The second part of my Dominican Republic trip had us looping north, toward Puerto Plata, Cabarete beach and its grittier sister, Sosua. Having last been to Cabarete in 1998, I was surprised at the sheer overhaul in the town’s development; many more shops and quaint restaurants and far more touristy in feel. But Cabarete remains a far cry from the towering resorts of Punta Cana, and with some of the best wind and waves on Hispanola, it is the go-to place for adventure sports. This part of the trip remained my favourite, with a half day of waterfall climbing, scaling, slipping and sliding with Iguana Mama, a teleferico ride up to the top of Mount Isabel del Torres to view the ribbon of coastline stretching below us as far as the eye could see and a group dinner at Sea Horse Ranch’s beautiful restaurant overlooking the sea.
Our morning was spent with Iguana Mama‘s owner Michael, who took us up Damajagua’s 27 waterfalls. Because we also all enjoyed soccer, we only climbed to 12 of the 27 falls and high-tailed it to Cabarete beach to watch the World Cup final – but those 12 falls were a thoroughly enjoyable adventure.
Me at the start of our waterfall hopping down 27 Falls, near Cabarete beach. Photo credit: Abbie Mood
From the falls, we hit Cabarete Beach, famous for its big waves and adventure sports as well as the lively bars that dot the beach from tip to toe. From the arc of the turquoise to the thick, rolling hills just behind the beach, Cabarete appealed to me the most out of the places we visited. Only 30 minutes from Puerto Plata airport, it’s certainly not isolated, but it attracts a very different crowd from the beach resorts and I doubt I would run out of fun activities to keep me busy.
Kitesurfing on Cabarete Beach. Photo credit Dominican Board of Tourism.
Kiteboarding too! Also on Cabarete Beach. Photo credit Dominican Board of Tourism.
After a quick exploration of Cabarete’s beach, we adjourned to Kahuna Beach Bar to watch the World Cup final. Wedged into a tiny table with Iguana Mama’s Michael and a bar full of soccer fans, we had a terrific time. Of course, watching in the DR is different than at a bar in, say, New York:
Not your usual halftime show: dancing on the bar at World Cup final halftime on Cabarete beach. Note the bras hanging on the ceiling; not your … classiest establishment – but a lot of fun!
Though the bar was packed, people pulled up beach chairs to watch the World Cup from the outside as well.
Recovered from our World Cup adventures, we got up early the next day to see Mount Isabel de Torres. Gazing down at Puerto Plata, the 793m tall mountain is topped with a small replica of Rio’s Christ the Redeemer statue. It’s wise to take the teleferico early in the day, before the clouds roll in and ruin the view. At the top is also a botanical garden and a restaurant with plenty of napkins, handy for when a bird took a crap on Melanie’s foot (she claims it was meant for me, but the bird had ‘gone rogue’).
View from the teleferico on the way up Mount Isabel del Torres.
Getting patted on the head atop Mount Isabel de Torres.
East of Puerto Plata is the town of Sosua, known (unfortunately) for its sex tourism and (fortunately) for its snorkling and diving. We wandered down to the beach with Northern Coast Aquasports, a diving and snorkling outfitter in Sosua proper, for an afternoon on the water. Though we did not have a full day to explore, we did manage to stop at several different snorkeling sites, each bursting with colourful fish and a variety of coral.
Our guide showing us what Sosua’s waters have to offer. Photo credit: Abbie Mood
Overall, I truly enjoyed this snapshot of what the DR’s northern coast has to offer, especially against the memories of a prior (and very different) trip. I tended to advise other adventure-seekers that the DR was all beach and not enough adrenaline, but I’ve certainly changed my tune after this trip. A success all around.
If you want more pics: my full gallery of Cabarete Beach & Puerto Plata pictures.
-Jodi
I am a former lawyer from Montreal currently eating my way around the world, one country at a time. Marshmallow enthusiast, volcano climber and cave spelunker - and also a geek. Traveling since April 1, 2008. See the 
Adventure? Yeah, we’ve got that.
I’m glad that while running pell-mell across the Samana Peninsula you felt both blessed (by Jesus) and relieved of crap (by me)…for at least one day of your life. :)
That picture of Christos patting you on the head is definitely one of my favorites from the trip. So holy! So regal! Nice post, dear Jodi.
The waterfall route sounds like so much fun!
Love your adventure, your attitude and your pics!
Don’t lie Jodi, that’s your bra!
Cool Dominican trip, Jodi. I never knew how much was there.
That sounds like such a fun adventure! What a beautiful place.
Oh wow Jodi your travels look fabulous, Christ the Redeemer sure is an imposing site over the city of Rio…for me it’s my favourite city in the whole world, for its visual amazing-ness…the poor people have the views and the rich people are down at the water in the high rises…oh wow!! enjoy
Those kite surfing pictures made me wanna go there RIGHT NOW!!! It looks like so much fun! Haha also loved the bras hanging in the roof, crazy party ;)
Great post. Kiteboarding in Caberete is supposed to be some of the best in the Caribbean. Did you check out Laurel Eastman’s school? We did a video on it here: http://www.voyage.tv/dominican_republic_travel_video_kiteboarding_school.html
Love the dancing on the bar shot — the motion is fabulous. Sounds like it was a great trip.
Looks and sounds like you had a wonderful time. Especially like the ‘action’ elements of the photos. They really convey the fact you had fun!
@Michael/Spencer: it was a terrific week, and as press trips go I liked the focus on the adventure sports and not just the beach offerings. I was also in great company: the rest of the group was a ton of fun!