If you’re not in Cabarete, Dominican Republic right now, we guarantee these photos will make you wish you were. We reached out to some of Cabarete’s finest photographers and asked them to send us photos that they feel embody the spirit of our tiny radical beach town – and we think they nailed it. Not that it’s entirely difficult to snap a masterpiece with a backdrop like Cabarete, but we still give them mad props anyways. On a serious note, we would like to take the time to thank everyone who sent us photos. We gave each contributor an album below. Just click on the little dots to cycle through and enjoy them 🙂

Monica Rush

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Our first set of snaps come from photographer and entrepreneur Monica Rush of Bikini Empire. All of the photos shown are part of a campaign to sell fashion forward, yet super functional, bikinis – but we think models Gigi Tavares and Amanda Bouveng do a pretty good job of selling life in Cabarete, too. Head on over to the Bikini Empire website to read the story of a pair of entrepreneurial twins (which is pretty interesting), feast your eyes on a gamut of gorgeous photos, and maybe even buy a bikini or two.

Jade and Gabe

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This next album is part of a Cabarete Love Story. Jade and Gabriel are surfers who met here at our local surf beach, Playa Encuentro. Eventually they got married in Cabarete and lived happily ever after. Somewhere in between they started a travel blog aptly named “We Travel and Blog“. Their adventures and post started off on Hispanola, but some time in 2014 they left the island to explore more territory. We suggest you pop on over to their website. It’s like a visual diary that only dreams are made of, yet these guys are living it. You can live vicariously through them because they are not shy about posting tons of spectacular photos and thoughtfully edited videos to accompany their interesting and informative writings.

Rou Chater

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Up next is a collection from Rou Chater, one of the co-founders of a really really big online kitesurfing magazine, iksurfmag.com. Even though they own a kiteboarding magazine and Cabarete, DR is the OG of kite spots, the writers of magazine got their first chance to visit our mecca in 2014. Rou, Mary, and Alex (all co-founders and writers) spent a few months here, wrote an article about how rad our little spot is, and loved it so much they came back this year to do it again! Word on the street is they are coming back again next year. Classic Cabarete story: they come, they leave, they come back, then they try to figure out how the heck they can stay forever. Anyhow, make sure you show their magazine some love. These guys are from the UK and they have a true knack for cheeky writing, awesome action photography, and they are always right on top of what’s happening in the world of kitesurfing.

Daniel R. Stockdale

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Our next batch comes from surf-a-holic Daniel R. Stockdale. Daniel hails from Ocean Grove, NJ, and for the past 40 years he has been diligently photographing Mother Nature in and out of the water. For almost a decade Daniel has been returning to the Dominican Republic to shred in the surf and share the stoke with the local community and global travelers that make up the essence of Cabarete. He is pretty diligent about posting daily photos on Facebook during surf season, so like the page and if you come to surf you might just find yourself e-famous on his Facebook! Prints of his handiwork are available for sale on his website. So, if after reading this article you feel the semi-immediate need to be in paradise, you can fake it until you plan your trip here by hanging a D.R. Stockdale original in your living-room.

German Paz

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This album of splendor comes from Cabarete transplant, German Paz. He has been living here forever and has become a staple in providing photography services for the local hotels and tour groups. His experience in the photography industry spans 20 years and he is fluent in all sorts of subjects including portraits, sports, real estate, fashion and underwater – but according to the horses mouth, his favorite is shooting weddings. He gushes, “I love to catch the overload of happiness around me.” So hey, if you are thinking about planning a wedding in the Caribbean, we have an amazing set up here at Villa Taina, and now you have a photographer who loves his job. Let the celebrations begin! We didn’t include any of his wedding photography here, so you will have to head on over to his website to experience the love.

Mercedes Acevedo

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This breath taking bunch comes to us from Mercedes Acevedo. Originally from Argentina, Mercedes has carved out a nice little niche here in Cabarete. After working in Buenos Aires for years in fashion and advertising she decided to move here 6 years ago and quickly found work as a photo-journalist and has been contracted for events, portfolio work, and tons of other projects around town. In her free time you can often find her hanging ten on a wave at Playa Encuentro, but most of her time these days is spent volunteering and mentoring young locals at an organization called Inspire DR.

Jürgen Warschun

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Up next is a set from Jürgen Warschun who has been putting his lens to work since 2007. He currently spends most of his time in Cabarete, DR, but he has won nationwide photography competitions in the UK and Germany. And since 2010 his photos have graced the pages of many British and German travel and photo magazines. Being the worldly man that he is, Jürgen also successfully mans photography workshops in Britain and Morocco during the summer time. His photos have a certain edge to them that makes you realize this is a craft for him. Most of them have nothing to do with beautiful beaches, so we didn’t include them here, but head on over to his Flickr page to see what we mean. He is also for hire, so you can send him a message on his Facebook Page if you feel so inclined.



Tracy Shayhorn

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Last, but not least, are a few photos taken by yours truly. In addition to writing articles for Villa Taina, I also manage the social media accounts. So, if you follow Villa Taina on Instagram, G+, or Facebook, you have probably seen my photos. I’ve been living in Cabarete almost 4 years and I truly love every single waking moment of it. I’m not a photography buff, but I have 3 GoPros, 1 waterproof Sony Handycam, and a 7D Canon with a 100-400mm lens, and almost 1500 followers on Instagram….ahem. Anyhow, I take photos of what I see around me and what I think people will find interesting about our town…not just because it is my job, but because I want to shout from the mountain tops how awesome I think Cabarete is. I have just been diligent enough to pursue a career that allows me to do that.

So, in signing off, I would like to invite you to come visit Cabarete, Dominican Republic. It’s a tiny tiny town with a heart the size of the sun. The view is spectacular, the water is warm, the conditions are perfect for water and wind-sports, and the people are like family. Hasta pronto!

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