Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic: 18 Things To Do, What to Skip, and What's a Day Trip Out of Town
-------------- How to travel more and visit your dream destinations without breaking the bank: https://travelmorepayless.com Monkeyland Puerto Plata: https://viator.tpo.lv/N3zpOTKS Puerto Plata City Tours: https://viator.tpo.lv/u0FWMezi 7 waterfalls+typical food: https://viator.tpo.lv/B5hGPOpA Half-Day Buggy Guided Adventure for Amber Cove and Taino Bay: https://viator.tpo.lv/7CYOtylO --------------- Everything in this Puerto Plata guide is something I would do again, ranked, with what to skip and what is really a day trip out of town rather than something in the city itself. I flew in expecting a beach and a buffet, and the beach turned out to be the least of it. The list opens with the 27 Waterfalls of Damajagua, the canyon 40 minutes west where you jump and slide down the falls into turquoise pools, and I explain why almost nobody climbs all 27. From there it runs through Fort San Felipe, the oldest fort in the New World, the cable car up Mount Isabel de Torres to the Christ statue and the botanical garden, and the old town most cruise visitors walk past: Parque Central, the San Felipe cathedral, and the Victorian gingerbread streets. I cover the two photo streets everyone comes for, Umbrella Street and Pink Street, and set realistic expectations, because they take about five minutes each. Out on the road west there is the Brugal rum tour and the Del Oro chocolate factory, and back in town the Amber Museum with its Jurassic Park connection. I also get into the beach question, and why the sargassum seaweed that buries Punta Cana mostly spares this north coast, which is a genuine reason to pick Puerto Plata over the south. Then the day trips east: Sosua, the bizarre Castillo Mundo King, Monkeyland, the Cabarete caves, and Cabarete itself, one of the best kiteboarding spots in the world. If you are working out things to do in Puerto Plata, this is the real version, resort-desk excursions and all. Tell me in the comments what you would add or cut, especially if you know the north coast well.