Casa de Campo is what put La Romana, a sugar-mill town 50 mi/80 km east of Santo Domingo, on the tourism map. An internationally known resort that touts itself as the finest in the Caribbean, Casa de Campo is set in vast grounds (7,000 acres/2,800 hectares) and was partially designed by fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, a Dominican native.
You can indulge in all kinds of activities at Casa de Campo. There are watersports, including swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, kayaking and windsurfing. You can play golf on three Pete Dye-designed championship-caliber courses, including the incomparable Teeth of the Dog. Try your luck on a simulated hunting course or at trap shooting. Play tennis on one of the 13 courts at the hilltop La Terraza complex. Or go riding (polo, jumping, trail rides) on one of the resort's 1,000 horses.
Casa de Campo has a variety of accommodations, including hotel rooms and villas. Off-season rates can be a great deal. La Romana has an airport, so there is no long shuttle ride to the resort, which has a big, modern marina complete with yacht club.
In addition to Casa de Campo, the La Romana area is also home to several other all-inclusive resorts, all in the nearby beach town of Bayahibe.
Cueva de las Maravillas ("Cave of Miracles"), some 12 mi/20 km west of La Romana, is a subterranean cavern with paved pathways with motion-sensor lighting. Spectacular dripstone formations and a vast collection of pre-Columbian pictographs make it a must-see, although few tourists make it there.
