Activities & Sports  You will find many recreational activities, particularly water sports such as kayaks, sailboats, power boats, skiing and Jet Skis. Cabarete has one of the world's ten best windsurfing beaches and even host yearly cometitions.
Play golf at the Playa Dorada 18-hole golf course or the Los Mangos 9-hole golf course. An hour and a half away you will find one of the best courses in the Caribbean, the Playa Grande Golf Course.
Diving and snorkeling enthusiast of all levels can enjoy shallow reefs, shipwrecks, freshwater caves and deep water diving. Experienced divers will enjoy the Monte Cristi area.
Fishing is a popular activity and excursions can be arranged. Ranches are plentiful on the North Coast and many offer horseback riding.
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Archaeology La Isabela is believed to be the first permanent settlement built by Christopher Columbus on his maiden voyage in 1492. The ruins of the town are now a historical point of interest and are located on the north shore of the Dominican Republic, at the base of Cape Isabela. |
Attractions & Sights  In Puerto Plata you can see the remains of Columbus's house and the church where the first mass of the new world was held.
You should not forget to admire the Victorian gingerbread-like mansions from the late 1800's that set the pattern for a whole era.
Fort San Felipe, the oldest fort in the New World and took 33 years to complete. It is virtually impenetrable. During Trujillo's rule, Fort San Felipe was used as a prison.
The museum of Taino civilisation and the Templo de las Américas should be visited, as well as the Amber Museum, featuring leaves, flowers, insects and reptile fossils trapped in amber (resin) pieces.
The Brugal Rum Distillery offers guided tours of how their rum is made.
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Nightlife  Most hotels feature evening shows or have in-house discos. Puerto Plata offers a range of clubs and bars boasting merengue and salsa music.
Sosua has become a charming pueblito visited by tourists attracted by the cultural activities.
If you like to play your odds at one of the casinos, try the Playa Dorada Casino with its mahogany gaming tables and silver ceiling, or the Amhsa Paradise Beach Casino, displaying a hot pink decor.
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Side Trips  An hour south of Puerto Plata is the second largest city in the country, Santiago. Visitors can explore the busy downtown streets, visit the Parque Duarte, the Cathedral of Santiago, or the many monuments and museums. The Leon Jimenez Cultural Center offers cultural exhibits and performances. The city also offers good restaurants and an active nightlife.
Lying on the lower slopes of Pico Duarte at a height of 500 m above sea level, the Valle de Jarabacoa enjoys a cool climate all the year round; hence its nickname of Land of the Eternal Spring. The landscape is utterly alpine: forest of broad-leaved trees, pine woods, evergreen pastures with avidly grazing herds. This valley is the perfect spot for those seeking a real contact with nature. You can take your pick from rafting down the River Jimenoa or River Yaque del Norte or descending them in a pneumatic launches, gorge descending in Salto de Jimenoa or hang gliding with takeoffs from a height of 200 m.
The blue of the Atlantic Ocean brings out all the splendour of this arid and intriguing province stretching along the northern point of the island. The National Park of Monte Cristi contains the Sleeping dromedary, a curious natural rock sculpture better known as El Morro. Nearby lie the Islas de los Siete Hermanos, seven virgin isles that delight and surprise underwater divers with their splendid fauna and thrill bird lovers with the boobies, seabirds that come down from Florida to mate and breed here.
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