September is traditionally hurricane season, but major hurricanes are rare.

The year round temperature in Bayahibe is an average of 25 degrees.

• The ultimate in relaxing holidays
• Scuba diving and water sports fans
• A pleasant mix of tropical beaches, facility-packed hotels and a little bit of culture

• Those not keen on flying – it’s 10 hours away
• Anyone who really doesn’t fancy those classic all-inclusive type package holidays

Go Dominican Republic – the official tourist office website for the Domincan Republic
Hisponola.com – a local’s eye view of the Bayahibe area

A holiday in Bayahibe is ‘wow’ factor and relaxation guaranteed. An ideal year round tropical destinations for chilling out, enjoying the scuba diving and with just enough sightseeing too.