Punta Cana Airport to Macao

Macao is the last stretch of this coast that hasn't been fully swallowed by resort development, and it wasn't long ago that it was the region's best-kept secret. Locals would come out for the day to ride horses along the shore, tear through the dunes on ATVs and buggies, and sit at a beachside shack with a cold Presidente and a plate of fried fish. Some of that still exists — the shacks, the ATV tours, the horseback rides along the sand are all still around — but those days as a hidden gem are largely over now that resorts have moved in. Only a couple of hotels sit directly on Macao Beach today, with more reportedly on the way.

Like Uvero Alto, there's next to nothing outside the resort gates here — no supermarkets, no bars, no nightlife. If you're staying in Macao, plan on spending your trip inside the property, because there isn't much reason to leave it.

Macao also faces the open Atlantic, and the surf here is a different animal than anywhere else on this coast. On a good day the waves can build to six feet or more, which is why it's become something of a local surf spot — great for boogie boarding, body surfing, or actually catching a wave. But that same swell brings rip currents that show up almost daily, and unless you know what you're doing in that kind of water, it's a beach best admired from the sand rather than swum in.