Punta Cana
| Punta Cana | |
|---|---|
  Punta Cana Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic | |
| Coordinates: 18°32′N 068°22′W / 18.533°N 68.367°WCoordinates: 18°32′N 068°22′W / 18.533°N 68.367°W | |
| Country | Dominican Republic |
| Province | La Altagracia Province |
| Municipality | Higüey |
| Incorporated (town) | 27 June 2006[1] |
| Government | |
| • Mayor of Higüey | Karina Aristy (Social Christian Reformist Party, 2010–2016) |
| • Director of Verón-Punta Cana | Radhamés Carpio Castillo (Social Christian Reformist Party, 2010–2016) |
| Area[2] | |
| • Total | 475.3 km2 (183.5 sq mi) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 43,982 |
| • Density | 93/km2 (240/sq mi) |
| [2] | |
| Time zone | Atlantic (UTC−4) |
| Area code(s) | 809, 829, and 849 |
Punta Cana is part of the Punta Cana-Bávaro-Veron-Macao municipal district, in the municipality of Higüey, in La Altagracia Province, the easternmost province of the Dominican Republic. The area has beaches and balnearios which face both the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, and it has been a popular tourist destination since the 1970s.
Geography and climate
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The Punta Cana area has an estimated population of 100,000, with an annual growth rate of 6%.[3] To the north, it borders the village and beach of Cabeza de Toro, and the Bávaro and El Cortecito beaches. The nearest city, the 500-year-old Higüey, is 45 kilometres (28 mi) away, which takes about an hour to reach by car. European entrepreneurs, particularly Spanish hotel chains, own all but two of the over 50 megaresorts at the Punta Cana tourism destination.
The province’s 100-kilometre (62 mi) coastline tends to be mildly windy. The ocean waters are mainly shallows, with several natural marine pools in which visitors can bathe without danger. From north to south, the main beaches are Uvero Alto, Macao, Arena Gorda, Bávaro, El Cortecito, Las Corales and Cabeza de Toro, all north of the cape; and Cabo Engaño, Punta Cana and Juanillo south of the cape.
Bávaro is the area starting from Cabeza de Toro until Macao Beach. As the hotels started to rise along the East coast, Bavaro itself became a center of services with shopping malls, fast-food stores, drug stores, fine restaurants, banks, clinics, workshops, supermarkets, and schools. The major town in the district is Veron, now bigger than Higüey in territory, a spontaneous – and poor – urban development running along the original road from the west. Verón, last name of the French proprietor of a timberline business in the early 1930s, is now the base-city for hotel workers and related. It has, besides Bávaro, one of the only four gas stations in Punta Cana. The very next is located 48 kilometres (30 mi) west in Higüey, at the Fruisa crossroads, with a new Texaco gas station opened April 2010, 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Macao beach, and the new Shell gas station close to the airport (on the highway Coral) opened at the end of 2010.
Climate
Punta Cana features a tropical wet and dry climate under the Köppen climate classification. The weather is fairly consistent all year, with an average temperature of 30 °C (86 °F). The hot and humid season lasts from May to October, and during the day temperatures might reach 35 °C (95 °F). From November to March, temperatures during the evening are around 20 °C (68 °F). Very little rain falls around the area, primarily because of the mostly flat landscape, a combination of savanna and mountains.
| Climate data for Punta Cana | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 31.0 (87.8) |
30.7 (87.3) |
31.2 (88.2) |
32.0 (89.6) |
33.9 (93) |
34.4 (93.9) |
34.7 (94.5) |
34.5 (94.1) |
34.6 (94.3) |
33.7 (92.7) |
32.7 (90.9) |
32.5 (90.5) |
34.7 (94.5) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 27.7 (81.9) |
27.6 (81.7) |
28.1 (82.6) |
28.7 (83.7) |
29.6 (85.3) |
30.3 (86.5) |
30.5 (86.9) |
30.7 (87.3) |
30.9 (87.6) |
30.5 (86.9) |
29.4 (84.9) |
28.1 (82.6) |
29.3 (84.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 24.8 (76.6) |
24.7 (76.5) |
25.0 (77) |
25.5 (77.9) |
26.4 (79.5) |
27.2 (81) |
27.5 (81.5) |
27.7 (81.9) |
27.6 (81.7) |
27.0 (80.6) |
26.3 (79.3) |
25.2 (77.4) |
26.2 (79.2) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 21.9 (71.4) |
21.8 (71.2) |
22.0 (71.6) |
22.5 (72.5) |
23.2 (73.8) |
24.1 (75.4) |
24.6 (76.3) |
24.8 (76.6) |
24.4 (75.9) |
23.6 (74.5) |
23.2 (73.8) |
22.3 (72.1) |
23.2 (73.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 16.0 (60.8) |
14.0 (57.2) |
14.8 (58.6) |
15.2 (59.4) |
16.0 (60.8) |
14.9 (58.8) |
19.0 (66.2) |
17.9 (64.2) |
15.0 (59) |
15.0 (59) |
15.9 (60.6) |
14.0 (57.2) |
14.0 (57.2) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 66.4 (2.614) |
54.2 (2.134) |
54.2 (2.134) |
69.2 (2.724) |
124.4 (4.898) |
103.9 (4.091) |
78.3 (3.083) |
103.1 (4.059) |
101.7 (4.004) |
152.1 (5.988) |
116.6 (4.591) |
78.5 (3.091) |
1,102.6 (43.409) |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 10.0 | 6.8 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 10.1 | 9.2 | 9.1 | 10.0 | 10.4 | 11.4 | 11.5 | 11.0 | 112.8 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 82.8 | 81.4 | 81.2 | 82.1 | 83.0 | 82.2 | 82.3 | 82.6 | 82.5 | 83.0 | 82.2 | 83.2 | 82.4 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 256.9 | 241.9 | 278.8 | 265.0 | 249.7 | 255.1 | 268.3 | 271.2 | 245.2 | 242.7 | 238.3 | 233.2 | 3,046.3 |
| Source #1: World Meteorological Organization[4] | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: NOAA[5] | |||||||||||||
Activities and landmarks
The area offers water attractions, such as racing speedboats, catamaran sailing, party boats, deep sea sport fishing, discovery cruises, floating spas, private yachts, swimming with dolphins, snorkeling cruises, swimming with sharks and stingrays, whale watching, reef exploring and visiting small islands like Catalina and Saona.
The capital city Santo Domingo, and Los Haitises National Park, Samaná, are nearby. The Basilica Catholic Monument, built in 1962 and designed by two French architects, is in nearby Higüey, the 500-year-old capital of the Province.
There are several resort developments: the Puntacana Resort and Club, Cap Canaone and the Majestic Elegance just to name a few.
Transportation
Air
The Punta Cana International Airport is one of the busiest and best connected airports in the Caribbean. In 2014, Punta Cana received over 5.9 million passengers, making it the busiest airport in the Caribbean.[6] Grupo Puntacana built the Punta Cana International Airport in 1984 to facilitate tourism in the area. It was the western hemisphere’s first privately owned international airport.
Bus
The buses run through most of the main town and stop running at 10:00 pm.
References
- ↑ (Spanish) Law -2006. Senate of the Dominican Republic.
- 1 2 (Spanish) 9th Census of Population and Housing (2010), General Report. National Bureau of Statistics.
- ↑ Valdez Architects & Associates. 2008–2009 Zoning Plan assigned by the Hotel Association.
- ↑ "World Weather Information Service - Punta Cana". World Meteorological Organization. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
- ↑ "Climate Normals for Cabo Engaño (Punta Cana) 1961-1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
- ↑ "Punta Cana Facts Sheet" (PDF). Punta Cana International Airport.
External links
Media related to Punta Cana at Wikimedia Commons
Punta Cana travel guide from Wikivoyage