Photograph of Humpback Whales

Humpback Whales by Paul Macklam.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Best Wildlife in the Dominican Republic

Mammals
Humpback Whale (Dec-Apr, mostly Jan-Mar). Also a chance of Sperm, Pygmy Sperm and False Killer Whales, and (Atlantic) Bottlenose, Fraser’s, Risso’s, Spinner and (Atlantic) Spotted Dolphins, and an outside chance of Hispaniolan Solenodon.

Birds
White-tailed Tropicbird (mostly Apr-Aug), Magnificent Frigatebird, Vervain Hummingbird, the Hispaniolan island endemics Palmchat, Hispaniolan Parrot, Hispaniolan Lizard Cuckoo, Hispaniolan Trogon, Broad-billed and Narrow-billed Todies, Golden Swallow (now probably extinct on Jamaica), Ridgway’s Hawk, Hispaniolan Parakeet, Bay-breasted Cuckoo, Ashy-faced Owl, Least Poorwill, Hispaniolan (Greater Antillean) Nightjar, Hispaniolan Emerald, Antillean Piculet, Hispaniolan Woodpecker, Hispaniolan Pewee, Flat-billed Vireo, Hispaniolan Palm and White-necked Crows, La Selle Thrush, Green-tailed Ground Tanager (Warbler), Hispaniolan Mountain Tanager (White-winged Warbler), Black-crowned Palm Tanager, Eastern and Western Chat Tanagers, Hispaniolan Spindalis (Stripe-headed Tanager), Hispaniolan (Greater Antillean) Oriole, Hispaniolan Crossbill and Antillean Siskin, as well as West Indian Whistling Duck, White-cheeked Pintail, Brown Pelican, Little Blue and Tricoloured Herons, Turkey Vulture, Purple Gallinule, Killdeer, Laughing Gull, Royal Tern, Plain, Scaly-naped and White-crowned Pigeons, Zenaida Dove, Mangrove Cuckoo, Smooth-billed Ani, Burrowing Owl, Antillean Nighthawk, Antillean Palm Swift, Antillean Mango, Grey and Loggerhead Kingbirds, Rufous-throated Solitaire, Red-legged Thrush, Northern Mockingbird, Pine and Yellow (Golden) Warblers, Antillean Euphonia, Bananaquit, Yellow-faced Grassquit, Greater Antillean Bullfinch and Greater Antillean Grackle. Also a chance of American (Caribbean) Flamingo, Reddish Egret (white morph), Roseate Spoonbill, Limpkin, Black-necked Stilt, Key West, Ruddy and White-fronted (Grey-headed) Quail Doves, Northern Potoo, and wintering/passage migrant species such as Bicknell’s Thrush, Northern Parula, Black-and-white, Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green, Cape May and Prairie Warblers, American Redstart, Ovenbird and Common Yellowthroat.

Reptiles, Amphibians and Fish
Dwarf Gecko, the world's smallest lizard, occurs in Jaragua National Park.

Best Sites for Wildlife in the Dominican Republic

Best Times for Wildlife in the Dominican Republic

Humpback Whales are usually present from December to mid-April with the peak time to swim with them being January to March. The best time for birds is usually mid-February to mid-April at the beginning of the breeding season.

Recommended Books etc. for the Dominican Republic

Collins Field Guide: Birds of the West Indies by N Arlott. Harper Collins, 2010.

Birds of the West Indies by H Raffaele et al. Helm, 1998.

National Audubon Society Field Guide to Tropical Marine Fishes by C L Smith. Alfred A Knopf, 1997.

Butterflies of the Caribbean and Florida by P Stiling. Macmillan Caribbean, 1999.

Trip Reports for the Dominican Republic

Many trip reports, some for the Dominican Republic, are posted on the websites listed here. On some of these websites some reports are independent and some are posted by tour companies who organize tours to the Dominican Republic. These tour companies and others also post their own reports on their websites, which are listed under 'Some Organized Tours to the Dominican Republic' below.

Local Guides and Tours in the Dominican Republic

The costs of organized tours partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ. If you are travelling independently, employing such local guides will greatly increase your chances of seeing the wildlife you wish to see.


Accommodation in the Dominican Republic

Some Organized Tours to the Dominican Republic

There are many tour companies who organize tours to see mammals, birds, other wildlife and other natural wonders. The cost of these tours vary considerably according to such variables as the airlines used, the number of days the tours last, the number of sites visited, the number of people in the group (an important consideration if you wish to see such wildlife as rainforest mammals and birds), the number of tour leaders, the standard of accommodation and transport, and the percentage profit the company hopes to make. Generally, where the number of days tours last and the number of sites visited are similar, the cheapest tours are those that use the cheapest airlines, accommodation and local transport, that have the largest groups with the least number of leaders, and that make the least amount of profit. The most expensive tours tend to be those which are exceptionally long, use the most expensive accommodation (ridiculously lavish in some cases, even for single nights) and which make the most profit. Some tour costs partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ.

While tour companies organize tours with set itineraries many also organize custom tours for individuals and private groups who instead of taking a tour with a set itinerary want to follow their own itinerary to suit their own personal tastes, whether it be mammals, birds, other wildlife, other natural wonders or even man-made attractions, or a mixture of them all. Many organized tours with set itineraries are also fast-paced and target as many species as possible, whether they are mammals, birds or other wildlife or everything, which usually leaves little time to enjoy the best sites and individual species, but on a custom tour those taking part can specify the pace and the sites and species they wish to concentrate on. Custom tours also suit people who like to travel with people they already know, rather than with a group of strangers, and people with partners with different interests. Individuals and small groups will almost certainly have to pay more than the price of an organized tour with a set itinerary but a large group of friends may be able to travel for less than the price quoted for a set tour.

Tour companies who are running organized tours to the Dominican Republic in the next couple of years include the following. Many of these also offer custom tours.