Surf Season in The Dominican Republic
Which time of year is good for my level?
Beginner waves are available year-round in the Dominican Republic. If you’re already a Surfer looking for the perfect wave, planning your surf trip to the Dominican Republic can be easy- if you know when to come. We are going to describe typical surf conditions for each season in the Dominican Republic.
At a Glance
Surf season coincides with Hurricane season. A swell can vary from mild to wild and will light up the coasts with waves that are heavy and barreling, long and clean, or messy and huge- it all depends on the storm that brings it. While most people dread the fall and winter storms, Surfers track them for weeks anticipating the world class waves that usually come with these storms. After the rain, you can rush to the beach and find the glassiest, cleanest waves you’ve seen all day. For this reason, Surfers in Cabarete tend to welcome the rain.
Fall
Typically the first of the swells to visit the Caribbean come in September or October. Suddenly the energy in the surf community shifts dramatically after a long flat summer. Starting in October waves are good pretty much every day meaning they are waist-high or better, breaking with clean consistency and predictability.
Winter
Our best swells come in January-February- March when hurricane season is in full swing, and plenty of storms are finding their way to the Caribbean. In these months, swells are nearly back-to-back, and the likelihood of more surf spots working in the country is very high. Waves can get double-overhead several times a Winter season.
Spring
We usually see the storms come with less frequency and enjoy our last swells (until fall) around May/June.
Summer
Different parts of the country, especially the North Coast’s Playa Encuentro in Cabarete will have a little somethin’ somethin’ year round. Summer waves break ankle or knee high- perfect for beginners to learn to surf. For most local surfers conditions are less than favorable and use this time to focus on work, other water sports like kiteboarding or travel to other surf destinations.
Beginners can come to Cabarete anytime to learn to surf. Seasoned surfers will find the best time to travel to the Dominican Republic for Surf is November- March when storm systems from the west bring back to back swells.
Fun Fact, Dominican Surfers have a funny way of measuring waves, if you’re told the waves were 3ft that day, you need to ask “Dominican Feet or regular?” because Dominican 3 ft means 3ft overhead.
