The Dominican Republic didn’t invent the all-inclusive vacation, but it certainly perfected it. Springing from the soft white sands of Bávaro Beach in Punta Cana, lines of oversized all-inclusive resorts have long shaped the conversation when it comes to Caribbean travel, making the Dominican Republic the most visited Caribbean island nation—by far.
Now, a newer coastal enclave in the Dominican Republic is drawing visitors to a number of brand new all-inclusive resorts debuting this year: Miches. Just a few years ago, Miches was little more than a small beachfront town located a short drive north of Punta Cana on the island’s picturesque Samaná Bay. Suddenly, it’s the destination on everyone’s mind.
With Zemi Miches Punta Cana All-Inclusive Resort, Curio Collection by Hilton debuting earlier this summer, Miches feels poised to be the next place to be in the Caribbean. Locals and a new generation of all-inclusive travelers alike are left wondering whether Miches is the next Punta Cana. Or, perhaps, its antithesis.
A Magical Alternative
Located on the far eastern coast of the island, Punta Cana is the hub of tourism in the Dominican Republic, a Caribbean mecca for resort vacations home to the second busiest airport in the entire region. With Punta Cana’s convenience and relative affordability comes commercialization at one of the largest scales in the Caribbean. Here, there is nary a sliver of beach that doesn’t have an oversized resort or pulsing beach bar occupying its sands.
Meanwhile, Miches feels worlds away, still raw, real tropical paradise that feels straight out of a postcard. Touching down in Punta Cana and heading just and hour and a half north, travelers are soon greeted with soaring mountains coated in lush greenery that kiss the Caribbean Sea.
Miches is nestled among untouched tropical forest, not far from mythical destination like Los Haitises National Park, where indigenous tribes once gathered and left cave paintings behind. In the cooler winter months, humpback whales travel to the protected waters near Miches to give birth to and nourish their young.
“Miches sits along the shores of a largely protected cove, giving its calm, clear waters. They also happen to be totally free from the sargassum seaweed that has become an increasingly impossible problem across much of the rest of the Caribbean,” said Manuela Fahringer, General Manager of Zemi Miches Punta Cana All-Inclusive Resort, in an interview.
The Punta Cana Precedent
Amidst the excitement of a flurry of new resorts debuting in Miches, many wonder if we’re witnessing the birth of the next Punta Cana. It’s a fair question; at the start of the year, Viva Miches by Wyndham, A Trademark All Inclusive Resort opened its doors, and on June 30th, Hilton’s Zemi Miches property, its first all-inclusive Curio Collection resort, follow suit from its location along 800 meteres of coastline.
Later this year, Hyatt will touch down in Miches, too. Secrets Playa Esmeralda Resort & Spa and Dream Playa Esmeralda Resort & Spa are set to debut, side-by-side adults-only and family-friendly resorts from the Hyatt Inclusive Collection. When taken together, it’s a significant amount of development for a destination that lacked even a main road connecting it to Punta Cana until just ten years ago.
To compare Miches to Punta Cana feels even more unavoidable considering that much of the investment in Miches comes from Grupo Puntacana. A Dominican business conglomerate with a sustainable tourism focus, Grupo Puntacana helped turn Punta Cana into what it is today, and continues to play a significant role in the destination and its management. Frank Elías Rainieri, CEO of Grupo Puntacana and the son of one of Grupo Puntacana’s founders, Frank Rainieri, spearheaded the new Zemi Miches property from start to finish.
All Its Own
Even with all the development, Miches still hasn’t changed all that much. That’s just what makes it so attractive in the first place.
“Miches benefits from being just a 90-minute drive from Punta Cana’s well-served international airport, but it feels totally untouched and unbothered, and that’s a huge part of why travelers come here in the first place,” says Fahringer. “They want that escape from the Punta Cana that many of them already know well.”
Erika Sordo, Corporate Director of Marketing & Publications at Viva Resorts by Wyndham, echoes the same sentiment. “[Viva Miches by Wyndham] was thoughtfully designed to showcase the area’s untouched natural beauty,” she says. It’s not just an extension of Punta Cana, it’s something unique, “offering ocean-front, diverse dining, and memorable experiences for every type of traveler,” and that’s what makes it so special.
All New All-Inclusive
To position this new destination as something all its own aligns with the shifting priorities of the modern-day all-inclusive traveler. At a time when all-inclusive travel is trending in a big way, this new generation of travelers aren’t looking for a cookie-cutter experience; they’re seeking something special.
At the heart of the new all-inclusive experience is “a growing desire to feel immersed in a new destination, rather than removed from it,” said Nicole Tilzer, Vice president of Hilton’s All-Inclusive & Resort Strategy, in an interview last year.
With an enhanced focus on activities and excursions that make the most of the rich coastal and mountainous landscapes surrounding the resort, plus an exciting, first-of-its-kind indigenous Dominican Taino cuisine-focused restaurant, Zemi Miches is out to do just that, and much more. “Travelers want to feel like they’re part of something special that they can’t find elsewhere, and that’s what they’ll get here,” says Fahringer.
Sustainable Solutions
As the destinations grows, Miches is built on a foundation of lessons learned from its neighbor. That means making an effort to focus on sustainable and ethical development, right from the start.
“We’ve been intimately involved with local associations like ProMiches and ProTortuga to support sustainable growth locally as Miches continues to grow, explains Fahringer. These Dominican-led organizations support everything from promoting local small businesses to protecting the fragile coastal ecosystem and supporting turtle nesting sites along beaches.
With more development expected soon, including a Four Seasons property with plans to open its doors in 2026, the future of Miches continues to look bright. With the history of Punta Cana’s successes, and excesses, as a foundation, Miches charts an impressive course entirely its own.