Macao is one of the few public beaches on the Punta Cana coast that has no resort hotel backing it. There is no reef here either, so the Atlantic comes in with full force — which makes it the best surf beach in the area, and the most dramatic stretch of coast in what is otherwise a uniformly calm, sheltered shoreline.
Local vendors rent boards and offer lessons at the north end. The beach is popular with Dominicans on weekends, when the food stands sell chicharrón and cold Presidente beer. On weekdays it can be quiet enough to feel properly remote. ATV tour operators run routes through the surrounding hilly terrain — a decent way to see the landscape beyond the hotel zone.