Weather and Climate in Dominican Republic

The entire Dominican Republic has a tropical climate with high temperatures, high humidity and rain all year round. Except in the central mountains, the temperatures in the Dominican Republic remain about the same year round. Due to the high humidity, the temperatures can feel higher, but fresh sea winds mitigate this effect.

There are two rainy seasons in the Dominican Republic, in the north from November to January, in the south from May to November. Particularly heavy precipitation falls on the north and east slopes of the mountains, where the trade winds rise and have to release moisture as a result of the cooling. The south is drier as many of the southern regions are in the rain shadow of the Cordillera Central.

Although the Dominican Republic can be visited all year round, the best time to travel is between December and May. Temperatures hardly change over the course of the year; most regions of the Dominican Republic are drier during the period mentioned. A beach holiday is always possible with water temperatures of 25 to 27 ° C on both the Atlantic and the Caribbean coast. Even in the rainy season, the tropical rains are usually short and heavy, and there is seldom bad weather over a long period of time. All water sports can be practiced well all year round. Trekking tours in the mountains are also always possible, but it can get really cool here.

The main tourist seasons are between December to February, July to August and the week before Easter (Semana Santa). During this time, you can expect higher prices and crowded beaches. It should also be noted that most water sports activities are prohibited during Semana Santa. From June to August there is a small chance that a hurricane will hit the island.

Average daytime temperature

Region

Jan

Feb

March

Apr

May

June

July

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Barahona

30 ° C

30 ° C

29 ° C

29 ° C

30 ° C

31 ° C

32 ° C

32 ° C

32 ° C

31 ° C

31 ° C

30 ° C

Puerto Plata

28 ° C

29 ° C

29 ° C

29 ° C

29 ° C

30 ° C

30 ° C

31 ° C

30 ° C

30 ° C

29 ° C

29 ° C

Punta Cana

26 ° C

26 ° C

26 ° C

27 ° C

31 ° C

29 ° C

29 ° C

29 ° C

29 ° C

28 ° C

27 ° C

27 ° C

Samaná

28 ° C

29 ° C

29 ° C

29 ° C

29 ° C

30 ° C

30 ° C

31 ° C

30 ° C

30 ° C

29 ° C

29 ° C

Santiago

29 ° C

29 ° C

30 ° C

31 ° C

32 ° C

33 ° C

33 ° C

33 ° C

33 ° C

32 ° C

30 ° C

29 ° C

Santo Domingo

28 ° C

28 ° C

28 ° C

29 ° C

30 ° C

30 ° C

31 ° C

31 ° C

31 ° C

31 ° C

30 ° C

29 ° C

Average night temperature

Region

Jan

Feb

March

Apr

May

June

July

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Barahona

19 ° C

20 ° C

20 ° C

21 ° C

22 ° C

22 ° C

23 ° C

24 ° C

23 ° C

22 ° C

21 ° C

20 ° C

Puerto Plata

20 ° C

20 ° C

21 ° C

22 ° C

23 ° C

23 ° C

23 ° C

23 ° C

23 ° C

23 ° C

22 ° C

21 ° C

Punta Cana

20 ° C

19 ° C

20 ° C

20 ° C

22 ° C

22 ° C

23 ° C

23 ° C

23 ° C

23 ° C

22 ° C

21 ° C

Samaná

20 ° C

20 ° C

21 ° C

22 ° C

23 ° C

23 ° C

23 ° C

23 ° C

23 ° C

23 ° C

22 ° C

21 ° C

Santiago

18 ° C

18 ° C

19 ° C

20 ° C

21 ° C

22 ° C

22 ° C

22 ° C

22 ° C

22 ° C

20 ° C

19 ° C

Santo Domingo

20 ° C

19 ° C

20 ° C

21 ° C

22 ° C

23 ° C

23 ° C

23 ° C

23 ° C

23 ° C

22 ° C

21 ° C

Average water temperature

Region

Jan

Feb

March

Apr

May

June

July

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Puerto Plata

26 ° C

26 ° C

27 ° C

28 ° C

28 ° C

28 ° C

29 ° C

29 ° C

28 ° C

28 ° C

28 ° C

27 ° C

Punta Cana

27 ° C

26 ° C

27 ° C

28 ° C

27 ° C

28 ° C

28 ° C

28 ° C

29 ° C

29 ° C

28 ° C

27 ° C

Samaná

26 ° C

26 ° C

27 ° C

28 ° C

28 ° C

28 ° C

29 ° C

29 ° C

28 ° C

28 ° C

28 ° C

27 ° C

Santo Domingo

27 ° C

26 ° C

26 ° C

27 ° C

27 ° C

27 ° C

28 ° C

28 ° C

28 ° C

28 ° C

27 ° C

27 ° C

Average hours of sunshine / day

Region	Jan	Feb	March	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Barahona	8	9	9	9	8	9	9	9	8	8	9	9
Puerto Plata	7	7	8	8	7	7	7	8	8	8	7	7
Punta Cana	6	6	8	7	9	6	7	7	7	7	6	6
Samaná	7	7	8	8	7	7	7	8	8	8	7	7
Santiago	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	9	8	7	7	7
Santo Domingo	8	9	9	9	8	8	8	9	8	7	7	7

Average rainy days / month

Region	Jan	Feb	March	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Barahona	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	0	1	2	0	0
Puerto Plata	8	7	6	6	10	11	10	10	11	11	10	9
Punta Cana	15	10	9	10	11	6	18	10	8	9	13	15
Samaná	8	7	6	6	10	11	10	10	11	11	10	9
Santiago	7	6	6	8	11	6	7	8	8	9	9	10
Santo Domingo	7	6	5	7	11	12	11	11	11	11	10	8