Puerto Plata, the heart of the Amber Coast, was given its name by Christopher Columbus in 1492 after he admired the silvery glow of the coastline at sunset. The city is nestled between the colonial harbor, home to Fort San Felipe, and the majestic backdrop of Mount Isabel de Torres, a natural reserve. A half-hour drive in just about any direction from Puerto Plata’s spotless international airport offers luxurious, all-inclusive resorts, distinct beaches, coral reefs, golf courses, and daylong excursions that will keep visitors of all ages entertained.

While Punta Cana on the southeast coast is better known by U.S. tourists for its white beaches, five-star resorts, and celebrity residents like Julio Iglesias and Oscar de la Renta, Puerto Plata’s nearby towns and mountain range offer visitors more access to the people, local color, and activities.

For More Information Visit the official Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism Website and take a virtual tour of the island.

“All Dominicans are warm, but the people of the northern coast are the most hospitable, most unspoiled,” says Carmen Domínguez, a retired executive assistant from Miami who often vacations on the island with her husband. “Here you have beach and mountains, an international airport 15 minutes away, every kind of water sport, horseback riding, waterfalls, safaris, biking. You’ll never run out of things to do.”

Classes in windsurfing, kiteboarding, diving, and snorkeling abound. For those looking for a water adventure closer to shore but no less exciting, check out the newly opened Ocean World theme park. Encounters with seals, dolphins, stingrays, and even sharks are like no other on the island.

Still, a trip wouldn’t be complete without venturing beyond resorts and theme parks to sample the famous nearby beaches of Sosúa and Cabarete.

Sosúa
Just 15 minutes east of Puerto Plata is the beach town of Sosúa. Its three separate strips of golden sand are bustling with tourists, locals, and merchants. With the strains of a merengue never far away, Sosúa boasts a vibrant nightlife of restaurants, bars, and dancing.

What can’t be missed is snorkeling or diving in Sosúa’s famous coral reefs just offshore. Daily excursions with certified guides offer night dives, shipwreck dives, and scuba trips to other parts of the country. Transportation to and from hotels, as well as lunch, is included in packages that usually begin at about $150.

‘Most people can do windsurfing because it’s an issue of balance, not strength or age. You just have to stand up and hang on’

“Sosúa is the most famous beach for the locals and tourists,” local tour guide José Reyes says. “It has the most beautiful coral reefs for diving and snorkeling. There’s always action there.”

For those wanting to sample the reefs while staying completely dry, a glass-bottomed boat tour leaves from Sosúa Beach on half-hour trips costing less than $10.

Overlooking the beach is a small village of shops where tourists can treasure hunt for native blue larimar stones—a rare form of fossil or pectolite found only in the Dominican Republic—or amber jewelry gifts. But one needn’t leave the beach to buy. “We have a flea market across part of the beach and the tourists love it because they can bargain and have a lot of fun interacting with our people,” Reyes says.

Cabarete Beach
Cabarete Beach is a 30-minute cab ride from Puerto Plata, and a world away. The vibe is definitely for the young and young at heart. The main street is filled with funky souvenir shops and good food, but it’s the remarkable inlet beach filled with kitesurfers and windsurfers that make for a water carnival unique to the Dominican Republic.

The weather and water conditions make it one of the world’s top 10 windsurfing and kitesurfing destinations, both to practice and to learn, and it’s considered the best windsurfing spot in the Caribbean.

Classes in all the water sports abound here, too. Paula Massa, a reservations manager with Dressel Diver at the Iberostar Costa Dorada Resort, says many of her clients are 50 and older.  She encourages vacationers to try new things. “Most people can do windsurfing because it’s an issue of balance, not strength or age,” she says. “We have many seniors who try it and do it successfully. You just have to stand up and hang on.”

Landlubbers will still love Caberete as they enjoy a daylong water show of surfing, sails, and kites. Staying for sunset and a homemade scoop at the main street’s only ice cream shop are two must-dos. The most adventuresome might stay for the late-night barhopping scene with European and Canadian tourists.

Ocean World
Opened in April, Ocean World is perfect for adults and children too timid to venture into the sea but game for some up-close encounters of the watery kingdom kind. Wear a bathing suit, bring the sunscreen, and get ready for a remarkable experience.

‘What I found most memorable was how authentically friendly the people are. The warmth of the island sticks with you’

Swims with sharks, dolphins, stingrays, and sea lions are so popular that reservations at least 10 days in advance are recommended. The least expensive package, $55, includes a swim alongside a tiger—he lives on the other side of a huge piece of glass—a snorkeling trip inside a tank filed with tropical fish and living coral, two sea lion shows, access to a private beach, a tasty lunch, and transportation to and from your hotel.

Encounters with dolphins begin at $100 and will leave you breathless. Even the most serious of visitors will leave smiling after dancing salsa with a dolphin while holding its fins.

The experience that you will be talking about for weeks begins at the steps of the 220,000-gallon shark tank. With a cup of blood, trainers lure nurse sharks to feed on their laps like puppies. But the sound of the sharks’ powerful jaws slamming down on a fish is unmistakably hair-raising. Despite the surreal picture unfolding at your feet, a few minutes later the trainers will somehow coax a sizable number of people into the tank for a snorkel with the five sharks that range in length from three to seven feet. “We believe we have the only tank shark swim in the world,’’ says Tania Padilla, a reservations manager at Ocean World. “The clients are thrilled. After visiting many places they can say, ‘I swam with dolphins or stingrays,’ but here they can go home and say, ‘I swam in a tank full of sharks.’ ”

Deston Nokes of Portland, Oregon, dared to swim with the sharks and emerged with all 10 toes and 10 fingers intact.

“The fact that they were tame nurse sharks didn’t deter me from bragging about the experience when I got back,” says Nokes, a business consultant who grew up in Puerto Rico. “However, what I found most memorable about the Dominican trip was how authentically friendly the people are. The warmth of the island sticks with you.”