The Dominican Republic North Coast

When speaking of the North Coast of the Dominican Republic, you hear terms like Costa Verde (“green coast”) and Costa Ambar (“amber coast”).  This is the first landing place of Christopher Columbus and where the first colonies were attempted, in Puerto Plata.  The attempts did not go so well so the first permanent colony was actually down south where Santo Domingo now stands.

To this day the North Coast offers some of the most beautiful coastlines, hillsides and mountains imaginable.  The country is so beautiful that many movies have been made here, arguably the most famous one being Jurassic Park.  Rugged seacliffs combined with soaring waterfalls near smooth white sandy beaches all framed by one of the largest palm tree forests in the world.  This is paradise, to be sure.

The coastline is sparsely populated by comparison with other parts of the country.  The major cities, from west to east, are Monte Cristi, Luperon, Puerto Plata, Sosua, Cabarete, Rio San Juan, Cabrera, Nagua and Las Terrenas.  All in all, though, there are probably only 500,000 people living along the entire north coast out of a total population of over 8 million! 

This is why, even on a busy day, the beaches on the north coast still offer plenty of room for everyone.