Puerto Plata Day Trips

The DR’s “second” city boasts Victorian architecture, cigar factories, and excellent museums. Spectacular surroundings include Cibao Valley – the country’s breadbasket and the “Dominican Alps” (Cordillera Central). Whitewater rafting, hiking, canyoning, and jeep safaris lure adrenaline junkies.

This glorious 1.5-mile-long strand, with its vaulting cliffs and azure waterc is relatively unspoiled for now (development looms). The Trent Jones-designed golf course begs comparison to Pebble Beach with 12 oceanfront holes with 100-foot bluffs.

At the Rió Damajagua, combine hiking along interpretive nature trails with climbing and cascading down waterfalls into limestone pools. The park's gymnastic guides are inexpensive and knowledgeable.

Columbus built the New World’s first European settlement here (ruins still stand). En route, stop at Luperón Beach, a major yachtie hangout.