Luperon - General Info

Where is Luperon?

Luperon harbor (also known as Puerto Blanco) is a large enclosed mangrove bay providing excellent shelter all year round. Its position on the north coast of the DR, opposite the Turks and Caicos Islands, makes it a useful shelter for yachts with southbound or even northbound cruising plans. It is the first and only substantial anchorage for boats heading east and is popular with both liveaboards as well as transient cruisers. It is also regarded as one of the safest hurricane holes in the world.

Luperon is a small rural town with very humble and friendly Spanish-speaking locals. They rely on fishing, farming, and cruisers for their income. It has markets and hardware stores,  a laundry, discos, a hospital, police, and two dentists. It is very quiet with not much to do except take it easy.

Luperon Cruiser Highlights:

Plenty of anchoring space; excellent shelter; WiFi in the anchorage; long-term cruising community; lots of free cruiser activities; sheltered kayaking; safe ashore and on the water; beach at bay entrance; good cheap medical care; dog-friendly; limited groceries (good supermarkets in Puerto Plata); good restaurants; Puerto Plata (45 mins) and Santiago (1 hour) by car.

Cruising guides, apps and happy-hour chitchat can all be good sources of information for sailors in the Caribbean. Tune into the DR - Luperon Cruisers Net at 09:00 on VHF Channel 72.

The Tourism office in town (English speaking) is also happy to help cruisers with any problems, complaints or advice on local information or questions or issues on land or water.   The office is in town opposite the "Fresco supermarket” just past BoxPaq courier service.

Entrance Notes or Cautions for Luperon:

The Luperon marine-protected bay entrance is clearly marked with small markers. A night entrance should be avoided as there can be many unmarked fishing nets off the main entrance.

There are shallow mud banks on the side of the main channel by the mangroves on the port side coming in.  These shallow mud banks are over and above the marked mud banks on the charts in the mooring field and elsewhere.  It is advisable to motor in and out very slowly as many commercial vessels and yachts run aground on low and high tide.

Elsewhere there are many moored boats, so it is recommended during the daytime to get assistance from either Papo or Andy on VHF Ch. 68, and they can guide you to a mooring. Alternatively anchor clear of where the commercial fishing boats transit to get to the government dock - which is unfortunately not marked.

There are lots of power outages in Luperon with not many back up generator systems, so be careful when purchasing fresh/frozen produce, plus when eating out.

There are now quite a few commercial fishing boats tied into the mangroves on the port side of the channel upward from yachts on the government dock.  It has been reported that they sometimes discharge diesel into the water so it is not advisable to make water in this bay due to this and also the silt and mud which clogs filters very fast.

During windy conditions they can also drag anchor or break loose along with all the other commercial and pleasure vessels that arrive from nearby islands and the Dominican Republic's north/north east coast.

Unfortunately there are some liveaboard and ex-pat bullies here, mostly behaving badly in WhatsApp groups for cruisers and locals. Speak with the contacts for cruisers noted below for accurate harbour information.

Contacts for Luperon:

The tourism office in town (opposite Fresco supermarket just past BoxPaq courier service) will also help with any questions or issues on land or water.

Luperon Links:

• Dominican Republic Cruisers FB group
• Luperon Dominican Republic Cruisers Info
• Author Bruce van Sant’s information on Luperon (his entrance chart is very useful)
• Article (August 28, 2019) by Meteorologist Chris Parker for Passagemaker Magazine as to why Luperon is considered to be one of the safest hurricane holes in this world.
• Aerial Drone Video Luperon Bay 

Things to Note for Luperon:

• The Luperon Bay Wildlife Refuge is now a "No-Work Zone" and the violation of rules will mean fines or even imprisonment.  See this News item for more information.
• Anchoring or securing your boat amongst the mangroves is not permitted, unless notified by the Armada when there is a TS warning.
• Undertaking work on your boat in the mangroves is also prohibited as is anywhere on the water (see repair facilities for more details).
• It is not recommended to swim, or use a watermaker here, as there is no pump out facility (see marine services for more details). Take your dinghy to a beach to swim.
• It is not recommended to swim, or use a watermaker in the bay as there is no pump-out facility and there is a lot of silt/mud. Take your dinghy to the beach by the entrance to swim.

Luperon Position:

19° 54'22"N, 70° 56'34"W (bay entrance)

Last updated:  March 2024