La Caleta Underwater National Park is the closest dive site to Santo Domingo, about 30 minutes east of the city by car. The park protects a stretch of Caribbean coast where calm, clear water and two shipwrecks — the Hickory and the Limón — provide excellent conditions for both diving and snorkelling. Several dive centres in Santo Domingo offer half-day excursions here.
The reef fish are abundant and varied, and the shallow water near the shore is good for beginner divers. The Hickory wreck at 16 metres is accessible to anyone with an open-water certification. The park is also where the pre-Columbian Taíno culture's boats and ceramic pieces have been found underwater, though these artefacts are protected and off-limits to recreational divers.