I’ve been a diver for more than half my life, and I’ve traveled far and beyond to many of the sport’s most sought-after destinations. But on a recent trip to the Dominican Republic— just a short flight from my home in Florida—I found myself wondering how I’d come to overlook the Caribbean’s second-largest country all my dive life.

It wasn’t my first time on the DR’s side of Hispaniola, the island it shares with Haiti. I’d visited several times before for its legendary palm-lined beaches, a golf trip and all-inclusive resorts that lure tourists year-round from all over the world. But on my first dive trip here last year, my eyes were opened to the fishy reefs, shallow wrecks and even a surprisingly excellent wall dive—all just a short boat ride from shore.

It wasn’t long before I realized there was more diving than I could experience in one visit, so I talked to a handful of divemasters, photographers and writers who’ve found themselves similarly smitten in this lush corner of the Caribbean about some of their own experiences.

Related Reading: Fighting to Save the Caribbean's Coral Reefs

Peñon Reef

Bayahibe

Lucia Senli, a divemaster with ScubaCaribe, first came to the Dominican Republic from her home country of Spain nine years ago, wooed by the warm waters and laid-back rhythm of island time passing to the beat of bachata and merengue music. After hundreds of dives guiding visitors in the waters around the resort town of Bayahibe on the DR’s southeast coast, there’s one site Senli says always keeps her coming back for more.

Revered as one of the best areas for diving in the Dominican Republic, Peñon Reef is a long and shallow stretch of coral reef within Cotubanamá National Park, roughly between Bayahibe and nearby Saona Island.

“It’s a typical Caribbean reef but also a place where it feels like anything can happen. The sites here are so full of life and colors,” Senli says. The three shallow dive sites along Peñon Reef have a maximum depth of around 24 feet, making longer bottom times the norm—especially beneficial for photographers and videographers like Senli, who quickly become entranced by all the reef dwellers to shoot in the clear and brightly illuminated conditions.

“I once saw five eagle rays flying across the reef here, gently and slowly. The contrast of the black and white patterns and the yellow, pink and purple sea fans and sponges was just perfect,” she says.

Sea turtles frequent the reef too, since it’s close to a popular nesting beach. And octopuses, lobsters, Caribbean squid and seahorses are also frequently seen at Peñon. “It’s one of those reefs where, every corner, there’s something different,” Senli says.

While in the area, you can dive Senli’s favorite DR shipwreck too. The Atlantic Princess is a former passenger ship that ran aground during a tropical storm in 2008 and sits upright in just 40 feet of water. “There’s usually a huge school of sergeant majors on it,” Senli says. “And when you’re done exploring the wreck, there’s an entire reef around it to check out too.”

Make It Happen

DIVE ScubaCaribe (scubacaribe.com)

DINE Estro Art Cafe, near the beach in Bayahibe, is the place to try classic Dominican dishes like mofongo (fried green plantains and meat), chicharrón (deep fried pork belly) and stewed lambi (conch).

STAY With its own pier and on-site ScubaCaribe dive outpost, Dreams Dominicus La Romana is a luxe, allinclusive property with a gorgeous beach the whole family will love.

Astron Shipwreck

Punta Cana

Most visitors to Punta Cana, which occupies much of the eastern tip of the DR and is the country’s most popular resort town, arrive in search of an all-inclusive vacation with some of the world’s most beautiful beaches at their doorstep (not to mention rum-fueled nightlife, which abounds here too). Divers in the mix hardly need to spend all day away from the resort and family time to get their fix of canyons, reefs and even an interesting shipwreck that’s been down more than 40 years and teems with life.

The Astron is a 300-foot-long Russian delivery ship that was carrying corn to Cuba when it sank just offshore from the busy resort area of Bávaro in about 50 feet of water. Part of its structure is still visible above the water’s surface.

“It’s just a 10-minute boat ride from shore, max, and still very intact, with an engine room, giant propeller and part of the bridge still identifiable,” says John Barry, ScubaCaribe’s corporate dive team leader for the Dominican Republic.

The Astron does double duty by delighting experienced divers, impressed by its accessibility and abundant marine life, while being pure fascination for those new to the sport on what’s often their first shipwreck. “People can book a discovery dive in the morning and sit down at lunch having dived a shipwreck,” Barry says. “When we get to the surface, they’re amazed—it’s this combination of seeing their first shipwreck and also never having imagined it could be that accessible.”

Look for eagle rays, nurse sharks, stingrays, trumpetfish and the occasional green turtle around the wreck.

Make It Happen

DIVE ScubaCaribe (scubacaribe.com)

DINE There’s a large population of Italians in the Dominican Republic, and when you’re craving a divine osso buco or seafood risotto in addition to great ceviche and other Caribbean fare, Citrus Fusion Cuisine in Bávaro hits the spot.

STAY Sleep a short stroll from the dive shop at all-inclusive resorts Hotel Riu Bambu or the more upscale Riu Palace Punta Cana.

Silver Bank

Puerto Plata

From mid-January to April, divers who trade their tanks for a snorkeling only experience can take part in one of the ocean’s most humbling and wondrous encounters in the waters off Puerto Plata, on the Dominican Republic’s northern coast. That’s when humpback whales come to breed and calve in the warm waters of an offshore shoal, Silver Bank.

Scuba Diving contributor Alexandra Gillespie journeyed here last April aboard Turks and Caicos Aggressor II—one of just a few boats permitted to bring tourists into the waters with the whales during the season. “I was kind of worried that we were late in the season since it was the last week. I feared that we might strike out,” Gillespie says. “But the captain said he never had a trip where people didn’t get in the water with whales.”

Indeed, her first day kicked off on a magical note. “We found a mother and her calf and managed to get in the water after counting their breathing cycles for a while and seeing they had settled,” Gillespie says. “The baby was so curious, it kept coming right past us and showing us all the things it knew about being a whale.”

Tail slaps, upside-down hangs in the water column and even breaching—once the snorkelers were back on the boat—ensued. And more whale encounters unfolded throughout the week as the crew and passengers bonded between onboard presentations about whale anatomy and behavior and time in the water with the cetaceans.

Snorkeling at the surface instead of being on scuba underwater added an interesting element to the experience, Gillespie says. “It was really fun to be able to hear everybody’s excitement there at the surface,” she says. “When the calf and mom would swim away, you could hear everyone’s reactions immediately. It was really special.”

One thing that really surprised her was the scale of things. “In the ocean, a whale doesn’t feel that big because the ocean is so big,” says Gillespie. “Afterward, I saw the baby was bigger than the boat—but it didn’t feel that way in the water.”

Snorkeling at the surface instead of being on scuba underwater added an interesting element to the experience, Gillespie says. “It was really fun to be able to hear everybody’s excitement there at the surface,” she says. “When the calf and mom would swim away, you could hear everyone’s reactions immediately. It was really special.”

One thing that really surprised her was the scale of things. “In the ocean, a whale doesn’t feel that big because the ocean is so big,” says Gillespie. “Afterward, I saw the baby was bigger than the boat—but it didn’t feel that way in the water.”

Related Reading: What It’s Like to Swim With Humpback Whales

Make It Happen

DIVE Aggressor Adventures (aggressor.com)

DINE Puerto Plata’s Malecón—the town’s waterfront pedestrian walkway—is a prime spot to stroll and people-watch. Right along it, Big Lee’s Beach Bar & Grill has delicious fish and chips you can enjoy at an oceanfront deck shaded by almond trees.

STAY Spend a few days before or after your trip exploring Puerto Plata with the 50-suite oceanfront Casa Colonial Beach & Spa as your base.

Isla Catalina Wall

Bayahibe

One of the best dive day trips from Punta Cana (via bus then catamaran) is Isla Catalina—a short cruise offshore from Bayahibe.

In addition to satisfying the snorkelers in your entourage with great reefs and a barbecue feast on a sandy island, Isla Catalina Wall dishes up what’s perhaps the most surprising dive site in the Dominican Republic, with some of the Caribbean’s largest pillar coral, healthy stands of elk coral and huge vase sponges. “I was surprised to find a wall like that in the DR,” says photographer and videographer Michelle Gaylord about the dive site on the east side of Catalina Island that drops to more than 130 feet. “All of the diving there surprised me. The only other time I’ve dived walls like that in the Caribbean was in Cayman.”

When Gaylord flew her drone above the wall, the demarcation of the drop-off in the deep blue water was clear to see. And when she took a giant stride to dive in, she was greeted by a massive school of blue tangs in the water. “It’s a beautiful wall with a ton of life and schooling fish and incredible viz,” she says. “We ended up diving it three times that day; there was just so much to see and shoot.”

Make It Happen

DIVE Isla Catalina Diving (islacatalinadiving.com)

DINE Pop into Bella ‘Mbriana in Dominicus for piña coladas made with fresh island pineapple and thin-crust wood-fired pizzas just like in Italy.

STAY Go luxe back on land at Tracadero Beach Resort, with seawater infinity pools perched right at the ocean’s edge and family and honeymoon suites on offer.

Sosúa

Puerto Plata

Puerto Plata, on the Dominican Republic’s northern coast, hits differently. After diving the southern sites, I cut north across the island and was greeted at the coast with verdant mountains dropping into the deep blue Atlantic Ocean.

Puerto Plata has long been a tourism hotspot with historical roots that run deep, particularly in the old town’s Centro Histórico district, lined with gorgeous Victorian-style architecture and great little cafes and shops.

After a stroll and stop for mofongo along the lively seafront Malecón, I set my sights about 16 miles east to the beach in Sosúa. The seaside village has some delightful dive sites just a five-minute boat ride from the shore, where locals help launch dive boats straight from the sand into the calm waters of a sheltered bay.

The mini wall at Coral Gardens was covered with sponges and sea fans, and my dive guide pointed out eels peeking from hidey-holes as I lost track of the butterflyfish couples parading around in pairs.

But it was the dive site called Canyon, right nearby, that really took my breath away with the contrast of the deep blue ocean and colorful French grunts packed between two bookend-style rocks some 30 feet down.

I finned through them as if parting the waters through another deep blue Dominican dream.

Related Reading: What the New Olympics Judges' Tower Means for Tahiti's Coral Reefs

Make It Happen

DIVE Diwa Dominicana Dive Center (diwadominicana.com)

DINE On the beach in Sosúa, Mofongo King is the spot for a frosty Presidente beer and huge portions of mofongo made with your choice of shrimp, crab, chicken and more.

STAY Natura Cabana feels like a bit of Bali in the Caribbean. Bungalows with palm thatch roofs front a quiet crescent of beach near the kitesurfing-crazed town of Cabarete.

Topside Must-Dos

Soar Through the Air on a Kiteboard

On the Dominican Republic’s northern coast, Cabarete is ground zero for nondiving watersports and the place to try kiteboarding lessons with a company such as Laurel Eastman Kiteboarding (laureleastman.com).

Ride a Horse to a Waterfall

Join JackCana Tours (jackcana.tours) on an adventure to La Jalda waterfall in the town of Miches. You’ll cross bridges and travel along trails lined with tropical foliage on horseback before reaching the 393-foothigh waterfall.

Snorkel in a Cenote

Chicho’s Cave near Bayahibe is a sacred spot with an underground spring surrounded by stalactites and stalagmites. Guides from JackCana Tours can lead you to petroglyphs carved by the region’s ancient inhabitants and take you snorkeling in the cenote.

Need To Know

WHEN TO GO You can dive in the Dominican Republic yearround, but keep in mind that hurricane season runs from June to late October. The Atlantic side, including dive sites near Punta Cana and Bávaro, is best dived from April through August or September, as the winter months tend to bring wind and choppy seas. Look for deals on accommodations during the rainy season, from June to November.

DIVE CONDITIONS Visibility averages between 60 and 90 feet most of the year. Water temps hover in the upper 70s during the winter months and the mid-80s during summer.