Things to do
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Cabarete Beach
The north coast's windsurfing and kitesurfing bay, where the trade wind builds through the afternoon and the sails come out after lunch. Mornings are flat and quiet enough for swimmers. Schools rent gear along the sand, and the restaurants set tables on the beach at dusk. February to August carries the steadiest wind.
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Fortaleza San Felipe
Spanish engineers built this squat stone fort at the harbour mouth in the sixteenth century to keep pirates and smugglers off the north coast, and its cells later held Juan Pablo Duarte. Rooms inside now hold cannon, shot and maps of the Caribbean raids. The site is small, so half an hour covers it, and the sea wall outside catches the wind.
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Playa Dorada
Golden sand curves for a couple of kilometres east of the town in front of a gated complex of hotels and a golf course laid out by Robert Trent Jones. The beach itself is public, though access runs through the resort gates or from the marina end. Water is calm inside the reef and vendors work the sand in the afternoon.
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Playa Sosúa
A sheltered crescent of sand east of Puerto Plata, backed by a strip of beach bars and dive shops, where the reef keeps the water calm enough for swimming most of the year. Snorkelling boats leave from the sand in the morning. Weekends bring families from Santiago and the shade huts fill early, so a weekday visit is quieter.