Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic ... Your virtual guide in DR

[ History & Culture ] [ Photos ]

Dominican Republic :

Occupying the eastern half of the island of Hispaniola, the Dominican Republic (or the DR, as it's often known) is a hugely popular destination, thanks to the portion of the country that most resembles the image of a Caribbean playland: the crystal-clear waters and sandy beaches lined with palm trees, of which the DR has plenty. This vision of leisurely days spent by the sea and romantic nights filled with merengue and dark rum is supported by what turns out to be the largest all-inclusive resort industry in the world.

Set on the most geographically diverse Caribbean island, the DR also boasts virgin alpine wilderness, tropical rainforests and mangrove swamps, cultivated savannas, vast desert expanses and everything in between within its relatively small confines - slightly smaller than the US states of New Hampshire and Vermont combined - providing staggering opportunities for ecotourism and adventure traveling.

The DR also lays claim to some of the more intriguing culture and history in the area, dating back to its early cave-dwelling groups, the Taínos , who recorded much of their activities in the form of rock art - it's quite likely you'll find yourself clambering down a dark cave to view some of these preserved paintings during your stay. In addition, as Dominicans are often quick to point out, their land was the setting for Christopher Columbus's first colony, La Isabela, and Spain's first New World city, Santo Domingo , at the end of the fifteenth century. Though the island quickly lost this foothold, the events that took place during its brief heyday did much to define the Americas as we know them.

Silver Coast

The Dominican Republic's SILVER COAST , 300km of prime waterfront property on the country's northern edge, is the most popular tourist destination in the Caribbean. With a seemingly unending supply of great beaches around the booming towns of Puerto Plata and Cabarete , such a designation is no surprise. The Carretera 5 skirts the coast all the way east from Samaná to just past Puerto Plata, making getting around this part of the region a breeze. The country's two major bus companies ply the highway, along with the guaguas and plentiful público taxis. Heading west of Puerto Plata is more of a challenge (but not impossible) if you don't have a four-wheel-drive.

Puerto Plata

PUERTO PLATA and PLAYA DORADA comprise the mass tourism capital of the Caribbean. The city of Puerto Plata is a vibrant Dominican town of 200,000 that's well worth exploring for its historic architecture and nightlife. Its core, the Old City , borders the port to the east, a narrow grid of streets that was once the swankiest neighborhood in the country. Around the original town sprawls a patchwork maze of industrial zones and concrete barrios known as the New City , formed over the past century with the growth of the town's industry. Most visitors, though, are here for package tours to Playa Dorada - located a kilometer east of the city limits - a walled-off vacation factory that pulls in over a half-million tourists each year.

Fort "San Felipe"

is the principal colonial monument of the city of Puerto Plata. It has a great similarity with the architecture of the San Augustin Fort in Florida. It is said that the same plans and people were used to build it.

The corsairs and pirates were constantly invading the city and rob its citizens, so in 1569 started its construction and was terminated in 1577. In 1605 the fort was dismantled and rebuilt in 1739 and equipped with military personnel to guarantee the safeguard of the city.

Since 1974 the Cultural in heritage Office has converted the Saint Felipe in a Colonial Museum.

West of Puerto Plata

The contrast east and west of Puerto Plata couldn't be more striking. In place of the paved highways and resort complexes, you'll find vast stretches of untrammeled wilderness along rough dirt tracks, though some are slowly being converted into freeways. One thing that doesn't change, however, is the proliferation of lovely beaches.

Exploring West of Puerto Plata

EL CASTILLO AND LA ISABELA

From Puerto Plata, the Carretera de las Américas heads 50km west to El Castillo , a seaside village located on the site of Columbus's first permanent settlement. It's easy to see why he picked it, since the town is set on a splendid bay of tranquil, blue water and a solid wall of imposing, Olympian peaks.

Just off the main highway, before you make town, is the entrance to Parque Nacional La Isabela (9am-5.30pm, closed Sun; RD$30), which preserves the ruins of La Isabela, the first European town in the New World. Centered on the private home of Columbus himself, which is perched atop a prominent ocean bluff, the park also encompasses the excavated stone foundations of the town and a small museum.

A few kilometers further on, you enter the village, draped over a steep hillside above Playa Isabela, which attracts few beach-goers and is instead marked mainly by small wooden boats. A kilometer offshore is an intact coral reef where there's a healthy, multicolored reef bed that's home to thousands of tropical fish and sea creatures. The Rancho del Sol hotel can arrange diving and snorkeling trips .

If looking to spend the night , check out Rancho del Sol (tel 809/543-8172; US$25-50), located off the Carretera de las Américas at the town entrance, which rents simple but well-maintained duplexes with kitchen and bath. They also have a great seafood restaurant - the menu varies with the day's catch. Miamar , Calle Vista Mar (tel 809/471-9157, fax 471-8052; US$25-50, breakfast included), is a modern hotel with a swimming pool and enormous rooms with lovely ocean views. For good Dominican cuisine try Milagro , near the entrance to Rancho del Sol , a small and friendly comedor with a good selection of local dishes.

MONTE CRISTI

West from Punta Rucia, the roads deteriorate even further and the only sensible way to make for the Haiti border is to turn south back onto the C-1 at Villa Elisa . The further west you go, the more the landscape transforms itself - gone are the swaying palms and grassy pastures, replaced by scrubby cactus plants and dusty dry soil inhabited mainly by goats. The carretera terminates at the westernmost outpost of the Silver Coast, Monte Cristi , founded in 1501 and at one point one of the country's most important ports. These days it resembles a dusty frontier town bearing only the occasional tarnished remnant of its opulent past along wide, American-style boulevards. Most visitors are here to use the town as a base from which to explore the local beaches and the Parque Nacional Monte Cristi , an expanse that protects a towering mesa named El Morro and an enormous river delta. To reach the park, take the beach road north of the city towards Playa Juan de Bolaños , the area's most popular beach but quite disappointing in comparison to others on this coast. Once past the restaurants that clutter the beach's entrance, the road arrives at the entrance to the eastern half of the park, which is divided in two by Monte Cristi's beaches. Its eastern section is often referred to as Parque El Morro, after the flat-topped mesa El Morro that takes up a good chunk of it. Climbing the mesa is a lot easier these days as the park office has built a set of steps up from the road's highest point (RD$50 entrance fee). At the foot of El Morro's eastern slope is a lovely and unpopulated beach accessible by parking at the end of the road and continuing down on foot. The western half of the national park encompasses a dense mangrove coast dotted with small lagoons; informal tours are led from the Los Jardines hotel (from RD$300 per person), on which you'll see several river deltas thick with mangroves and perhaps even a couple of crocodiles.

PUNTA RUCIA AND PLAYA ENSENATA

From El Castillo a dirt road extends west and heads to a series of beaches that relatively few foreign visitors make it to. There are two rivers to be crossed en route, and a 4x4 is recommended. After 14km, a turn-off heads north to Playa Ensanata , where many Dominican families come to take advantage of the shallow waters. The beach is lined with shacks where you can eat grilled, freshly caught fish extremely cheaply. Just around the point from Playa Ensanata, Punta Rucia is yet another beautiful beach, featuring bone-white sand and more great mountain views. It attracts fewer people than Ensanata and is dotted with fishing boats, but has several good places to stop for lunch or a beer. At Punta Rucia's western edge is Punta Rucia Sol (tel 809/471-0173; up to US$25), a German-owned hotel with a few simple but pleasant rooms with private cold-water baths. It has a decent restaurant and a very laid-back, tranquil ambience. There are a few down-home Dominican seafood restaurants on Punta Rucia as well.

East of Puerto Plata

The resort development that began around Puerto Plata has over the past two decades gobbled up most of the prime beachfront east of the city. As such, you'll have to keep going all the way east, for approximately 70km, to the small, friendly fishing village of Río San Juan to find anything approaching unspoiled coastline. Even closer, though, and easier for those with limited time, is the bustling resort town of Cabarete , a windsurfing enclave that's quickly being swallowed by tourism construction.

CABARETE

Stretched along the C-5 between the beach and lagoon that bear its name, CABARETE is a crowded international enclave that owes its existence almost entirely to windsurfing . The main beach, Playa Cabarete, has ideal conditions for the sport, and the multicultural cross-section of its aficionados attracts a growing community from across the globe.