Dominican Republic

Travel Dominican Republic on your gap year. Ideas for gap year travel to Dominican Republic.

Dominican Republic gap year - Gap year programmes in Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is located on the eastern side of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. The Dominican Republic's primary attraction is its ‘picture postcard' tropical beaches - with their white sands, crystal clear water and abundant palm trees. There is, however, plenty more in the Dominican Republic for the gap year traveller to explore and discover. Hispaniola is regarded as the most geographically diverse of all the Caribbean islands and the Dominican Republic is also home to mountain ranges, tropical rainforests, alpine wildernesses and some spectacular waterfalls and rivers. If you enjoy wildlife then the Dominican Republic is also home to a diverse range of flora and fauna. If you fancy learning Spanish or working on a people-based volunteer project during your gap year then Real Gap has some excellent programmes in the Dominican Republic as well.

While Santo Domingo is an exciting and historic city to explore, as with many other areas of the Dominican Republic it has suffered greatly from the country's recent financial problems. This situation has left many families in the Dominican Republic impoverished. Real Gap operates several excellent volunteer programmes within the Dominican Republic dedicated to alleviating these social problems as much as possible. A good example of one of the projects Real Gap operates in the Dominican Republic is the ‘Learn Spanish and Volunteer - Working With Children Project in the Dominican Republic.' This particular project enables volunteers to make a real difference to the lives of impoverished children in the Dominican Republic by helping them in a number of key areas - from their basic care through to their education and social development. The Dominican Republic gap year programme includes four hours a day Spanish tuition at a local language school. Learning the language really adds to the overall experience in the Dominican Republic and volunteers also stay with local families near the language school. All these experiences mean that, as well as helping out on a really rewarding volunteer project, participants also get to know the Dominican Republic on a far more intimate and in-depth level than the average tourist.

If you are spending a large part of your gap year in Latin America, whether or not you want to help out on a volunteer project or not, it's an excellent idea to learn some Spanish at a local language school. The Dominican Republic is as good a place as any to learn the lingo and Real Gap's ‘Learn Spanish - Dominican Republic Language School' programme helps you do just this. Again, tuition is four hours a day and there are plenty of additional organised activities and excursions. Learning Spanish, while not absolutely essential, allows travellers in the Dominican Republic - and Latin America generally - to communicate far more easily with local people and greatly enhances the overall experience. If you plan to do some volunteer work at some point during your time in the Dominican Republic or in any other Spanish-speaking country, then learning the language is important.

Most travellers visit the Dominican Republic for one main reason - its amazing beaches. Beaches in the Dominican Republic range from quiet and idyllic spots to the busy resorts with all their attendant nightlife. Which beaches you head to in the Dominican Republic will be determined by what your idea of relaxation is. The beach town of Cabarete has an enormous and beautiful bay and is one of the best places in the Dominican Republic for surfing. There is also plenty of nightlife in Cabarete and if you want to party in the Dominican Republic this is definitely one of the best places. An equally beautiful, but less developed beach than Cabarete, in the Dominican Republic is Sosua. Sosua is blessed with a long white sand beach lined by coconut trees and is a good alternative is you're after somewhere slightly quieter. There is also some excellent snorkelling and scuba diving throughout the Dominican Republic.

Probably the best area for discovering wildlife in the Dominican Republic is at the Parque Nacional del Este. The park's diverse ecosystem is caused by the fact that its 120 square miles is comprised of a mixture of subtropical humid forest, dry forest and a forest type that falls between the two. 112 known species of bird have been identified in the park, including 8, which are endemic to the Dominican Republic. The park also includes 42 square miles of the Dominican Republic's island territory, thus helping to protect the endangered marine life. 

If your idea of a perfect gap year is relaxing on a beautiful tropical beach in a country where there's also plenty else to see and explore inland then the Dominican Republic is an ideal destination. If you want to spend part of your time doing something a little more constructive on your gap year there are also some excellent language courses and rewarding volunteering projects available in the Dominican Republic.

Dominican Republic gap year - Gap year programmes in Dominican Republic


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