The capital is all you need for culture and use Boca Chica as your home base for the beach. I recommend bringing 2-3 boxes of rubbers and the 99 percent of girls showing interest in you are hookers and whatever they tell you, counter with half the amount of money. Nice, normal girls are in Santo Domingo. Has a lot of stuff to do there and experience real Dominican culture. Go to the Botanical Gardens there, the old Cathedral, shop en el calle de conde and watch the hundreds of girls walking past. So many different discos and bars in Santo Domingo that you will have a blast. Don't wear shorts, and tank tops in the capital. In boca chica you can dress how you want but in other areas, Dominican men never wear shorts because they don't want others to think they are homosexual and some places may not let you in being underdressed. DON'T WEAR FLASHY JEWELRY. AVOID SAN PEDRO, it is a rough place for an average tourist. I am from Michigan and I would rather venture into Detroit late in the evening than San Pedro, because I feel safer. You say you are worldly so most of this you all ready know. For that short of a trip, I would just split my time between Boca Chica and Santo Domingo. La Romana is about 2.5 hours from Santo Domingo, depending on the area and traffic. Never been there so I can't give my opinion. Juan Dolio is another popular tourist destination on the south coast, about 45 minutes from Santo Domingo, but the beach is no better than BC and more expensive there, you know the All Inclusive Hotels and I preferred Boca Chica over Juan Dolio. Santo Domingo has around, 3,000,000 people and that is where all the major action and sights/points of interest on the south coast. You won't be bored hanging around Santo Domingo and Boca Chica, except for all those darn vendors hanging around the beach bothering you but they are in all countries with a high concentration of tourists. Good luck and have fun.
dale7(Howard)