About La Romana
La Romana is the third-largest city in the
Dominican Republic with a population estimated in 2005 at 250,000. The city is capital of the southeastern province of La Romana, opposite Catalina Island. The name Romana comes from a balance that was used to weigh merchandise for export. Santa Rosa de Lima is the patron saint of La Romana.
The modern La Romana International Airport was opened in 2000. The city is near several other cities, such as San Pedro de Macorís and the national capital, Santo Domingo de Guzmán. The city is a hub for a growing tourist industry with several nearby local resort spots, such as the beachfront Bayahibe, Dominicus, Casa de Campo, and the growing number of golf resorts that surround the area.
Other Destinations related to La Romana or the Dominican Republic
|
Map of La Romana |
More about La Romana
Central Romana Port
is located in Chavon River, La Romana, Dominican Republic, and belong to Central Romana Corporation which is a private company established in 1911 and has the largest sugar mill I the country.
Altos de Chavon
Altos de Chavon Amphitheatre
|
The biggest attraction in La Romana, Dominican Republic, is Altos de Chavón, a re-creation of a medieval European village conceived from the imagination of Roberto Copa, a former Paramount Studios set designer, and Charles Bluhdorn.
Its construction began in 1976 when the construction of a nearby road and bridge crossing the Chavón River had to be blasted through a mountain of stone. Charles Bludhorn, chairman of Gulf+Western, had the idea of using the stones to build a sixteenth century Mediterranean village. Construction was completed in the early 1980s. |
The area surrounding Pico Isabel de Torres has been declared a National Monument with an area that covers approximately 20 km2. At the summit, there is a tropical botanical garden covering about 7 acres (28,000 m2), featuring 600 varieties of tropical plants.
More about Altos de Chavon
Casa de Campo, the most exclusive resort in the caribbean
Casa de Campo resort. Situated in La Romana on the southeast coast of the Dominican Republic, Casa de Campo (Spanish for "Country House") is a Ponderosa-style, tropical seaside resort.
The first to enjoy the luxuries of this enclave were friends of the late Charles Bluhdorn, Gulf+Western’s founder and CEO, who built the retreat. One of Bluhdorn's Dominican friends, Oscar de la Renta, was hired to do interior design for Casa De Campo. After Bluhdorn's death, the Cuban-American Fanjul family (the world’s top sugar barons), bought Casa and opened it to paying guests. Without compromising the feeling of exclusivity, they’ve developed it into one of the most complete resorts in the region.
More about casa de campo
Economy of La Romana
La Romana is not a typical Dominican town; instead, it is a company town, with the Central Romana Corporation owning the majority of the town. It is a town with nearly 100% employment, mostly in the tourism industry or with The Central Romana Corporation, the Duty Free Zone (Zona Franca Romana), or one of the service businesses there.
La Romana has been a one-company town since the South Puerto Rico Sugar Company built the mammoth Central Romana mill in 1917. It was the only sugar operation not taken over by Rafael Trujillo during his reign. From 1964 to 1967, the South Puerto Rico Sugar Company, including properties in Florida, Puerto Rico and the Dominican republic became part of the conglomerate Gulf+Western. In 1984, the Gulf+Western Corporation sold their stake in the Central Romana Corporation to a group of local and foreign investors which includes The Fanjul Brothers.
Romana del Oeste.
Caleta
Gulf+Western acquired Consolidated Cigar in 1968 and shifted the Canary Island cigar-making operation to its Tabacalera de Garcia tobacco plant in La Romana.
The Tabacalera de Garcia factory is currently one of the largest cigar factories in the world, and has been owned by the biggest cigar marketing company in the world, Altadis, since 1999. Three world famous brands are produced in La Romana: Montecristo, H. Upmann, and Romeo y Julieta.
This town is characterized by its tremendous influence in the country's tourism programs. It's filled with beautiful beaches and many hotels and resorts.
There are also many growing suburban areas and fenced communities This town has a large population, and all the problems associated with high-density areas. It does not have many notable sights in terms of architecture or urban spaces, being barely 100 years old. It grew very fast compared to the much older and slower-paced La Vega or Seibo, which are more typical Dominican towns.
Why choose La Romana?
This tourist area comprised of La Romana, Casa de Campo, Dominicus and Bayahibe is an excellent choice for R & R vacations, honeymoons, family holidays, family reunions, teenagers, active travelers, scuba divers and golfers. If friends have raved to you about the Saona Island excursion, La Romana is the nearest point from which to embark on a trip to the islands of Saona and Catalina.
What else is nearby
La Romana is 1-1/2 hour west of Punta Cana and 1-1/2 hour east of Santo Domingo, the capital city. The nearest resort area to La Romana is Juan Dolio (about 40 minutes west) and Boca Chica (an hour and a half west). La Romana city is about 10 minutes from Casa de Campo. Casa de Campo is about a 25 minute drive from Dominicus and Bayahibe beaches.
Port of Entry/How to get there
You will be less than 25 minutes away from most area hotels if you fly into the brand new international airport at La Romana.
The airport is served by flights by/from: American Airlines (Miami); Air Canada (Toronto), American Eagle (San Juan, Puerto Rico), Air Pullmantur (Madrid, Lauda Italy and Air Europe (Milan, Italy), Condor (Munich and Frankfurt) and LTU (Düsseldorf). There are also charter flights from Toronto, Motnreal, Ottawa (Canada, Boston, Charlotte, NC (USA) Europe: London, Manchester (England); Lyon, Marseille, Paris, Toulouse, Nantes (France), Milan (Italy).
Santo Domingo's Las Americas International Airport is less than two hours away, as is the Punta Cana International Airport. See Santo Domingo and Punta Cana sections for flight schedules from these two alternate airports.
La Romana Beaches
Dominicus-Bayahibe beaches
 |
The better beaches in the area are on the Dominicus and Bayahibe beach strips. By law, the first 60 meters of any beach is public property. And Dominicus and Bayahibe hotels -- Coral Canoa by Hilton, Iberostar Hacienda Dominicus, Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach and Palace and Venta Club Gran Dominicus took this a step further securing the prestigious European Blue Flag International certification. The beach actually became the first in the Caribbean to receive the designation that honors high standards for water quality, environmental education, environmental management and safety and services. The public entrance for area non-hotel guests is between Viva Dominicus Palace and Iberostar Hacienda. |
