Dominican Republic

It's midnight at La Gu cara Ta­na, a rockin' nightclub set in a natural cave near the old quarter of Santo Domingo, and the very stalactites are practically boogying to the irrepressible merengue rhythms and the hip-swinging crowd below. Our Puritan forefathers might've plotzed at the scene and lyrics, but then they never set foot on the island of Hispaniola, where the sensual allure of the land and its people are truly enough to make you dump the work ethic and spend the rest of your days "livin' la vida loca." Christopher Columbus, the first outsider to fall under its spell, dubbed it "the fairest land that human eyes have seen." Five centuries later, the pristine beaches and exuberant greenery of La Republica Dominicana could still move the old imperialista to wax poetic - not just about the scenery but also about the prices, among the lowest in the tourist universe.

About 50 miles due west of Puerto Rico, this wedge of a republic smaller than West Virginia harbors 8 million souls, sharing Hispaniola with Haiti to the west. Both nations offer quality getaways at hard-to-beat prices (see BT's article on Haiti in the summer 1998 issue), but it's the D.R.'s quantity and variety of offerings that make it the Caribbean destination of choice for the traveler on a tight budget; prices here run a good 30 to 40 percent lower than Puerto Rico, Jamaica, or other nearby vacation stalwarts.

Depending on the season, in fact, seven-night air/hotel packages to all-inclusive resorts (providing unlimited meals, drinks, and activities) can go for less than $640 from Miami, $740 from New York, $900 from Chicago, and $970 from Los Angeles. Not a few of these deals feature Allegro (800/858-2258), a Santo Domingo-based all-inclusive resort chain that's one of the world's biggest; its Caribbean Village brand often comes in at less than $100 a night. Other decently priced Dominican chains worth considering include Amhsa (800/472-3985; www.amhsahotels.com), Occidental (800/424-5192; www.occidental-hoteles.com), and Coral (888/767-1664; www.coralhotels.com). If you're looking for something a little more intimate, small lodgings abound for as little as $20-$30 a night with breakfast.

Best of all, just because the D.R. is cheap doesn't mean it's a one-horse island; indeed, the home of merengue, Oscar de la Renta, and Sammy Sosa offers much more substance than tiny islets like Aruba and St. Croix - lovely in their own right, but more limited in their offerings. There is plenty of culture, ecology, and architecture here, and - best of all, perhaps - there's distance. You can drive for hours on end, from undeveloped Barahona on the pleasant southwest coast, past mountains so high that apples grow on their cool flanks, all the way up to the north-coast resorts; this is also the only Caribbean island that offers white-water rafting. In my opinion, though, the true wealth of the land is the dominicanos themselves, a beautiful "cafe con leche" blend of European and African who'll spoil you with some of the friendliest treatment between Key West and Caracas.

Most visitors skip the rugged interior and the funky towns for modern holiday developments along the thousand or so miles of crystalline beaches - especially the north shore's resort enclave of Playa Dorada, near Puerto Plata, and the peninsula of Punta Cana way out east (even more isolated, and home to the country's only Club Med). A smaller number go to beach towns like Sosua, Cabarete, and Saman on the north shore, or La Romana, Juan Dolio, and Boca Chica on the south.

Basically, you can do the D.R. one of two ways, both quite economical: book a package through a tour operator (see box on tk) to one of the above resorts and veg on the beach all week, or combine sun 'n' sand with visits to towns where you'll actually see Dominicans not just changing your linens or hamming it up in goofy resort shows, but working and playing in their everyday lives. I'd like to cover two of those towns, focusing on the lesser-known, more authentic side of the Dominican Republic.

Santo Domingo, south shore, cathedrals, baseball, & dirty dancing

Named for the patron saint of the priests who founded the city, Santo Domingo has a population of more than 2 million and a character both sacred (the first cathedral in the Americas) and profane (more "love motels" per capita than any place this writer has ever seen). Santo Domingo also manages to be simultaneously charming (the old colonial quarter, with atmospheric cobbled lanes like Calle de las Damas), seedy (dumpy shops galore), bombastic (don't miss the gargantuan, vaguely fascist-looking Columbus Lighthouse), and upscale (check out Sammy Sosa's extravagant new digs downtown on Avenida George Washington). This jumble of contradictions is, to a great extent, what makes this colorful urb worth a couple of days of the adventurous traveler's vacation time, despite the lack of all-inclusives and prices that, while still reasonable, tend to be rather higher than out on the island (blame the business travelers).

The seafront Malec:n makes for a pretty - and fairly interesting-stroll, but downtown's main drag is a couple of blocks inland: Calle El Conde, a once-elegant shopping street that runs the length of the old town from Plaza Col:n, with its imposing sixteenth-century cathedral, to the ancient fortifications at Parque Independencia. Nowadays this pedestrian thoroughfare serves up downscale shops (average monthly salaries, after all, hover around $100), street vendors hawking trinkets and Haitian paintings, and the usual yanqui fast-food suspects (KFC, Burger King, yech-cetera). This vibrant scene, more local than tourist, is framed by an array of eclectic architecture that runs the gamut from grand colonial to 1960s-era eyesores.

Nearby Avenida Mella offers artsy-craftsy shopping at the Mercado Modelo bazaar; other good island buys include knockoffs of Cuban cigars like the respectable "Cohiba robusto," a much better deal at $5 a smoke than the authentic commie Cohibas. Amber is another national specialty, sold very reasonably at the Mundo de Ambar museum and shop (Calle Merino 452, 809/682-3309), where a small chunk with an embedded insect fossil runs as low as 225 pesos ($14).

Finally, el beisbol is a great deal in a country that has produced many household names (not just Sosa but recently Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez and Manny Ramirez of the Cleveland Indians); seats run $4.50 to $12 at the Quisqueya Stadium (Avenida Tiradentes at San Cristobal, 809/590-

5772) during the October-February local season - a prime opportunity to catch tomorrow's major-league stars. La inusica - not just merengue, but also bachata and other Latin rhythms - is another local treat, and can be enjoyed at a selection of clubs that won't break your bank. Besides the aforementioned Gu cara Taina on Paseo de Los Indios (cover $10), recommendable venues include Jet Set (Avenida Independencia 2253), Disco Sonido el Aguila (Avenida San Vincent de Paul 20), and Disco Kristal (Calle Pena Batlle 170); or, for a gay twist, head to Disco Free (Avenida Ortega y Gasset 13). Meanwhile, during the last week in July and the first in August (admittedly a hot, sticky time of year), the annual merengue festival is a wild (and free!) experience that takes over the Malecon.

Time permitting, rent some wheels (from $44 a day at MC Auto Rent A Car, Avenida George Washington 105, 809/688-6518) for a day trip or two. For beachy fun near the capital, try Boca Chica, about a half-hour's drive (15 miles) east of town just past the airport. Aim to go on a weekday afternoon if you value peace and quiet; weekends, the strand is overrun by local families and boom boxes. Either way, the price is right, with secured parking costing a mere 60[cents] and food vendors selling cheap eats like yaniqueques (flat doughy pancakes) for about 6[cents] and fresh fried fish for under a dollar. Another 70 miles farther east along the coast, baseball fans will also appreciate San Pedro de Macor­s, source of most of the Dominicans in the U.S. major leagues (Tetelo Vargas stadium charges $8-$13 to catch games). If you're up for a solid day's jaunt, consider the hundred-mile trip out to the galleries and workshops of Altos de Chavon, an artists' colony near La Romana that's an artificial but engaging 23-year-old re-creation of colonial architecture and cobblestone streets.