Overview
The Cibao is the broad, fertile valley that runs across the north-center of the country between the Cordillera Central and the Cordillera Septentrional. It grows tobacco, cacao, rice, plantains and coffee, and for centuries it has been the country's economic and cultural counterweight to Santo Domingo. Dominicans from the Cibao, cibaeños, are known for a strong accent, a merengue tradition called perico ripiao, and a deep pride in their region.
Santiago de los Caballeros, usually just Santiago, is its capital and the second-largest city in the Dominican Republic. It is a working city of factories, universities, traffic and baseball, with almost no beach-tourism infrastructure. That is the appeal: you see how most Dominicans actually live, eat and spend a Sunday, and you can do it in Spanish at local prices.
A large share of Dominican Americans, especially in New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, trace their families to Santiago and the surrounding towns. If you are visiting relatives or looking for family records, see Dominican-American roots.
Different from home
Santiago is a city where people quote prices in pesos, take carros públicos (shared fixed-route taxis) to work and eat a big lunch around 1 p.m. Expect to pay in RD$ almost everywhere. US dollars are taken at some hotels and cigar shops, but you will get a poor rate.
Getting there and around
By air
The Aeropuerto Internacional del Cibao (STI) sits east of the city, roughly 20 minutes from downtown by car outside rush hour. It is one of the busiest airports in the country for travelers to and from the US, with nonstop service from the New York area and Florida and seasonal routes from other East Coast cities. Routes change by season, so check flights from the US for the current list. Taxis wait outside arrivals, and Uber works in Santiago; agree on a price before you get into an airport taxi.
By road from Santo Domingo
The Autopista Duarte (Highway 1) links Santo Domingo with Santiago, about 96 miles (155 km). Plan on 2 hours to 2 hours 30 minutes, longer on Friday evenings and at the end of long weekends when the whole capital heads north and back. There are toll plazas on the route; keep pesos handy. See driving in the DR for speed limits, checkpoints and fuel, which is sold by the gallon in pesos.
By bus
Caribe Tours and Metro Tours run air-conditioned coaches between Santo Domingo and Santiago many times a day, taking about 2 hours 30 minutes. One-way fares are a few hundred pesos, well under $15; check the current fare at the terminal or on the company's site. Caribe Tours also runs from Santiago to Puerto Plata, Sosúa and other northern towns. See getting around for terminals and booking.
In the city
Uber is the easiest choice for visitors and costs much less than in US cities. Licensed taxis can be called by phone through your hotel. Carros públicos run fixed routes for a small flat fare, but they are crowded and confusing for first-timers. Avoid motoconchos (motorcycle taxis) in traffic; they are involved in a large share of road injuries.
Watch out
Santiago traffic is heavy and aggressive, and the Autopista Duarte carries trucks, motorcycles and buses at high speed. If you drive, avoid the highway after dark, when unlit vehicles and pedestrians are hard to see.
The Monumento
The Monumento a los Héroes de la Restauración rises from a hilltop park at the center of Santiago and is the image of the city. It honors the war of 1863–1865 that restored Dominican independence from Spain. Trujillo built it in the 1940s to honor himself; after his assassination it was rededicated to the heroes of the Restoration.
The column is about 220 feet (67 m) tall, with murals inside by the Spanish painter Vela Zanetti. When it is open you can go up for a view over the city and the valley to the mountains. Opening hours have varied over the years; ask locally or at your hotel before you go. The esplanade around it is free and is where Santiago comes to walk, flirt, eat street food and watch the sunset, especially on weekend evenings.
The streets around the Monumento, including Calle Restauración and the area toward Avenida Estrella Sadhalá, are lined with bars and restaurants. Food trucks sell chimis (Dominican burgers on soft bread with cabbage and a pink sauce) late into the night.
Insider tip
Go to the Monumento about an hour before sunset, walk the esplanade, then eat nearby. The view over the city lights and the mountains is the best free thing in Santiago.
The Centro León
The Centro León is the best museum in the Dominican Republic and a reason to come to Santiago on its own. It was founded by the León Jimenes family, whose fortune came from tobacco and beer, and it covers Dominican art, archaeology and ethnography in clear, modern galleries. It is the place to understand Taíno culture, African roots, carnival masks, rural life and the country's painters in one visit.
- Address: Av. 27 de Febrero 146, Villa Progreso, Santiago. Phone 809-582-2315.
- Hours: exhibitions, shop and café open Tuesday–Sunday, 10 a.m.–7 p.m. Closed Mondays.
- Admission: RD$150 (about $2.50); seniors RD$105; children up to 12 RD$100. Exhibitions are free on Tuesdays.
- Guided visits: by appointment, RD$300 (about $5) in English, RD$250 in Spanish.
Allow 2 to 3 hours. The complex includes a café, a good shop for books and Dominican crafts, and gardens. Check the Centro León's hours page before you go, since holiday closures and temporary exhibitions change.
Save money
Plan your museum day for a Tuesday, when the exhibitions are free. The public areas of the Centro León are free every day it is open.
Cigar factories and tobacco country
The Cibao produces many of the world's premium cigars, and the area around Santiago, Tamboril and Villa González is full of tobacco fields, curing barns and factories. Some of the biggest names in the business make their cigars here. Most large factories, though, are working plants inside free-trade zones and do not take walk-in visitors.
Which factories you can visit
La Aurora
Founded in 1903, La Aurora is the oldest Dominican cigar brand and the one most open to visitors. Tours of its Santiago factory show sorting, fermenting, rolling and aging, usually ending with a tasting in the lounge. Book ahead through the company or your hotel, since tours are scheduled and the factory follows a weekday working schedule.
Tamboril's small factories
Tamboril, about 20 minutes northeast of Santiago, calls itself the cigar capital. Small family workshops, called chinchales, roll by hand and will often let you watch and buy. Go with a local driver or guide who knows which ones are working that day.
Farm and factory tours
Local guides and agencies run half-day trips that combine a tobacco farm, a curing barn and a rolling demonstration. These are the easiest option if you speak little Spanish. Book through a registered operator; see booking excursions safely.
Big brands such as Arturo Fuente, Davidoff and others make cigars in and around Santiago, but their plants are generally closed to the public, and the private farm estates are visited by invitation through distributors and cigar clubs. If a stranger offers to get you into one of them, be skeptical.
Different from home
Dominican cigars are legal to bring into the US within your duty-free allowance; Cuban cigars bought here are a different matter under US rules. See shopping and US customs for the limits before you stock up.
More of Santiago
Fortaleza San Luis
An old military fort near the river that now holds a museum on Santiago's history and the Restoration war. Good for an hour before or after lunch downtown.
Calle del Sol and the old center
Santiago's traditional shopping street runs downhill from the Monumento toward the cathedral and Parque Duarte. Look for Victorian wooden houses, the Palacio Consistorial and busy shops.
Estadio Cibao
Home of the Águilas Cibaeñas, one of the most successful teams in the Dominican winter league, which runs from about October to January. A game here is loud, joyful and inexpensive. See baseball in the DR.
Gran Teatro del Cibao
A large performing-arts hall that hosts concerts, ballet and theater. Check local listings for what is on during your stay.
La Vega and its carnival
La Vega, about 40 minutes southeast of Santiago on the Autopista Duarte, holds the most famous carnival in the country. Every Sunday in February, plus Independence Day on February 27, the streets around the center fill with diablos cojuelos (limping devils) in elaborate masks with horns and spiky teeth, mirrors and bells. Groups called comparsas spend all year on their costumes.
The devils carry vejigas, inflated bladders (now usually rubber balls) that they swing at the crowd's backsides. It stings. Locals walk inside the barricaded parade route at their own risk, and families watch from paid grandstands or from balconies.
- Go early in the afternoon, when the parade is busiest and the crowd is still friendly.
- Wear clothes you do not mind getting sweaty and dirty, and closed shoes.
- Carry only a phone, some pesos and a copy of your passport, in a front pocket.
- Watch your drink and stay with your group; crowds and alcohol draw pickpockets.
- Book your hotel in Santiago or La Vega weeks ahead for February Sundays.
La Vega also has one of the most striking modern churches in the Americas, the concrete Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción, which looks more like a fortress than a church. For carnival dates in other towns, see festivals.
Watch out
The vejigas leave bruises. If you have children with you, watch from a grandstand or balcony instead of the street.
The Santo Cerro and La Vega Vieja
A few miles north of La Vega, a steep road climbs the Santo Cerro (Holy Hill) to the Santuario de Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes. Tradition says Columbus planted a cross here in 1495 during a battle with the Taíno, and that the Virgin appeared to the Spanish troops. A small hole in the church floor marks where the cross stood, and pilgrims come from across the country.
The view from the terrace takes in the whole Valle de la Vega Real, one of the most beautiful sights in the country on a clear morning. Las Mercedes is a national holiday on September 24, when the hill is packed with pilgrims. Dress as you would for any church: shoulders covered and no beachwear (see etiquette).
Below the hill, the Parque Nacional Histórico La Vega Vieja protects the ruins of Concepción de la Vega, one of the first Spanish towns in the Americas, destroyed by an earthquake in 1562. It is a quiet, short stop for history fans. Check opening hours locally, as they are irregular.
Moca and the Cibao towns
Moca, about 30 minutes east of Santiago, is the capital of Espaillat province and a prosperous farm town. Its Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús has a tall clock tower you can see across the valley and fine stained glass inside. Moca is also where the dictator Ulises Heureaux was assassinated in 1899, an event remembered in a local monument.
From Moca, a scenic road climbs over the Cordillera Septentrional through Jamao al Norte toward the north coast, a good alternative to the main highway if you are heading to Cabarete and Sosúa. The road is winding, with fog and slow trucks; drive it in daylight.
Other stops: Tamboril for cigars, San José de las Matas in the hills west of Santiago for cooler air and pine forest, and Salcedo, where the Hermanas Mirabal museum honors the three sisters murdered by Trujillo's regime in 1960, whose story is behind November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
Eating in the Cibao
Santiago eats well and cheaply. Lunch, the main meal, is la bandera: rice, beans and stewed meat, often with salad and fried plantains, at a comedor (simple lunch restaurant). Expect RD$250–450 (about $4–7) for a plate. See Dominican food for what to order.
- Chimis from trucks around the Monumento at night $.
- Pica pollo (Dominican fried chicken) and tostones at neighborhood joints $.
- Steak and grill houses along the main avenues, popular for family Sundays $$–$$$.
- Cigar lounges with rum and coffee, often attached to factories or hotels $$.
Restaurant bills add 18% ITBIS tax and a 10% service charge; leave a little extra in cash for good service. See money and tipping.
Where to stay
Santiago has business hotels and a few mid-range boutique options, mostly near the Monumento and along the main avenues. Staying near the Monumento puts you within walking distance of restaurants and nightlife; the areas toward Los Jardines and Cerros de Gurabo are quieter and residential.
Business hotels
International chains and solid local hotels with parking, breakfast, gyms and reliable Wi-Fi. Good for families and anyone with a rental car.
Small hotels near the Monumento
Simpler rooms close to the bars and food trucks. Ask for a room away from the street on weekends.
Apartments
Popular with visiting family and longer stays. Confirm parking, a backup generator or inverter for power cuts, and water storage before you book. See where to stay.
In La Vega, hotels are basic; most visitors stay in Santiago or continue up to Jarabacoa, about 45 minutes from La Vega.
Sample plans
- Day 1
Santiago
Morning at the Centro León. Lunch at a comedor downtown, then Calle del Sol and the Fortaleza San Luis. Sunset at the Monumento and chimis or dinner nearby. In season, an Águilas game at the Estadio Cibao.
- Day 2
Cigars and Moca
A morning cigar factory tour (booked ahead), then Tamboril's small workshops. Lunch in Moca and a look at the Sagrado Corazón church. Back to Santiago or over the mountains to the north coast.
- Day 3
La Vega and the mountains
Drive to the Santo Cerro for the morning view and the sanctuary, see La Vega Vieja and the cathedral, then continue to Jarabacoa for waterfalls and cool air.
Safety and practical tips
The US State Department rates the Dominican Republic at Level 2, "Exercise Increased Caution," because of crime. Santiago is a big city with the usual big-city risks: phone snatching from motorcycles, robberies at night in poorly lit areas and occasional armed crime. Keep your phone out of sight near the curb, use Uber or a hotel taxi at night and do not resist a robbery. See safety for more.
- Carry a photocopy of your passport and leave the original in the hotel safe.
- Power cuts happen; hotels usually have generators, smaller guesthouses may not.
- Do not drink tap water; buy bottled water or large refillable jugs.
- The plugs and voltage are the same as in the US, and the DR stays on Atlantic Time all year.
- The emergency number is 911.
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