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Boca Chica
Boca Chica Boca Chica in the Dominican Republic
Coordinates: 18°27′14″N 69°36′23″W / 18.45389°N 69.60639°W / 18.45389; -69.60639
Country	Dominican Republic
Province	Santo Domingo
Municipality since	2001
Area [1]
- Total	145.67 km2 (56.2 sq mi)
Population (2002)[2]
- Total	99,508
- Density	683.1/km2 (1,769.2/sq mi)
- Urban	46,385
Municipal Districts	1

Boca Chica is a municipality (municipio) of the Santo Domingo province in the Dominican Republic.Within the municipality there is one municipal district (distritos municipal): La Caleta.^[3]

As of the 2002 census the municipality had 99,508 inhabitants, 46,385 living in the city itself and 53,123 in its rural districts (Secciones).^[2]

For comparison with other municipalities and municipal districts see the list of municipalities and municipal districts of the Dominican Republic.

It has a popular beach with the same name, located about 30 kilometers east of Santo Domingo de Guzmán in the south shore of the island of Hispaniola.

History

Boca Chica was originally developed by Juan Bautista Vicini Burgos in the early twentieth century. Vicini was very fond of the place, but the golden era of Boca Chica was in the 1950s, when dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo ordered the construction of a modern hotel named "Hotel Hamaca," which subsequently became something of an icon. The hotel got all the more famous because it was there that Trujillo granted asylum to Fulgencio Batista after the Cuban Revolution.

The Hamaca was closed almost immediately after Trujillo was killed in May 1961, and it remained closed and abandoned for more than twenty years. It was reopened in the early 1990s.

During the 1950s and the 1960s, prominent families of the Dominican Republic built several summer properties along the beach only accessible by private transportation.

After the 1970s, the beach became more and more popular and public transportation helped to make Boca Chica a very populated beach; it was no longer secluded and quiet, as it had been during the '50s and '60s.

Characteristics

The short distance from the capital city of the Dominican Republic, the crystalline waters and the white sands, turned Boca Chica in the most crowded beach of the Dominican Republic specially on weekends and holidays because is 19 miles (30 km) away from Santo Domingo. Boca Chica has two small islands, Los Pinos and La Matica, and two marinas.

Boca Chica beach has immaculate fine sand. You can walk in the water and the depth will barely change, the water will be to your waist (or a little bit over) all the time. It's the most family friendly of all the Dominican Republic beaches.

There are lots of bars, restaurants, pizza stands, very tacky souvenirs stalls and loud music all day long; all this along the beach sand very close to the shore.

In recent years, the town has become overwhelmed with tourists from North America and Europe, especially during the months of December through April. It is one of the better places to enjoy swimming in the warm Caribbean waters. The town of Boca Chica, after dark has a notorious reputation. Later in the evening, the family friendly town transforms itself into a town of party bars and prostitution. However, the notorious reputation is ill deserved when compared to other “hot spots” in the area.

References

From Wikitravel

Boca Chica is a city in Gulf of Chiriquí.

Boca Chica is located on the western Pacific shore of Panama, near the border of Costa Rica. Boca Chica is on the shore of the Gulf of Chiriquí (Golfo de Chiriquí), which is considered by savvy sport fishermen as one of the best kept secrets in big game fishing. Also in the Gulf are Coiba National Marine Park [1], Islas Ladrones and Islas Secas, all known for world class scuba diving and snorkeling.

It is a 90 minute drive (32 miles) from David, the capital city of Panama, and is located 18 miles south of the IntraAmerican highway, via the community of Horconcitos, in the San Lorenzo (Panama) District. There is only one road to this town and it ends at the estuary of the Pedregal River with the island of Boca Brava just across the water. This road to the fishing village used to be famously rough, especially during the rainy season, but recent improvements have made it an easier drive.

Get in

From David’s Enrique Malek International Airport: Boca Chica is less than an hour from David's Enrique Malek International Airport and traveler's can get there by bus or car.

Alternatively, a five minute car ride from David to the nearby port of Pedregal will enable travelers to board a boat for the 50 minute scenic ride to the Boca Chica.

Construction has begun to expand David's airport to accommodate direct regular flights from the United States and Canada.

Get around

By foot or boat.

See

Boca Chica is the main jumping off point for the islands in the Gulf of Chiriquí (Golfo de Chiriquí), including Isla Boca Brava, Isla Palenque, Islas Ladrones and Islas Secas .

Do

Boca Chica is the closest town to Parque Nacional Marino Golfo de Chiriquí [2] and is said to be one of Panama’s best kept secrets. The fishing is incomparable near Boca Chica, with an abundance of marlin, tuna and dorado. The village is remarkable, too, for having no skyscrapers or three story buildings, and for having pristine beaches giving the locale an untouched feel unlike anything in Panama.

Buy

There are no stores of note in this tropical paradise.

Eat

Wahoo Willy's is one of two places to eat and there is a restaurant within the family-owned inn, Gone Fishing [3].

Sleep

There is the boutique hotel Seagull Cove [4] and the family-owned inn Gone Fishing [5];both located right on the Gulf of Chiriquí in Boca Chica.

A short boat ride away, there are places to stay on nearby islands Boca Brava and Isla Palenque.