Millions are being invested in the sleepy town of Montecristi. While still a sleepy and low key tourism destination, Montecristi slowly seems to being primed to play its role in the booming tourism industry of the Dominican Republic.
Montecristi is the most northwestern province of the Dominican Republic, the closest for cruise ship tourism from Florida. has hundreds of km of white sand beach and out islands, and for the most part, good roads too. The destination is known for its scant rains and the history of not being impacted by hurricanes.
A major cargo terminal and natural gas storage are in the completion phases in Manzanillo on the westernmost coast of Montecristi province. These two facilities would serve as alternates to the ports and natural gas storage facilities on the southside of the country. The Manzanillo Port seeks to serve as an export port for free zone manufacturing and agriculture products in the Cibao region that now are being trucked south. Those installing manufacturing in the border province can take advantage of numerous fiscal incentives.
The Northwest is already popular for Cayo Arena in the Punta Rucia beach area.
The Northwest for years has been a major banana-producing area, but the potential is for more development in other areas. Already green tabletop grapes are also being grown and exported from Montecristi.
Montecristi has its Osvaldo Virgil domestic airport that is occasionally habilitated as an international airport. This airport would be replaced by a larger airport now in the planning phase.
Bill Lockward reports that public views for an airport larger than the Cibao International Airport have taken place in the provincial capital. The plan is for an airport that would have capacity for three to six airplanes at the same time. The promoters are talking about investing US$100 million in the airport that would be privately operated. The airport would also serve as a cargo airport and would be built but 4 km from the Montecristi capital city.
There is much talk also about whether Alba Bay, the Montecristi planned mega tourism development, will become the Casa de Campo of the northwestern coast. The project promoters say they have a property of 35 million square meters for residential and tourism ventures. The US$5 billion investment is overseen by the developer Rodriguez Sandoval. Rodriguez Sandoval is known as the developer of the Malecon Center in Santo Domingo, Guavaberry Country Club in San Pedro de Macoris, among others.
The Rodriguez Sandoval construction company is in the first phases of the Alba tourism and residential development. The first phase calls for US$150 million to be invested in 2,200 hotel rooms, a golf course, beach and residential area. The mega project is envisioned to have 7,000 villas and 31,000 apartments in addition to 160 km of trails.
Meanwhile, Montecristi has small international and local hotels, plenty of restaurants with delicious seafood and goat dishes and gorgeous scenery, beaches and trails for exploring, and the charm of a small town waiting to be discovered. Check out the city public square with the clock made by Frenchman Jean-Paul Garnier in the tower made by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, the same mastermind behind Paris’s Eiffel Tower.
CDN, Channel 37, recently aired a news story on the attractions of Montecristi.
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Bill Lockward
CDN
8 April 2025