Active Pursuits

Baseball

Dominicans were crazy about baseball long before their countryman Sammy Sosa set the United States on fire with his home run race against Mark McGwire. Almost every Major League baseball team has at least one player from the Dominican Republic on its roster these days. Pedro Martinez, Manny Ramirez, and Alfonso Soriano are just a few of the all-star team of players who hail from the Dominican Republic.

If you're here between October and January, you might want to catch a game in the Dominican Republic's Professional Winter League. The Liga de Beisbol stadium (tel. 809/567-6371) is in Santo Domingo; check local newspapers for game times, or ask at your hotel. There are also games at the Tetelo Vargas Stadium in San Pedro de Macoris, known to die-hard sports fans as the "land of shortstops" for the multitude of infielders that call this tiny town home.

Beaches

The Dominican Republic has some great beaches, but they aren't in Santo Domingo. The principal beach resort near the capital is at Boca Chica, less than 3.2km (2 miles) east of the airport and about 31km (19 miles) from the center of Santo Domingo. Here you'll find clear, shallow water, a white-sand beach, and a natural coral reef. The east side of the beach, known as "St. Tropez," is popular with Europeans. In recent years, the backdrop of the beach has become rather tacky, with an array of pizza and fast-food stands, beach cottages, chaise longues, watersports concessions, and plastic beach tables.

Long a favorite of Santo Domingo's city dwellers before its discovery by foreigners, Playa Boca Chica is one of the grand beaches of the Caribbean, very wide with white or golden sands set against a backdrop of coconut palms. The beach is fronted by the shallow Bahía Andrés. Unlike the north coast, with its turbulent waters, this beach is the most tranquil in the country.

Slightly better maintained is the narrow white-sand beach at Juan Dolio or Playa Esmeralda, a 20-minute drive east of Boca Chica. Several resorts have recently located here. The beach used to be fairly uncrowded, but with all the hotels now lining it, it's likely to be as crowded as Boca Chica any day of the week.

There are three major beaches spread along the Caribbean Sea, beginning with Playa Guayacanes in the west, with Playa Juan Dolio in the center, and Playa Real in the east. These beaches are often referred to collectively as Playa de Villas del Mar. Our favorite of these is Playa Guayacanes, which is one of the most beautiful beaches in the area and home to a little community of locals called Guayacanes.

As you move east from Guayacanes, the sands are better than the water, the latter filled with wide expanses of dead coral, making the swimming less than desirable. Many of the best sandy beaches are maintained zealously by the all-inclusives.

Horse Racing

Santo Domingo's racetrack, Galapagos Hipódromo V Centenario, on Avenida Las Américas, Km 14.5 (tel. 809/687-6060), schedules races Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 2pm. You can spend the day here and have lunch at the track's restaurant. Admission is free.

Tennis

You can often play on the courts at the major resorts if you ask your hotel desk to call in advance for you and make arrangements.