The North Coast

The Dominican Republic's northern coast, with mountains on one side, is also called the Amber Coast or the Amber Riviera because of the large quantities of golden amber found in the area. The sands on its 75 mi (121 km) of beach are also golden. As the area moves up on the luxury scale, the Riviera moniker seems more appropriate all the time.

Puerto Plata was founded by the island's first governor, Nicolás de Ovando, in 1502. Subsequently, in the colonial days, there were pirates, also called corsairs, skulking around almost every cove, to the degree that the city had to be abandoned in 1606. Nonetheless, because of that threat tourists have San Felipe, an attractive fort, to tour. Puerto Plata is a typical Dominican city, but it has some tourist appeal, mainly because of the wooden houses with gingerbread fretwork from the Victorian era, which was its halcyon age.

Nearby, the beaches of the Costa Dorada are along Puerto Plata's principal highway, where there are two large all-inclusive resorts; Playa Dorada is the nearby, long-established resort area, where the D.R.'s first all-inclusive resorts were built. If you want R&R and a tan, you don't have to leave the golden beach. When you want to explore, within a two-hour radius are a plethora of towns, including Sosúa, Cabarete, Cabrera, and even Santiago. Each offers its own magical mix of Caribbean character and characters. The fun quotient is high in Sosúa and particularly Cabarete, where strong ocean breezes create the ideal conditions for kite- and windsurfing.

The north country is like Eden when you venture out to more remote areas and discover the beaches and the rich, tropical vegetation that grows up the hillsides to the cliffs. Cabrera is a new hot spot, and it's helping to redefine the Domincan vacation, with its upscale rental villas. And visitors are now beginning to discover the glorious, often unpopulated beaches between Rio San Juan and Cabrera. With a wide mix of visitors (from backpackers to high-end tourists), the North Coast is whatever you want it to be.

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