Tips & Tricks
Museo de Ambar (Amber Museum) (Calle Duarte 61, Playa Dorada, Puerto Plata): a temple to the island’s prized resin that inspired the movie Jurassic Park. Located within a two-story Victorian-era building, it holds the largest collection of amber of world.
Meanwhile, for extreme sports enthusiasts, the Cabarete area east of Puerto Plata has been known over the years for water sports (kiteboarding, windsurfing, etc.) to the point where young tourists from South America (Chile & Argentina) trek there just for that. This is a mecca for college-age travelers passing through the Dominican Republic. A huge […]
During the 1980s, Puerto Plata, which had its own airport, used it to attract budget tourists from Canada and Western Europe who stayed at the all-inclusive resorts in that area. Puerto Plata Airport also served the provincial city of Santiago, which was a one-hour drive away (but didn’t have its own large international airport at […]
Aside from the Spanish colonial fortress and nearby beach resorts, Puerto Plata was known for two distinct things: one was the “Teleférico”. This Italian-made tram car, built in 1975 and carries 17 passengers, offering them a panoramic view of the Puerto Plata region. The Teleférico climbs over 2,500 feet to the top of a mountain […]
Like other provincial towns, there are limited transportation options (mainly local bus and taxi services). For a negotiated fee, local “conch car” taxi drivers will take budget tourists whenever they need to go within the Puerto Plata and nearby beach resort areas of Sosúa, Playa Dorada and Cabarete (which is further to the east). Well-heeled […]
Within the Playa Dorada resort complex is a nightclub (for both resort guests and outside visitors) called Mangú, as well as a competitor called “Crazy Moon” (adjacent to the lobby of Paradise Hotel). Both locations play a mix of Merengue, Bachata and “Top 40” American pop music. Aficionados of the House and Trance music scene […]