ls there are better definition of paradise than palm-fringed white-sand beaches, turquoise waters and rum-and merengue-soaked nights? Santo Domingo offers architectural charm and historical gravitas, while the rugged mountain interior pleases adventure-seekers with world-class rafting, trekking and wildlife-watching opportunities. Above all, however. It’s Dominicans who make the DR tick: fun-seekers throw themselves wholeheartedly into all manner of neighbourhood parties, surfing and windsurfing contests, music festivals and not one but two annual Carnival celebrations.

December to April

Discovering the New World in Santo Domingo’s Zona Colonial Whale-watching on the Peninsula de Samana Cheering for beisbol champions in San Pedro de Macoris Windsurfing in Caberete, the DR’s hippest beach town Hiking, rafting and bird-watching in the interior’s mountainous national parks Taking park in a Dominican fiesta: one part rum, one part Presidente beer, one part sancocho and three parts dancing (salsa, meringue and the countrified bachata)

Read Julia Alvarez’s ln the Time of the Butterflies, the lyrical of 1960s political martyrs, the Mirabal sisters; or Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas, Llosa, about the Trujillo regime

Listen to 1960s and’ 70s tunes by meringue legend Johnny Ventura; Juan contemporary artist; anything by prolific bachateros Antony Santo sand Raulin Rodriguez

Watch 1492: The Conquest of Paradise, the lavish Columbus-meets-New World epic

Eat sancocho de siete carnes, hearty soup with manioc, plantain and seven (count’em!) types of meat, the soup for a family gathering

Drink rum or Preidente, the country’s beloved local beer

Que chulo! (great!)

Palm-lined beaches; plantains; meringue; rum; cigars that are better than but not as famous as those from Cuba; Sammy Sosa

Dominicans are amazingly polite and tend to dress quite formally; Dominicans often refer to their island by its Taino name, Quisqueya

ln the Dominican Republic, maintaining close family ties and cultivating friendships are top priorities, and music is a part of everyday life. Merengue, the quintessential Dominican beat, is more than just; it is a tool for fostering those relationships. That is why you hear it everywhere-at the beach, on the bus, in the street. Dominicans need little excuse for a party.