Taino Bay, Puerto Plata: your day ashore, sorted

7 Waterfalls of Damajagua with Lunch (Taino Bay & Amber Cove)

The most-reviewed waterfall excursion built around the two cruise ports. You are collected at Taino Bay or Amber Cove, hike up through the forest with park guides and come back down the river by sliding and jumping through seven pools, then eat a Dominican lunch before the ride back.

• Slide, jump and swim down the first seven Damajagua waterfalls
• Helmet and life jacket provided at the park
• Dominican lunch and port pickup included

Puerto Plata: City Tour with Rum and Chocolate Factories

A well-reviewed half-day introduction to the city: a guide takes you through Puerto Plata’s history and culture, stops at a rum factory and a chocolate factory, and finishes with the sea views from the 16th-century San Felipe fortress.

• Visit a rum factory and a chocolate factory
• Ocean views from the San Felipe fortress
• History and culture of Puerto Plata with a local guide

Amber Cove & Taino Bay: Buggy Tour with Swimming & Tasting

The best-rated off-road excursion from the cruise ports. You drive a buggy along country tracks and through villages to a beach, with stops to see cigars being made and to try Dominican coffee and chocolate. Priced per buggy for up to two people.

• Drive a buggy through countryside villages to a sandy beach
• Stop at a traditional cigar factory
• Taste local coffee and chocolate

Puerto Plata: City Highlights Tour with Mount Isabel & Lunch

The most-reviewed Puerto Plata tour on GetYourGuide: the city’s main sights, a ride to the summit of Mount Isabel de Torres for the view over the coast and the national park, and a typical Dominican lunch. The mountain is often in cloud — go on a clear morning if you can choose.

• Ride to the top of Mount Isabel de Torres
• Bird’s-eye view of the coast and a walk in the national park
• City highlights and a typical lunch

Puerto Plata: Catamaran Snorkeling Trip with Buffet & Open Bar

A relaxed day on the water from Sosúa, east of Puerto Plata: two snorkelling stops in the bay, an open bar and a freshly prepared buffet lunch, with a professional crew looking after you. Check the pickup options for your port or hotel when booking.

• Sail Sosúa Bay on a spacious catamaran
• Two snorkelling stops
• Open bar and freshly prepared lunch on board

Puerto Plata: All 7 Damajagua Waterfalls + Dominican Lunch

A highly rated alternative that makes a point of doing all seven waterfalls rather than stopping at three or five. Multilingual guides, a Dominican buffet lunch and round-trip transfers from Amber Cove and Taino Bay are included.

• Climb, jump and slide all seven falls of the lower circuit
• Multilingual guides
• Traditional Dominican buffet lunch and port transfers

Cayo Arena: Paradise Island and Mangroves Tour

A long day west along the coast to one of the most photographed spots in the north of the country: a speck of white sand ringed by reef, where you swim and snorkel before a boat ride through the mangroves. At around eleven hours it is realistic for stay-over visitors, not for most cruise calls.

• A sandbar of white sand in the open sea
• Swim and snorkel among colourful sea life
• Boat ride through the mangroves

Puerto Plata: Damajagua Waterfalls and Monkey Park

A combination that works well for families and mixed groups: the natural waterslides of the Damajagua falls, then time among the squirrel monkeys of a jungle sanctuary. Reviews are excellent, though there are fewer of them than for the stand-alone waterfall tours.

• Slide down the natural rock waterslides of Damajagua
• Meet playful squirrel monkeys in a jungle sanctuary
• Two of the area’s favourite stops in one outing

27 Charcos de Damajagua

Slide and jump down a jungle river

A chain of 27 waterfalls and pools cut into the limestone hills near Imbert, about half an hour inland from Puerto Plata. You hike up with a park guide and come back down the river itself — sliding over smooth rock chutes and jumping into deep green pools. It is the north coast’s signature excursion.

Puerto Plata Old Town

Victorian houses, a pink street and a sky of umbrellas

The historic centre begins a short walk from the Taino Bay gate: a grid of pastel wooden houses with gingerbread trim around Parque Independencia, its two-storey gazebo and the twin-towered San Felipe cathedral, plus the photogenic Umbrella Street and the all-pink Paseo de Doña Blanca.

Fortaleza San Felipe

A 16th-century Spanish fort on the headland

Built by the Spanish in the second half of the 16th century to guard the bay against pirates and rival powers, this compact stone fort sits on the La Puntilla headland at the western end of the Malecón — close enough to Taino Bay that you can see the ships from its walls.

Teleférico & Pico Isabel de Torres

The Caribbean’s cable car to a mountain in the clouds

A cable car climbs from the edge of town to the top of Mount Isabel de Torres, close to 800 m above the sea, where a Christ the Redeemer statue stands over a botanical garden and — on a clear day — the whole coast lies at your feet. Cloud and maintenance closures are common, so treat it as a bonus.

Playa Dorada & Costa Dorada

The golden resort beaches east of town

Puerto Plata’s main beach strip starts just east of the city: Costa Dorada first, then the long golden curve of Playa Dorada, backed by all-inclusive resorts and a golf course. The sand is public, the water is usually calmer than at the town beach and a taxi from the port takes around fifteen minutes.

Cayo Arena (Paradise Island)

A speck of white sand in a turquoise sea

A tiny sandbar surrounded by coral reef off Punta Rucia, far to the west of Puerto Plata. Reached by speedboat, it is the picture on half the brochures of the north coast: knee-deep turquoise water, reef fish and a return through the mangroves. A wonderful full day — but a long one.