Kick start cheap holidays to the Dominican Republic in the island's capital, Santo Domingo, where city life gallops along to infectious merengue rhythms, at a pace that feels more Latin than Caribbean. Amid the mish-mash of colonial façades and corrugated iron roofs there's plenty to catch the eye.
A short, hair-raising taxi journey will take you just outside the city to the stunning cave complex Los Tres Ojas de Agua, (the three eyes of water), complete with three bluer-than-blue natural lagoons.
'There is no more beautiful island in the world' proclaimed the gold-thirsty Spaniard, Christopher Columbus on his first step on the island that would later become Hispaniola and travellers who have enjoyed cheap holidays to the Dominican Republic would probably testify that he was on to something.
The Dominican Republic shares this landmass with its smaller French brother, Haiti, in turn borrowing a now burgeoning religion, Voodoo.
Columbus may well have been describing the Amber Coast, a string of pristine beaches lining the north of the island, the best of which surround Puerto Plata (Silver Port). Unsurprisingly it's a popular tourist destination on cheap holidays to the Dominican Republic, but you can avoid the crowds by seeking out one of the smaller towns and while away your days under the shade of a palm-thatched hut.
For those who can overcome beach inertia, cheap holidays to the Dominican Republic reveal some spectacular scenery, including the Caribbean's highest peak, the verdant Pico Duarte, and it's lowest point, Lake Enriquillo.
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