Discovering Paradise
Discovering Paradise
December in the Dominican Republic delivers the best weather of the year, Dominican Christmas traditions like Nochebuena and Angelito, and the start of peak-season pricing. Here is how to navigate the busiest and most festive month on the island.
December in the Dominican Republic is the island at its most irresistible. The rainy season is a memory. The trade winds blow steadily, keeping humidity in check. The sky is a deep, cloudless blue that photographers dream about. And across the country, from the smallest campo village to the Malecón in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Christmas season brings a warmth that has nothing to do with the weather.
This is also peak season, with peak prices. December is the most expensive month to visit the DR, and the Christmas-to-New-Year window is the priciest stretch of the entire year. But if you can budget for it — or if you time your trip strategically for early December — you get the best weather on the planet combined with cultural celebrations that make a Dominican Christmas genuinely unforgettable.
There is no equivocation here. December weather in the Dominican Republic is close to perfect. This is the month that earned the country its reputation as a Caribbean paradise.
The only caveat: the north coast around Puerto Plata has its own weather pattern and can experience some rain in December, though even there it is significantly drier than the October-November period. Punta Cana, Santo Domingo, La Romana, and Samaná are reliably dry and gorgeous.
Dominican Christmas (Navidad) is a season, not a day. The celebrations begin in early December and build to a crescendo on Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) and Christmas Day, then continue through January 6 (Día de los Reyes Magos). It is one of the most vibrant and communal Christmas celebrations in the Caribbean.
Nochebuena is THE Dominican holiday — bigger than Christmas Day itself. Families gather for an enormous meal that typically includes roasted pork leg (pernil or pierna de cerdo), rice with gandules (pigeon peas), ensalada rusa (a Dominican potato salad), pasteles en hoja (similar to tamales, wrapped in banana leaves), and telera or pan de agua to soak up the juices. Dessert is often dulce de leche or turrón.
The celebration runs late — midnight is when gifts are opened, fireworks explode across the sky, and the neighborhood comes alive with music. In cities and towns, people spill into the streets after midnight, and the colmados turn into impromptu dance floors with merengue and bachata blasting until dawn.
Angelito is the Dominican version of Secret Santa, played among families, friend groups, and coworkers throughout December. Participants draw names and exchange anonymous small gifts, notes, and treats throughout the month, building up to a final reveal and gift exchange. If your hotel staff or tour guides mention "Angelito," they are talking about this tradition — and they may playfully recruit you into the game.
Parrandas (also called asaltos navideños) are roving groups of friends and neighbors who travel house to house singing aguinaldos (Dominican Christmas carols), playing güira, tambora, and guitar. When a parranda arrives at your door, the tradition is to welcome them in with food and drink, then join the group as they move to the next house. In Santo Domingo neighborhoods like Gazcue and Villa Consuelo, parrandas are a beautiful, spontaneous expression of community.
The Dominican Christmas season does not end on December 25. It continues to January 6, Three Kings Day, when children traditionally receive gifts from the Magi (rather than Santa Claus). If you are in the DR in early January, you will see parades and celebrations in towns across the country, particularly in the Zona Colonial in Santo Domingo.
Dominican New Year's (Año Nuevo) is celebrated with the same exuberance as Nochebuena. The Malecón in Santo Domingo hosts a massive public celebration with live music stages, fireworks, and tens of thousands of revelers. Resorts in Punta Cana throw gala dinners and beach parties with live entertainment.
Dominicans wear yellow for good luck and prosperity in the new year (you will see entire families dressed in gold and yellow on December 31). Eating 12 grapes at midnight — one for each stroke of the clock — is a tradition borrowed from Spain. Running around the block with a suitcase at midnight is supposed to bring travel in the new year. And cleaning the house thoroughly on December 31 symbolizes sweeping out the old year's troubles.
December is the most expensive month to visit the Dominican Republic. Here are the real numbers:
If your dates are flexible, the first two weeks of December offer 95% of the weather quality at 40-50% less than Christmas week. Fly in December 1-5, leave by December 14-15, and you get peak-season weather with shoulder-to-early-peak pricing. This is the move that experienced DR travelers make.
December bookings — especially for the Christmas-New Year window — follow a predictable pattern:
For Christmas and New Year specifically: book by August at the latest. The best rooms at top resorts (Tortuga Bay, Eden Roc, Excellence El Carmen) sell out 4-6 months in advance.
Punta Cana is December's most popular destination for good reason: perfect beach weather, massive resort infrastructure, direct flights from everywhere, and a holiday atmosphere that starts at the airport. Bávaro Beach is at its best — calm turquoise water, minimal rain, and golden morning light that is worth waking up for.
Santo Domingo delivers an authentic Dominican Christmas that resort tourists never experience. Walk the Zona Colonial during December and you will see Christmas lights strung across colonial-era buildings, hear aguinaldos sung by parrandas in the streets, and smell pernil roasting in homes throughout the barrios. Baseball games at Estadio Quisqueya are electrifying as the regular season reaches its climax.
Samaná in December is quiet, green, and romantic. The early humpback whales begin arriving in Samaná Bay in late December (the official whale watching season starts in January), and lucky visitors may spot the first arrivals from shore. Las Terrenas and Las Galeras offer a laid-back alternative to the resort intensity of Punta Cana.
Early December (Dec 1-15) runs US$220-400/night for all-inclusive resorts and US$320-500 for round-trip flights from the U.S. The Christmas-New Year window (Dec 20-Jan 3) jumps to US$350-600+/night with flights at US$450-750+. A couple can expect to spend US$3,000-6,000 for a week-long all-inclusive trip during the holidays, or US$2,000-4,000 in early December. The first two weeks of December offer the best value for peak-season weather.
The biggest is Nochebuena (Christmas Eve), the main celebration with feasting, fireworks, and street parties at midnight. Parrandas — roving groups singing aguinaldos (Christmas carols) from house to house — are common in December neighborhoods. Angelito (Dominican Secret Santa) may include you if you are staying at locally-run properties. Many resorts and cultural organizations arrange Nochebuena celebrations open to tourists. On the food side, try pernil (roasted pork), pasteles en hoja, and telera at local restaurants throughout December.
Early December (Dec 1-15) is the better value play. The weather is virtually identical to Christmas week, but prices are 40-50% lower, crowds are manageable, and you still get the festive Dominican Christmas atmosphere building across the island. Christmas week is worth the premium if experiencing Nochebuena and the New Year's Eve Malecón celebration are priorities for you — those are genuinely once-in-a-lifetime cultural experiences.
This guide covers Punta Cana. Explore more about this destination.
View DestinationOur team includes contributors who live in the Dominican Republic year-round and travel the island extensively, from Santo Domingo to remote southwest villages.