By air
Gregorio Luperón International (POP), ~15 km by road
North America · Dominican Republic
Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
Victorian streets, a cable car and Atlantic beaches
Getting there
Best time to visit
December to April — drier and sunny
Don't miss
Mount Isabel de Torres
Fortaleza San Felipe
The Damajagua waterfalls
Sosúa Bay
Things to do
Riding the cable car up Mount Isabel de Torres
Jumping and sliding down the Damajagua falls
Beach days
Kitesurfing nearby
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: scubabix · CC BY 2.0
What to pack
Swimwear, water shoes, sunscreen
A quieter corner
The amber museum in an old Victorian house in the town centre
Questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Puerto Plata?
December to April — drier and sunny. What to pack: Swimwear, water shoes, sunscreen.
How do I get to Puerto Plata?
Fly into Gregorio Luperón International (POP), ~15 km by road.
What is there to do in Puerto Plata?
Riding the cable car up Mount Isabel de Torres, jumping and sliding down the Damajagua falls, beach days, kitesurfing nearby. A quieter find: The amber museum in an old Victorian house in the town centre.
What should I eat in Puerto Plata?
Fresh fish and lobster, sancocho, mangú, chicharrón.
About Puerto Plata
- Coastal
- Mountains
Where it is
Puerto Plata is a port city on the north coast of the Dominican Republic, on the Atlantic between the sea and the steep slopes of Mount Isabel de Torres.
History
Christopher Columbus sighted the bay in 1493 and Spanish settlers founded a town here in the early 16th century, guarded later by the Fortaleza San Felipe. A tobacco boom in the 19th century paid for the pastel Victorian houses of the old centre, and from the late 20th century the coast became a beach resort area.
People
Puerto Plata's people speak Spanish and the city has a relaxed seaside pace, with the Malecón busy with families in the evening and merengue playing from colmados.
Known for
- Victorian gingerbread houses
- The cable car to Mount Isabel de Torres
- The Damajagua waterfalls
- Amber from the nearby mountains
Did you know?
Puerto Plata is said to take its name, meaning silver port, from the way the sea shimmered like silver when Columbus first saw it.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.