Punta Rucia or Punta Rusia as it is sometimes wrongly spelled, is Dominican Republic North coast best-kept secret. This under-developped fishing town doesn’t have many expatriates, and if you happen to visit during the week or on low season, you may not find any tourists at all. On Sundays, families gather on these beautiful beaches and sometimes bring their lound sound systems.

The small village has basically one street with a few restaurants where typically delicious Dominican food is served. This is the best area to eat lobster, shrimps and all sorts of fish.

From Punta Rucia’s beach, you can take a little boat to go to Cayo Arena (also called Paradise Island), which is a tiny island about 40 minutes away from the coast. This is truly a paradise as you can see from the images. While you can visit this tiny island with an organized tour operator who will likely bring you to the island along with many other tourists, it is likely to get crowded. If time allows, I highly recommand to talk to negociate with a fisherman to bring you there so you can stay as long as you wish.

I am not a photographer by any means, but with landscapes like that, it is hard not to make nice pictures.