The Best Beaches in and around Sosúa

Sosúa is built around a beach, and that is still the best reason to come. But the bay in town is only the start: within an hour's drive you have calm family water, surf, kitesurfing, wild Atlantic sand and a resort beach with a golf course behind it. This guide walks through the beaches our guests actually use, from the one you can reach on foot to the ones worth a day trip.

Playa Sosúa: the bay in town

The main beach is a sheltered, curved bay of golden sand with calm, clear water — one of the most swimmable beaches on the north coast, which is why families and older guests like it. A reef keeps the waves down, so it is good for a gentle swim and for snorkelling near the rocks at either end. Along the back of the beach runs a strip of small restaurants and bars where you can rent a lounger, order fresh fish and stay in the shade all afternoon.

It is a lively beach, especially at weekends when Dominican families come from Puerto Plata and Santiago. If you are staying at Rizz Suites it is about five minutes on foot; from Casa Linda the free shuttle drops you close by.

Playa Alicia: the quiet neighbour

Just west of the town centre, on the El Batey side, Playa Alicia is a newer beach that formed naturally over the last two decades and has become the local favourite for a quieter swim. There are far fewer vendors, a wide stretch of sand, and the water is usually calm in the morning. It is a short walk from the apartments at Rizz Suites and right in front of Infiniti Blu.

Playa Chiquita

A small cove on the eastern edge of Sosúa, popular with locals, with a couple of simple places to eat. Worth a stop if you want a change of scene without driving anywhere.

Cabarete Beach and Kite Beach

Fifteen minutes east, Cabarete's long bay is the north coast's social beach: restaurants and bars with tables on the sand, a steady afternoon wind and a surf-town atmosphere. Kite Beach, at the western end, is where the kitesurfers launch — even if you never touch a kite, watching a hundred of them in the air at four in the afternoon is one of the sights of the coast. Swimming is fine in the morning before the wind picks up. We wrote a separate guide to Cabarete and its wind.

Playa Encuentro

A few minutes past Cabarete, Encuentro is the surf beach: consistent waves, several surf schools, and a laid-back crowd. It is not a swimming beach for small children, but for a surf lesson or a long walk it is the best on this stretch of coast.

Playa Grande

About an hour east near Río San Juan, Playa Grande is the beach people photograph: a wide arc of sand, cliffs, palms and proper Atlantic waves. Go for the scenery and the fish restaurants, swim with care — the currents are stronger than in Sosúa — and combine it with a stop at the Laguna Gri-Gri boat trip in Río San Juan.

Playa Dorada and Playa Cofresí

West of Puerto Plata, about 30 to 40 minutes from Sosúa, Playa Dorada is a calm resort beach with a golf course behind it, and Playa Cofresí next door is home to Ocean World. Both are easy half-day trips, and both are on the way to the Puerto Plata cable car if you want to make a full day of it — see our guide to things to do on the north coast.

Practical tips

• Loungers and umbrellas on Playa Sosúa are rented from the restaurants; ordering lunch usually covers the chair.

• Bring small peso notes for water, coconuts and tips — vendors rarely have change for large bills.

• The sun is strong all year; the shade under the almond trees at the back of Playa Sosúa is the coolest spot.

• For Playa Grande and Playa Dorada a rental car or a driver for the day is the easiest option; we can arrange either.

• Public beaches in the Dominican Republic are free — nobody can charge you to walk on the sand.

Whichever beach you choose, you come home to a pool: every InStyle residence has one. If you are still deciding where to stay, our guide to villa or apartment walks through the options.