Dominican Republic
La Romana
La Romana: Altos de Chavón and the Islands of Catalina and Saona
Altos de Chavón was built from stone blasted out for a nearby road, and its 5,000-seat amphitheater has hosted Frank Sinatra and Julio Iglesias. La Romana is also a cigar town, where Montecristo, H. Upmann and Romeo y Julieta are made at the Tabacalera de Garcia factory, and its Toros del Este play in the Dominican Winter League. Use registered taxis, and keep your bag on the side away from the road, because thieves on motorcycles snatch bags.
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What Cruise Travelers Should Know About La Romana
Cruise ships berth at the tourist terminal of the Port of La Romana, at the mouth of the Río Dulce, also called the Romana River. The owner, the Central Romana Corporation, built this cruise pier on the east side of the river after its older commercial port on the west bank ran out of room.
- The cruise pier opened in December 2002, when the Costa Marina arrived.
- It has two docking platforms, an east dock of 255 meters and a west dock of 225 meters, a passenger terminal of 1,000 square meters, and parking for 24 coaches.
- The port is privately owned and supervised by the Dominican port authority, and it also handles sugar, cargo and fuel.
- Book taxis from a registered provider; ride-hailing apps are widely available.
La Romana on Your Own
The simplest independent day in La Romana is a taxi to one place and back, either Altos de Chavón above the Chavón River or the town's central square and church. Agree the trip and the pickup time with a registered taxi before you leave the port.
- Altos de Chavón: This stone village, begun in 1976 and finished in the early 1980s, has cobbled lanes, restaurants, craft shops, galleries, an archaeology museum and a 5,000-seat amphitheater.
- The town center: Santa Rosa de Lima Church, Central Park, Rotonda Park and the Monument to the Bible are the main landmarks of the town itself.
- The islands: Catalina and Saona are reached by boat, and La Romana is the closest town for both. Bayahíbe, a fishing village founded in 1874, is about 16 kilometers east.
- Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own, so build in time for traffic on the way back.
- Stay alert: Thieves on motorcycles snatch bags, and bank card cloning is a risk, so keep your bag on the side away from the road and your card in sight when you pay.
Getting Around La Romana
Registered taxis and ride-hailing apps are the options to use in La Romana. Public buses and the shared cars called carros públicos run too, but they are often uninsured, not registered and poorly maintained.
- Motorbike taxis, called motoconchos, are often driven badly and do not always provide a helmet.
- Bayahíbe is about 25 minutes by road from La Romana.
- San Pedro de Macorís is about half an hour away by road, and Juan Dolio about 40 minutes.
- Private companies run good bus services between cities.
Where to Eat in La Romana
Mangú, boiled green plantains mashed smooth, is the Dominican Republic's national breakfast, and the traditional lunch plate is la bandera, the flag, with stewed meat as one of its parts.
- Mangú is often served with fried cheese, fried Dominican salami, eggs and red onions cooked in vinegar.
- Chicharrón de pollo, also called pica pollo, is chicken marinated in lime juice, coated with flour, garlic and oregano, fried, and served with tostones and lime.
- Pastelitos, also called empanadas, and ripe plantains, plátanos maduros, are other everyday foods to look for.
- Carne mechada is braised beef, and braised oxtail is often spiced with Scotch bonnet peppers.
Money in La Romana
The Dominican peso is the local currency, but US dollars are widely accepted and many visitors use them as a second currency.
- Bank card cloning is a risk, so keep your card in view when you pay, or pay in cash.
- Prices in pesos may be marked RD$ to tell them apart from dollars.
Altos de Chavón and Dominican Heritage
Altos de Chavón is La Romana's cultural center, with a design school, an archaeology museum and a 5,000-seat amphitheater in a stone village above the Chavón River. The town lives largely from tourism, the Central Romana Corporation and a duty-free zone.
- The village's design school, founded in 1983, is affiliated with Parsons School of Design in New York.
- The amphitheater, built in a Roman style, has hosted Frank Sinatra, Julio Iglesias and the Pet Shop Boys.
- St. Stanislaus Church, on the village's central plaza, was built in 1979 and named for Poland's patron saint in tribute to Pope John Paul II, who visited Santo Domingo that year.
- The Toros del Este, a team in the Dominican Winter League, play baseball at the Estadio Francisco Micheli in La Romana.
La Romana and the Sugar Economy
La Romana is a young town built by one industry: it began as an oil concession in 1897 and became a sugar town when a large mill opened in 1917. The companies behind the mill went on to build the Casa de Campo resort, Altos de Chavón and the cruise port.
- 1494: Christopher Columbus visited the island he named Santa Catalina, now Catalina Island, in May.
- 1897: La Romana was founded after a Cuban firm was given a concession to build an oil refinery.
- 1917: The South Puerto Rico Sugar Company built the large Central Romana sugar mill, and workers came from across the country and the Caribbean.
- The Trujillo years: Central Romana was the only sugar operation that the dictator Rafael Trujillo did not take over.
- 1960s: The conglomerate Gulf and Western bought the sugar mill and invested in livestock.
- 1968: Gulf and Western moved its Canary Islands cigar making to the Tabacalera de Garcia factory in La Romana, which also makes Montecristo, H. Upmann and Romeo y Julieta cigars.
- 1975 and 1976: Gulf and Western built the Casa de Campo resort in 1975, and work on Altos de Chavón began in 1976, using stone blasted out for a nearby road.
- 1984: Gulf and Western sold its stake, and Casa de Campo passed to the Central Romana Corporation, co-owned by the Fanjul brothers.
- 2002: The cruise pier opened in December with the arrival of the Costa Marina.
- To learn more ashore: The Regional Museum of Archaeology at Altos de Chavón holds pre-Columbian artifacts found in the area.
La Romana with Children and Families
With children, La Romana is best as a beach day or a short visit to Altos de Chavón rather than a long tour. Lifeguards may not be present on beaches, so keep younger children within reach in the water.
- Younger children: A beach day on Catalina Island, which sits 2.4 kilometers off the coast, is the easy choice. Sandbars offshore bring the water down to a few feet deep in places.
- School age: Altos de Chavón's lanes, church and amphitheater are easy to explore on foot, and the archaeology museum shows pre-Columbian objects found in the area.
- Teenagers: Saona Island is part of Cotubanamá National Park, and its cave Cueva de Cotubanamá holds pre-Columbian rock art. Check that any boat operator meets safety standards before you book.
- Getting there: Use registered taxis or organized trips, not motorbike taxis, with children.
Accessibility in La Romana
The cruise port has two docking platforms built for large cruise ships and a passenger terminal. Beyond the port, plan carefully: Altos de Chavón's lanes are cobbled, and the islands can only be reached by boat.
- Ask your cruise line before you sail about the gangway and the route through the terminal.
- Book a taxi from a registered provider and ask for a vehicle that can carry a folding wheelchair.
- Ask any boat operator how passengers with limited mobility board and land before you book.
Shopping in La Romana
Altos de Chavón is the simplest place to shop in La Romana, with small shops selling work by local craftspeople and galleries showing work by students of its design school. Cigars are the other local product: three famous brands are made in La Romana.
- Montecristo, H. Upmann and Romeo y Julieta cigars are made at the Tabacalera de Garcia factory.
- Check what you can bring home: your own country's customs rules decide how many cigars you can carry.
Beaches Near La Romana
La Romana's beach days mostly mean an island: Catalina, just off the coast, or Saona, the larger island inside a national park. Bayahíbe, a fishing village founded in 1874, is the mainland base for many of the boat trips.
- Catalina Island covers 9.6 square kilometers, with sand dunes, mangroves and reefs, and its highest point is only 18 meters above the sea.
- Saona Island covers 110 square kilometers and is a protected nature reserve, with the village of Mano Juan and a naval base.
- Bayahíbe is about 16 kilometers east of La Romana.
- The sea can be dangerous, especially in the hurricane season, and lifeguards may not be present.
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