What's on in Punta Cana (Dominican Republic), Dominican Republic through the year

Peak crowds — Virgen de la Altagracia, Dry season and peak weeks

• Nature

  Humpback whales in Samana Bay

  15 Jan – 31 MarWhale season

  Thousands of North Atlantic humpbacks calve in Samana Bay, and the environment ministry opens and closes the watching season by decree each year. It is a long day trip from here, three hours each way, and February is the thick of it.

• Holiday

  Virgen de la Altagracia

  20–22 JanNational holidayClosuresCrowded

  The country's patron day on 21 January, and the basilica at Higuey half an hour inland takes pilgrims through the night. Offices and banks close and the road west of Punta Cana crawls. Source ↗

Still on: Dry season and peak weeks (1 Dec – 30 Apr), Christmas and New Year peak (18 Dec – 5 Jan)

Peak crowds — Dominican Carnival, Dry season and peak weeks

• Festival

  Dominican Carnival

  1 Feb – 5 Mar · usuallyCrowded

  The diablos cojuelos parade every Sunday in February, loudest at La Vega, and the national parade closes it on Santo Domingo's Malecon at the end of the month. Almost none of it reaches the resort strip, so it is a drive. Source ↗

Still on: Humpback whales in Samana Bay (15 Jan – 31 Mar), Dry season and peak weeks (1 Dec – 30 Apr)

Peak crowds — Dominican Carnival, Semana Santa

• Hazard

  Sargassum on the east beaches

  15 Mar – 31 Aug · usuallySargassum season

  Bavaro and Macao face east into the drift and take the brunt of it; hotels rake at dawn and the sheltered coves clear faster. It swings hugely week to week, so a live tracker beats any average. Source ↗

• Nature

  Turtle nesting on the east coast

  15 Mar – 15 Nov · usually

  Hawksbills and the odd leatherback come up the Bavaro and Macao sand from spring to late autumn. The resorts stake the nests off and dim the beach lights; the hatchlings go out after dark.

• Holiday

  Semana Santa

  29 Mar – 5 AprEaster & Holy WeekCrowdedBook early

  Dominicans take the whole week off and drive to the coast, so the east fills with domestic traffic on top of the flights. Expect road checkpoints and restricted alcohol sales around Good Friday. Source ↗

Still on: Humpback whales in Samana Bay (15 Jan – 31 Mar), Dominican Carnival (1 Feb – 5 Mar (usually)), Dry season and peak weeks (1 Dec – 30 Apr)

Peak crowds — Semana Santa, Dry season and peak weeks

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Sargassum on the east beaches (15 Mar – 31 Aug (usually)), Turtle nesting on the east coast (15 Mar – 15 Nov (usually)), Semana Santa (29 Mar – 5 Apr), Dry season and peak weeks (1 Dec – 30 Apr)

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Sargassum on the east beaches (15 Mar – 31 Aug (usually)), Turtle nesting on the east coast (15 Mar – 15 Nov (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Hazard

  Hurricane season

  1 Jun – 30 Nov

  Hispaniola sits in the main track and the risk is loaded into the September and October half of the season. Most weeks pass without a warning, and the resorts price it accordingly, but the change policy is the thing to read. Source ↗

Still on: Sargassum on the east beaches (15 Mar – 31 Aug (usually)), Turtle nesting on the east coast (15 Mar – 15 Nov (usually))

Busy — Summer school-holiday peak, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Summer school-holiday peak

  1 Jul – 31 AugSchool holidaysCrowdedBook early

  The second peak and a different crowd: Dominican, Latin American and Spanish families on school holidays rather than the winter sun crowd. Family rooms and connecting doors go first.

Still on: Sargassum on the east beaches (15 Mar – 31 Aug (usually)), Turtle nesting on the east coast (15 Mar – 15 Nov (usually)), Hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Busy — Summer school-holiday peak, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Sargassum on the east beaches (15 Mar – 31 Aug (usually)), Turtle nesting on the east coast (15 Mar – 15 Nov (usually)), Hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov), Summer school-holiday peak (1 Jul – 31 Aug)

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Turtle nesting on the east coast (15 Mar – 15 Nov (usually)), Hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Turtle nesting on the east coast (15 Mar – 15 Nov (usually)), Hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Turtle nesting on the east coast (15 Mar – 15 Nov (usually)), Hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Peak crowds — Dry season and peak weeks, Christmas and New Year peak

• Season

  Dry season and peak weeks

  1 Dec – 30 AprCrowdedBook early

  The drier half of the year and the reason every seat from the north is full: the trade wind blows most afternoons, the sea flattens, and the all-inclusive strip runs at capacity from mid-December to mid-April.

• Holiday

  Christmas and New Year peak

  18 Dec – 5 JanChristmas & New YearCrowdedBook early

  The most expensive fortnight of the year here by a wide margin, with minimum-stay rules at most of the bigger resorts and New Year's Eve dinners sold separately. Book it in spring or take January instead. Source ↗