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32 caves · down to 101 m (331 ft) · 2 suitable for an intro team

Cave diving in the Dominican Republic

  • Caves32
  • Max depth101 m (331 ft)
  • Water temperature24–26 °C (75–79 °F)
  • Dive centres5
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Diving and fills

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Fills nearby

  • Golden Arrow Technical Diving Center (Santo Domingo)116 kmAir, nitrox, trimix and oxygen
  • Dive Dominicana (Punta Cana)Air and nitrox (no oxygen or trimix)
  • Scuba Fun (Bayahibe)Air; no nitrox (per a visitor report)
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Why come here

On Hispaniola, the Dominican speleological society DRSS has explored and lined nearly every cave since 2008: in Cotubanamá national park near Bayahibe, in the sinkholes of Boca de Yuma, on private land around Santo Domingo and on the north coast near Cabrera. You dive in fresh water of about 24–26 °C, often sidemount, with haloclines in nearly every cave. In El Chicho open-water divers can join a cavern tour, most caves need at least intro-to-cave, and Manantial El Toro is for full cave divers with 60 or more cave dives only. In practice you dive with one of the cave centres, which arrange owner, park and porters.

Hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November, and the springs near Puerto Plata and Samaná are undivable for weeks after rain. DAN lists no hyperbaric chamber in the country, so in an emergency call DAN first.

Don't miss

  • El Chicho (Cueva del Chicho): Bayahibe's best-known cave: the line runs through the cavern and a decorated tunnel to a large dry section with breathable air and bats, and visibility stays good throughout.
  • Padre Nuestro: the training ground of the Dominican cave divers, where a decorated first section and a small restriction lead into a large room, and with El Chicho a natural first dive of the week.
  • Manantial El Toro 1 & 2: the country's largest system and the dive for those who come for the caves: a partly collapsed sinkhole leads into a network with very pronounced haloclines, and at Toro 2 a zero-visibility exit is normal.
  • Laguna Dudú: from the lagoon a tunnel with an air dome leads to a main line that lies right in the halocline, past tannin-stained formations and columns more than 15 m tall; only for full cave divers, never past the warning sign without that certification.

On a rest day

  • Saona Island: Take a boat to the island in Cotubanamá National Park, with white sand beaches on its southern and western coasts.
  • Colonial City of Santo Domingo: The old town, a World Heritage Site, with the first cathedral, hospital and university in the Americas.
  • Altos de Chavón: A recreated Mediterranean village above the Chavón River near La Romana, with a Roman-style amphitheatre.
  • Cueva de las Maravillas: A dry cave between San Pedro de Macorís and La Romana with hundreds of Taíno rock paintings, visited along footpaths and ramps.

All 32 caves

Configuration
My certification

2 closed not shown ·

SiteMax depth
Cueva de GamesEntry or dive feeSidemount · Full cave23 m (75 ft)
Cueva TaínaPermission neededEntry or dive feeBackmount · Full cave43 m (141 ft)
El ÁrbolPermission neededEntry or dive feeSidemount · Full cave14 m (46 ft)
El Asfalto (Pedernales)Backmount · Full cave11 m (36 ft)
Sistema El CangrejoEntry or dive feeSidemount · Full cave–
El Chicho (Cueva del Chicho)Entry or dive feeBackmount · Cavern21 m (69 ft)
El HipódromoBackmount · Full cave–
El PantanoPermission neededEntry or dive feeSidemount · Full cave10 m (33 ft)
El TildoPermission neededEntry or dive feeSidemount · Full cave8 m (26 ft)
Hoyo Azul (Boca de Yuma)Entry or dive feeSidemount · Full cave30 m (98 ft)
Hoyo de Floro / Las Flores (El Macao)Backmount · Full cave7 m (23 ft)
Hoyo de Molina (El Macao)Backmount · Full cave8 m (26 ft)
Jardín Oriental (Cueva Río Brujuela)Permission neededEntry or dive feeBackmount · Full cave30 m (98 ft)
La JeringaEntry or dive feeSidemount · Full cave15 m (49 ft)
Jurassic Park (Samaná)Backmount · Full cave32 m (105 ft)
Sistema La EscaleraPermission neededEntry or dive feeSidemount · Full cave14 m (46 ft)
Sistema La Negra (Cueva Negra)Entry or dive feeSidemount · Full cave6.4 m (21 ft)
Laguna DudúEntry or dive feeBackmount · Full cave20 m (66 ft)
Laguna Guácara (Ojos Indígenas, Punta Cana)Backmount · Full cave11 m (36 ft)
Laguna Pepe (Punta Cana)Backmount · Full cave7 m (23 ft)
Manantial de PorfidiaEntry or dive feeSidemount · Full cave9 m (30 ft)
Manantial El Toro 1 & 2Entry or dive feeSidemount · Full cave20 m (66 ft)
Oleg's Bat HouseEntry or dive feeSidemount · Full cave–
Padre NuestroPermission neededEntry or dive feeBackmount · Cavern13 m (43 ft)
Pozo La Hicotea (Pedernales)Backmount · Full cave45 m (148 ft)
Pozo La Piscina (Pedernales)Backmount · Full cave41 m (135 ft)
La RocaPermission neededEntry or dive feeBackmount · Full cave25 m (82 ft)
Sonador I (Nacimiento del Río Sonador)Backmount · Full cave101 m (331 ft)
Sonador IIBackmount · Full cave–
Trou Nicolás (Pedernales)Backmount · Full cave39 m (128 ft)

Certification requirements, configurations and trimix depths are estimates for planning. Always check them locally and dive within your training.

Map

Cave Dive centre

Dive centres and fill stations

5 dive centres, fill stations and instructors

Order: partners first, clearly marked as partner; then dive centres by distance from Bayahibe and independent instructors by name. Not a recommendation: check what they offer yourself.

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Practical info: rules, fills and emergency numbers

Emergencies

  • Call 911. DAN's network lists no hyperbaric chamber in the Dominican Republic (2026); call DAN first, +1 919 684 9111, which arranges the nearest chamber. Tourist police CESTUR +1 809 200 3500.

Access and rules

  • Guides: no national cave-diving rule found, but in practice you dive with one of the two technical centres in Punta Cana or with Scuba Fun in Bayahibe: they arrange owner, park and porters. Intro to Cave minimum; El Toro only with full cave and 60+ cave dives; cavern tours in El Chicho also for open-water divers.

Fees and opening hours

  • Park and owners: Cotubanamá about 200 DOP entry, 9:00–17:00; for Padre Nuestro register with Medio Ambiente in Bayahibe. Private caves: a fee to the owner plus porters (count on 200–700 DOP), cash. Sistema La Escalera only with park permission.

Gas and fills

  • Fills: nitrox free at the boat centres in Bayahibe (Dressel, Pro Dive), trimix at Golden Arrow in Santo Domingo. Arrange your gas in advance; the cave centres provide tanks and porters. CCR divers: oxygen, a booster and sorb are available at Golden Arrow in Santo Domingo. Dive Dominicana (Punta Cana) fills air and nitrox only.

Water and season

  • Water: fresh, about 24–26 °C all year; haloclines in nearly every cave, often at 5–10 m, at Jardín Oriental around 25 m. Visibility in the park caves is good; in the sinkholes of Boca de Yuma and the north coast count on silt-outs. Dry season December–April; hurricane season 1 June–30 November; the springs near Puerto Plata and Samaná are undivable for weeks after rain.

Getting around

  • From the airports: La Romana (LRM) 20 min, Punta Cana (PUJ) 50–60 min (taxi about 100 USD), Santo Domingo (SDQ) about 1.5 h to Bayahibe. Puerto Plata (POP)–Cabrera about 2 h.

Rest day

  • Swimming caves without cave diving (day off): Los Tres Ojos and La Caleta near Santo Domingo, Cueva de las Maravillas, Cueva Fun Fun, the Hoyo Azul of Scape Park (Cap Cana, not the one near Boca de Yuma), Laguna Gri-Gri near Río San Juan.
  • Rest day: Isla Saona and Catalina by boat, the colonial old town of Santo Domingo, Altos de Chavón.

Good to know

  • Four clusters: Cotubanamá national park near Bayahibe and Boca de Yuma (east, with a few smaller caves around Punta Cana and El Macao), the caves on private land around Santo Domingo airport (1.5 h), the Dudú cluster near Cabrera on the north coast (4+ h; the Punta Cana centres do it as a day trip) and the desert pools of Pedernales in the south-west near the Haitian border (6 h). Nearly all of it was explored and lined since 2008 by the DRSS, the Dominican speleological society; the Pedernales and El Macao caves were described in 2003 by the Fundación Espeleobuceo Hispaniola.

News

News articles that mention one of the caves in this region, collected automatically and not checked by us.

Access and rules change: check what applies locally right before your trip. Source: GDELT Project and the news feeds of diving magazines.

Searched automatically, last on 5 Nov 2026.

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Sources, sharing and disclaimer

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Compiled from web research (DRSS dr-ss.com, Dive Dominicana, Dominican Divers, Scuba Diving, Advanced Diver, World Nomads, divemasteraustin.com, showcaves.com, godominicanrepublic.com, Dominican press, DAN; Oct 2026), the book Las cuevas sumergidas de República Dominicana (environment ministry / Fundación Espeleobuceo Hispaniola, 2003; facts only); Dive Dominicana's gases and prices confirmed by Dive Dominicana, and Golden Arrow's details by Golden Arrow (Oct 2026). Oleg's Bat House and Sistema La Negra were added in Nov 2026 (DRSS, Dive Dominicana, Dominican Divers, and for Oleg's Bat House Caving News and DR1 after Listín Diario, 2011). The DRSS descriptions date from around 2013. Pins only where a source gives them; the caves on private land around Santo Domingo deliberately without a pin. Rules, prices and access change — check with your guide.