10 Best Nightlife in Dominican Republic

Imagine you were dancing the night away in a natural cave, with earth-rocking acoustics. You can bounce back and forth between the various "cave" rooms with their stalactites and stalagmites, with equally hot dance floors, featuring house/club jams, merengue/salsa/world beats, current Top 40, and more. Theme nights change, like Crazy Thursday might switch to Brazil's Carnaval. Come late and stay early: things start getting steamy well after midnight, when many club crawlers descend via shuttle (round-trip) from the local resorts. The bus is $10 per person round trip. Private options are available. Taxis wait outside for those who can't hang. Tickets are sold online and at the door. The regular open bar for $40 includes international beverages, which differs from other local clubs that only offer national liquors. For just $10 more, premium tickets include an open bar with premium liquors, and the VIP tickets cover entrance for up to six people for $450.

This is the cigar club that other cigar bars look up to, a classy, sceney bar and salon elegant enough that you don't need to be a smoker to enjoy it. A high-tech ventilation system keeps the room from being unpleasantly smoky. And, of course, Fuente cigars are among the best, pairing well with the finest aged rums or cognacs from the bar. This club is populated by well-heeled capitaleños, and has a semi-formal dress code, so dress the part or you may be turned away.

This Las Vegas–style show within the Ocean World casino complex is a spectacle of beautiful dancing girls and guys with incredible voices. Don't expect it to be as professional or as high-budget as Vegas; it's glitzy and sexy, but slightly campy. Still, with some 30 dancers and 120 costumes, the blur, shake, and whirl is memorable. And it's only an hour. Transportation can be included, and there are other packages, too.

This popular Mexican club has opened a branch in Punta Cana. Latin Club music is interspersed with shows (such as celebrity impersonators or samba demos) lasting some 20 minutes, long enough for the dancers to cool off and drink. The atmosphere is loud, hot, and crowded. Paying extra for VIP service may be a good idea if you don't want to compete with the throngs on the main floor, and this includes transportation back to major resorts in the area. 

The action includes some 50 slot machines and 16 gaming tables. You can also play a couple of hands of blackjack, shoot craps, or take a spin at the roulette wheel. There's action here from 9 am to 5 am. Diamante's disco, Trio, is a hot ticket, too. Security runs a tight ship.

The crowd here covers all walks of Dominican life, from old men playing dominoes on the plastic tables on up to a wealthy and well-dressed group stopping by after an art opening. It's as funky and real a slice of life as it was before the neighborhood became so gentrified. When the traditional dancing begins, you’ll see all ages moving to the Cuban beat, with many seriously proficient in their merengue moves.

Delivering consistently good meals and good tunes, this club-restaurant breaks the stereotype that you shouldn't eat where you party. The beachside bar regularly hosts local and international DJs with jam sessions covering a wide variety of genres. While the bar provides tried-and-true favorites, the cocktail menu (with non-alcoholic options) is extensive and the drinks are well-made. It's one of the places to be in Las Terrenas.

This Malecón casino is the largest in the capital with more than 50 slot machines, baccarat, roulette, craps, blackjack, and Pai Gow poker tables. 

This avant-garde wine bar and wine store was created by the major wine distributor El Catador. Cushy leather armchairs and hardwood floors help create a clubby atmosphere. If you want to eat, there's a good menu of tapas. You will want to buy one of the 500 bottles of wine from around the wine-making world. Generally there are a dozen wines for tasting, but there are no samplings during the busy Christmas holidays.