Sosúa

Six hundred Austrian and German Jewish refugees settled this small community during World War II. After the war many of them returned to Europe or went to the United States, and most who remained married Dominicans. Only a few Jewish families reside in the community today, and there's only the original one-room wooden synagogue. Sosúa is called Puerto Plata's little sister, and consists of two communities—El Batey, the modern hotel and expat residential neighborhood, and Los Charamicos, the dense Dominican quarter—separated by a cove with one of the island's prettiest beaches. The sand is soft and the color of light amber, the water clear and calm. The walkway above the beach is packed with tents filled with souvenirs, pizzas, and even clothing for sale. The town developed a reputation for prostitution in the 1990s, but much continues to be done to eliminate that and to clean up the more garish element, and it continues to have a seedy nightlife.