Things to Do in Puerto Plata

Hidden in a lush jungle, the Damajagua Falls are a series of 27 cascading waterfalls only discovered as recently as the early 1990s. You can climb, jump off and slide down this natural, watery assault course, which can become treacherous after heavy rain.

The best way to see the falls is on a tour. Tour guides will take you as far as the 7th waterfall and will provide you with appropriate safety equipment, such as helmets and life jackets. It is possible to explore further than the 7th waterfall but you will need to arrange your own transport from Puerto Plata and a guide and safety equipment upon arrival at the falls.

The newest cruise port in the Dominica Republic is Amber Cove, near the northern coast town of Puerta Plata. Built by the Carnival cruise line, Amber Cove opened in November 2015, and it’s a convenient jumping off spot for all kinds of activities, from snorkeling trips to ATV adventures in the nearby mountains. This area of the county is famous as the spot where Christopher Columbus first settled in the New World, and it’s also known for an abundance of amber, a rare orange jewel stone from ancient, petrified tree sap. The cove’s welcome center has myriad shops, bars and restaurants, along with a Sky Bar perched on a 60-foot hill, where visitors can get an overhead view of the port.

Playa Dorada is one of the most popular beaches in the Puerto Plata area. Here you will find a number of the major resorts along its shoreline. The gated community features around a dozen luxury resorts and hotels that border the Amber Coast.

If you are not staying along the bay of Playa Dorada, one of the best ways to experience the area is from the water. Take a catamaran tour along the North Coast from Playa Dorada to the Bay of Sosua. If the idea of spending an afternoon on a boat isn’t appealing, resorts along Playa Dorada rent watersports equipment. Try your hand at windsurfing, kayaking, sailing or parasailing. The waters at Playa Dorada are crystal clear and the shallow, sloping beach makes it a popular spot for families with small children. You can go snorkeling right off the beach with coral reefs only a short swim away.

Fort San Felipe was built in 1564 by order of Philip II of Spain and is Puerto Plata's oldest surviving building. It was a formidable construction, designed to strike fear into any would-be-invader's heart. Its 2m- (7ft) thick walls, squat doorways and moat filled with sharp coral and swords served to keep people out and, when the fort later became a prison, worked just as effectively at keeping people in - including one of its most notable captives - Juan Pablo Duarte, who served time here in 1844.

The tower contains a small museum of wartime artifacts such as guns, artillery shells, and cannonballs. Fort San Felipe's main attraction, however, is its sweeping views across the Atlantic.

Housed in a fine Victorian mansion with an interesting history of its own, the Amber Museum (Museo de Ambar Dominicano) is worth a visit to see some rare and fascinating amber pieces and to understand more about this semi-precious gem.

Formed out of the fossilized resin of ancient trees some 25 to 40 million years ago, the resin (that in its pressed form becomes amber) perfectly preserved whatever it covered. Amber-covered fossils, such as insects and plant remains are still being discovered today.

There are thousands of specimens at the Amber Museum, but one of its finest has to be a perfectly conserved 40cm (15.8in) lizard encased in a 42.5cm (16.7in) length of amber.

The entire collection has good bi-lingual signage and English and Spanish-speaking guides are available to take you through the museum and relay the story of the Bentz family, the original owners of the mansion.

Isabel de Torres Mountain is located near Puerto Plata and overlooks the region’s coastal strip. Also called Mount Isabel de Torres, this scenic mountain is home to the only aerial tramway in the Caribbean. The cable car, or teleférico in Spanish, brings visitors up 2,555 feet (778.8 meters) while offering spectacular views down to the city and surrounding waters. The ride takes approximately five to seven minutes. It is recommended that you visit in the morning, as early as possible; the afternoon is prone to heavy cloud cover and you might find yourself at the top of Mount Isabel de Torres with no views at all.

Mount Isabel de Torres’ peak offers impressive views of the Dominican Republic. Atop the mountain, there is a replica of the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue found in Brazil. The statue sits atop a big dome, which houses stores selling jewelry and other souvenirs.

Named after Catalonian expatriate Andres Brugal, a visit to the Brugal Rum Center offers visitors a chance to see the magic of turning sugarcane into one of the Dominican Republic’s chief exports – rum. From golden brown to crystal clear, the rum you’ll see, smell, and taste at the Brugal rum center will open your eyes to the possibility of what a refined drink rum can be.

Families enjoy the wondrous automated distilling and bottling process and marvel at the mechanics of turning sugarcane into the nectar of the gods. An excellent escape from the ordinary while in Puerto Plata, take some time to explore a local icon and learn a bit about distilling in the process.

Hailed as 'the biggest attraction in the Caribbean', Ocean World Adventure Park is a great day out of the whole family.

Ocean World prides itself on its point of difference from other marine parks that are generally not set up to enable people to physically interact with the animals. At Ocean World Adventure Park you are encouraged through a series of experiences to have direct contact with some of the animals.

And who could resist the opportunity to swim and play with dolphins, snorkel with tropical fish and float with stingrays? You may wish to pass on the shark feeding at the 200,000-gallon (760,000-liter) shark pool, however.

La Isabela is located within the Puerto Plata province of the Dominican Republic. It is the second-oldest European settlement in the New World, founded by Christopher Columbus during his second voyage in 1493. Columbus named the area after Queen Isabella I of Castile. Columbus established La Isabela to search for gold, but when he found very little, he enslaved people to the island. The inevitable issues of hunger and disease led to a wealth of problems like mutiny, punishment and, of course, more disease and hunger. Combine that with repeated conflicts with the local Taíno, and the colony was doomed. Columbus’ failure got him called back to Spain, and the colony was ultimately abandoned in 1498. Today, La Isabela is an archaeological and historical park.Excavations started in the late 1980s. It is presumed the ruins were more extensive, but the area was bulldozed in 1960. A military fort was built at that time to ward off potential invasions by associates of Fidel Castro.