Esse assunto preocupa absolutamente todo mundo! Quem gosta de nadar no mar, e não na piscina; Quem considera uma linda sessão de fotos em Punta Cana uma prioridade e até quem simplesmente gosta de caminhar pela praia. E sabem… eu não vou dizer que o sargaço em Punta Cana e Bávaro é um mito. A cada ano esse problema fica mais sério e a cada ano há mais sargaço!
Mas não se preocupem, vou mostrar como verificar as condições da praia em tempo real! Também vamos investigar de onde vem o sargaço e o que pode acontecer no futuro, daqui a 5 — 15 anos. E também, o que fazer para que não apareça sargaço nas suas lindas fotos?! Aliás, é importante dizer desde o início que as algas do gênero Sargassum são chamadas de forma mais simples — sargaço. É esse nome que vou usar no restante do artigo.
Há sargaço em Punta Cana e Bávaro agora?
O mais interessante sobre o sargaço é que é impossível prever quando ele vai aparecer. À noite, a praia pode estar completamente limpa e, pela manhã, pode estar totalmente coberta de sargaço! Mas vivemos no século XXI 😁 por isso podemos verificar as condições de algumas partes da praia de Bávaro pelas câmeras! Aliás, anteriormente escrevi no meu blog um artigo completo sobre a praia de Bávaro, onde vocês podem conhecê-la com mais detalhes 😎
Preparei 2 webcams gratuitas para vocês! Mas devo avisar que às vezes as câmeras não funcionam por problemas técnicos. Mesmo assim, vou acompanhar e atualizar as informações quando for necessário!
I marked the locations of the webcams on the map, and I’ll leave the links below:
The camera is located at the Hard Rock Punta Cana hotel (a special thanks to them for this) and faces the ocean. The camera has excellent image quality, so you can clearly see if there is any seaweed on the beach. This part of Bavaro Beach is called Arena Gorda. It has the biggest waves on all of Bavaro Beach and usually the least amount of seaweed.
The camera is located right on Cortecito Beach at the Grand Palladium Punta Cana Resort (thanks to the hotel for the camera). The image quality is not very good, but you can still clearly see the condition of the beach.
Where does the seaweed in the Dominican Republic come from?
I remember very well when everything started to change. About 15 years ago, the beaches in Punta Cana were almost always clean, and Sargassum seaweed was rare. It’s easy to guess why this seaweed is called Sargassum… It came from the Sargasso Sea, located north of the Dominican Republic. By the way, it is the only sea in the world with no land boundaries. It is known for having a lot of Sargassum (Sargassum seaweed). But there was a balance. Only sometimes small patches would break away and drift toward Punta Cana. Oh… those were the days of beautiful beaches and white sand in Punta Cana 😍 Although it was so long ago that it’s hard to believe now, because today, large amounts of Sargassum on the beach are normal 😅
Around 2011, everything changed. This happened because of several different factors, and it wasn’t just global warming — there were many reasons. But this isn’t a scientific article, so we won’t go deep into the causes. I don’t want to overwhelm you with all that, so I’ll move on to something more important — the consequences, which are quite serious. A large amount of Sargassum from the Sargasso Sea migrated into the open Atlantic Ocean and started to grow and spread. This seaweed doesn’t need to attach to the ocean floor — it simply floats on the surface and continues to grow.
The new habitat turned out to be so favorable that the seaweed began to grow and spread incredibly fast, forming the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt.
Back in 2018, it was estimated to be almost 9,000 km long and contain more than 20 million tons of Sargassum.
In 2025, NCCOS reported in an article that the belt had become twice as large, reaching about 38 million tons of Sargassum. That’s why there is more and more seaweed, and there is simply no sign that the situation will improve.
Sargassum forecast for Punta Cana and the Dominican Republic
To be honest, even if we take the most optimistic scenario, the situation doesn’t look good at all. There will be more and more Sargassum. The only question is — HOW MUCH MORE?! It’s unlikely that the waters around the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt will become colder and the amount of seaweed will decrease. Sargassum will inevitably continue to grow, and more and more of it will reach the shores of Punta Cana.
What happened and what will happen?!
Timeline of events:
2011 — The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt formed, as reported by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
2018 — According to NOAA research, it grew to about 9,000 kilometers in length and around 20 million tons in weight.
2018 — 2022 — Growth was moderate, and in 2022 a new record of 22 million tons was recorded, as the EPA reports in its article.
2025 — A sharp increase and a new record — 38 million tons, according to the University of South Florida.
Optimistic forecast for 2030 — 2040:
According to the most optimistic forecast (moderate exponential extrapolation with growth of about 9% per year):
2030 — The Sargassum Belt will reach ~50 — 60 million tons
2040 — It could grow to ~150 million tons, which is almost 4 times more than in 2025. With the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt reaching this size, seaweed could be present on Punta Cana beaches all year round, even in January and February.
Pessimistic forecast for 2030 — 2040:
According to the pessimistic forecast (accelerated exponential extrapolation, doubling approximately every 5 years):
2030 — The belt could grow to ~76 million tons
2040 — It could reach ~300 million tons, which is 8 times more than in 2025. Of course, this doesn’t mean there will be 8 times more seaweed on the beaches of the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mexico, and other Caribbean countries, but there will be much more than in 2025.
This situation could become dangerous in the future because decomposing Sargassum releases hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, as confirmed by studies published on ScienceDirect. This causes oxygen depletion, and air quality can decrease significantly. This will primarily affect the environment and wildlife. Some studies have already recorded the deaths of dozens of animal species. Naturally, this will also affect people living close to the ocean because air quality will decrease significantly.
For now, scientists are not predicting an environmental disaster, and as an optimist, I hope that the natural balance will save us from critical consequences 🙏 Still, in the near future, we will have to do something about this situation.
Which months have the most seaweed on Bavaro Beach?
There is a clear trend in the amount of Sargassum depending on the month! So I can answer this question quite accurately, based on decades of observations by the scientific community. The largest amounts of Sargassum in the Punta Cana — Bavaro area are usually seen in June, July, and August, while the smallest amounts are usually seen in December, January, and February.
Starting in March, the amount of Sargassum increases each month — April, May, and so on. In September and October, the amount starts to decrease, and by November there is much less seaweed. However, in 2025 and 2026, there has been so much Sargassum that it is present even in winter and very rarely disappears completely.
Can beach conditions change dramatically in just one day?
Yes! Sargassum arrives in waves, and the time between them can be hours, days, or even weeks. If one wave reaches the beach and is quickly cleaned up, and the next wave is still several days away, the beach can be perfectly clean the next day and the water can be clear. It will stay this way until the next wave of Sargassum arrives.
Which part of Bavaro Beach has the least Sargassum?
When Sargassum gets closer to the shore, the local climate starts to play a role. So the amount of seaweed depends on the weather conditions in Bavaro and Punta Cana.
The weather here is very stable, but local currents can vary. Sargassum always floats on the surface, so its movement is affected not only by the currents but also by the wind, which can change as well. Still, in my personal opinion, the amount of seaweed decreases from south to north — from the Barcelo hotel to Hard Rock hotel.
I used an arrow on the map to show the direction in which the amount of seaweed decreases. So, there is usually less Sargassum near the Hard Rock hotel.
Is Sargassum on Bavaro Beach dangerous to your health?
No. It is just seaweed that does not burn or sting your skin and is not dangerous to your health. If Sargassum stays on the beach for a long time and starts to decompose, it can release ammonia or hydrogen sulfide. This can be somewhat dangerous, but fresh Sargassum seaweed is completely harmless. You can tell how fresh it is by its color. If the seaweed is light brown, it is fresh. The darker it gets, all the way to dark reddish-brown, the longer it has been sitting there.
By the way! If you love walking along the beach, you should be careful because when there is a lot of Sargassum on the shore, small round, sharp balls can sometimes fall out of it. They can stick into your feet and hurt, so protect your feet if they are sensitive 😁
Is it worth choosing Bayahibe instead of Bavaro because of Sargassum?
There is indeed much less seaweed in the Dominicus and Bayahibe area. In the past, there was never any Sargassum here at all. Now it reaches this area too, but not in the same amounts as in Punta Cana, Cap Cana, and Bavaro. The reason is that Punta Cana is located along the path of Sargassum moving west from the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt.
Bayahibe, on the other hand, is located in the southeast and is protected by Cotubanamá National Park. That’s why Sargassum seaweed rarely reaches Bayahibe and instead continues toward Santo Domingo and other southern parts of the Dominican Republic.
Photoshoot on Bavaro Beach
Everyone has just one question in mind — “We’re paying $300 — 400 and want a beautiful photoshoot in a Caribbean paradise, but could we end up with piles of seaweed and brown water instead?” And I completely agree, it’s only fair to get photos with turquoise water and white sand!
Let me explain a few important things to help you understand the overall situation:
What you see on the beach and what you see in the final photos are completely different things. A lot of experience and a good understanding of the technical side of photography allow a photographer to basically “cut out” unwanted things from the frame: people, seaweed, trash, and other unnecessary objects. So if you’ve found a professional photographer in Punta Cana, trust them! And if you haven’t found one yet — message me 😅
For example, there was seaweed on the beach during this love story photoshoot on Bavaro Beach.
But I took photos farther down the beach or closer to them from the other side, and there is no seaweed in any of the photos.
Seaweed and other unwanted objects can always be removed during retouching. With the development of artificial intelligence, removing seaweed from a photo takes just a few seconds.
But on the other hand, even if there is a little seaweed in the frame — it’s natural and real. When there isn’t too much Sargassum, it doesn’t ruin the photo at all. In fact, it makes the photos look more natural. There is so much fake and misleading stuff in our world that, in my opinion, being natural only makes photos more beautiful!
And if you’ve been good all year, God will definitely make your photoshoot day Sargassum-free. There are days when Bavaro Beach looks absolutely beautiful even without any editing!
By the way, I often share real photoshoots on my blog, where you can see what the beach actually looks like in the photos. For example, here are some of my latest shoots: a large family photoshoot on Bavaro Beach and a love story photoshoot on Bavaro Beach. In both cases, there was Sargassum on the beach, but you can’t see it in the photos!
Can you check the beach conditions the day before the photoshoot?
It depends on the beach. Bavaro Beach has several live webcams where you can check the beach conditions at that exact moment. I shared the links to these webcams at the very beginning of the article.
Is it better to have a photoshoot in the morning or evening?
In my opinion, the ideal time is 2 — 3 hours after sunrise. The seaweed is cleaned up at sunrise, so the beach is clean. Also, there are far fewer people on the beach in the morning. The angle of the light is also better and more flattering than in the evening. I recommend having your photoshoot around 9 — 10 AM.
Can Sargassum be removed from photos in Photoshop?!
Of course! Today’s technology makes it possible to do this in just a few seconds. Still, I think a small amount of Sargassum doesn’t ruin the photos at all, but if you want, it can easily be removed!
Which beach in Punta Cana is best for a photoshoot without seaweed?
When there is a lot of Sargassum, you can find it on almost every beach in Punta Cana and Bavaro. To find a beach without seaweed, you need to drive 1 — 2 hours north or south. For example, Bayahibe and Dominicus to the south or Esmeralda Beach to the north. However, even these beaches cannot guarantee that there will be no seaweed at all. In recent years, there have been record amounts of Sargassum on the beaches, and this is our new reality, so we just have to accept it and let it go!
Frequently asked questions:
Where can you see recent photos or live webcams of Bavaro Beach?
At the moment, there are 3 working live webcams in different parts of Bavaro Beach. You can use them to clearly see the beach conditions in real time. But don’t forget that Bavaro Beach is very large, and Sargassum conditions can be very different in different parts of the beach. I shared the links to the webcams at the very beginning of the article.
Which hotels clean up seaweed best on Bavaro Beach?
All all-inclusive hotels located on Bavaro Beach carefully clean their beaches early in the morning. Only the parts of the beach without hotels are not cleaned. More expensive hotels, such as Hard Rock or Majestic, clean their beaches more thoroughly. Although these parts of Bavaro Beach usually have less seaweed. But sometimes there is so much Sargassum that it is physically impossible to remove it all, especially in summer — in June, July, and August.
Do they close the beach when there is a large amount of Sargassum?
No. The beach is not officially closed because of Sargassum. However, sometimes swimming is simply impossible because the first 10 — 20 meters of water from the shore are completely covered with seaweed.
Why can beach conditions be different at neighboring hotels?
Because when “islands” of Sargassum get closer to the shore, local weather conditions start to play a role. Bavaro Beach stretches for 12 — 13 kilometers, and underwater currents and even the wind can be different in different areas. That’s why some parts of the beach get more seaweed, while others get less.
Do Sargassum barriers at hotels help?!
It depends on the quality of the barriers. For example, on the beaches in Cap Cana, where real estate and hotels are much more expensive, they install larger barriers that protect against Sargassum better, although some seaweed still gets through. On Bavaro Beach, in my opinion, the barriers are only about 20 — 30% effective. Why? Because Sargassum floats on the surface, and waves carry it over the barrier. When a lot of Sargassum builds up near the barrier, it also starts to pass underneath it. So, for now, there is no really effective protection against large amounts of seaweed.
How often do hotels clean up seaweed on Bavaro Beach?
Usually every morning, and many hotels start cleaning before sunrise at 5 — 6 AM. When there is a lot of Sargassum, they clean the beach several times a day. However, when there is too much seaweed, there is no point in cleaning it.
Which beaches near Punta Cana and Bavaro are free of seaweed?
The closest beaches that are usually very clean are located to the southeast in Bayahibe. However, in my experience, the beaches north of Macao, such as: —— are also very often completely clean.
How strong does Sargassum smell?!
Fresh Sargassum has no smell. However, if it stays on the beach in the sun for a day or longer, it starts to decompose and release hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, which can create an unpleasant smell of rotten eggs and other decaying things.
Can you swim when there is a lot of Sargassum?
If the Sargassum seaweed is only on the shore, even if the entire beach is covered with it, but there is none in the water, you won’t have any problems swimming. But if there is a lot of Sargassum and it covers the first 5 — 10 meters of water from the shore, it starts to decompose, the water gets darker and turns brown, and swimming in it is not very pleasant.
Now you know almost everything about Sargassum! Why almost? Because I saved a little secret information for later 😁 But of course, I’ll share it in my next articles! And if you’ve decided that you need a photoshoot in Punta Cana, message me and let’s go take some great photos!