Plan Your 2013 Weekend Travel

Rotating holidays and official holidays that fall on Monday or Friday will create six long weekends in the Dominican Republic next year. Four of them will be four-day stretches (Friday through Monday), and two will be Friday to Sunday vacation periods or three-day breaks. This is good to know in advance because these are dates when reservations are more likely to be necessary, and beach and mountain resort areas will have more than their regular share of visitors. The other advantage is that big-ticket shows and entertainment events are laid on for the domestic market in many tourist areas during these dates. It is also a time when there is likely to be company on what are usually secluded beaches. Take note that with more than 60,000 hotel rooms in the DR, vacancies will usually be available even for travelers making last minute bookings. The peak travel times, though, are Easter, Christmas and New Year holidays.
The long weekends in 2013 are:
18, 19, 20, 21 January. Our Lady of Altagracia Long Weekend. Dominicans may take off from Friday, 18 January, extending the holidays for a weekend dedicated to the family.
28, 29, 30, 31 March. Easter Long Weekend. Dominicans will take off from Thursday, 28 March as school is called off from the previous Monday.
26, 27, 28, 29 April. Labor Day Long Weekend. Dominicans are likely to take off from Friday.
30, 31 May, 1, 2 June. Corpus Christi Long Weekend.
16, 17, 18 August. Restoration Day Long Weekend. This marks the Restoration Day holiday that marks the end of school vacation period.
2, 3, 4 November. Constitution Day Long Weekend. Mercedes Day will be celebrated on a Monday creating the long weekend.
For more on holidays in the Dominican Republic, see http://dr1.com/travel/prepare/holidays.shtml