The Brugal Rum Factory tour is your opportunity to observe part of the manufacturing process of the world’s third largest producer of sugar cane rum ages that bottles some of the finest rums in the world. The tour ends with a daiquiri tasting and the opportunity to purchase the finer quality rums at best prices.

   Worth taking an early morning off from beach time for the visit to the city’s botanical gardens. Ride up the 2,565 foot (800 meter) mountain on board an Italian cable car. The eight-minute trip up to the botanical gardens puts tourists at a privileged vantage point to observe a large span of the north coast. The 135,000 square meter park is a natural scientific reserve with subtropical vegetation and 15 small brooks and streams amidst multiple trails to observe enormous ferns, overgrown flowers, fire-red gingers and giant hibiscus peaking through the rain forest’s shield. Set aside a morning for this tour.

   Public beach with soft waves serving the Cofresí and Costámbar residential communities and surrounded by restaurants and Ocean World Park.

   Puerto Plata’s darling for a day and night outing. Located 15 minutes west from Puerto Plata city, while this originally opened as a hands-on zoo and marine park, in 2006 marina and casino and dining facilities

were added to take advantage of its spectacular location overlooking the multitonal blues of the Atlantic Ocean. The park features one the world’s largest custom-made dolphin lagoon, swimmable aquarium, sea lion encounters, shark interaction pool, tiger feeding area and birds area, in addition to a large man-made beach, marina and casino with Las Vegas-style shows. The new marina takes advantage of the zero hurricane track record that Cofresí has maintained over the past 100 years.

   Those not staying at one of the 15 resorts in the Playa Dorada vacation complex should venture to discover the beach, its golf course, and its nightlife options that include a star-studded long winding stroll under palm-trees.

   Check out the mural painted by the students of the Antera Mota Public School at Calle Beller and the whales mural on the Malecón in Puerto Plata city. Puerto Plata contemporary art is at Motif, located at 12 Pedro Clisante, El Batey, Sosua.

   Those staying in Puerto Plata should program a day trip to Santiago, an hour south, especially to visit the new Centro León. This very active museum is a platform devoted to the promotion of contemporary art and a space for creating awareness of the diversity and wealth of Dominican culture, customs, identity and the ecology, as it seeks to

promote and preserve these values for future generations.
   From the last week in October to the first week in February, efforts should be made to attend a game of winter professional baseball played with all Caribbean passion at the Cibao Ball Park. Overnights are possible in one of the city’s hotels or a taxi driver can be hired to join you at the ball park and safely bring you back late at night.

   The country’s most western province is land of small hotels and small restaurants catering to the trickle of tourists that head out this way. Some of the country’s best dive sites (dozens of sunken ships can be explored) are found in this area with a luxury of untouched coral reefs.

   Known as Cayo Paraiso or Cayo Arena, this white sand bar with surrounding coral reef is a snorkeler’s dream. The excursion includes a ride through mangroves on the way back and lunch at Punta Rucia beach. Book a morning and afternoon for this excursion that takes about two hours each way by vehicle from Puerto Plata. Need to head south to Navarrete to later turn north again at Villa Elisa.

   Located half an hour from Puerto Plata, between the Altamira tunnel and the town of Imbert, this ecotourism attraction is a combination of cascading and plummeting down waterfalls. The excursions can be booked at the inland visitor’s center of the Professional Association of