Costambar · Puerto Plata
Costambar, Puerto Plata
A gated beach village on the north coast, ten minutes from downtown Puerto Plata and twenty five from the airport.
What it is like
Costambar is a residential village, not a resort strip. About two thousand people live here — Dominicans, expats, and snowbirds who come down every winter. It is gated and quiet, and you can walk from one end to the other. There are no all-inclusive hotels and no cruise-ship crowds.
Guides
The things people ask us before they come, written out properly.
- Getting from Puerto Plata airport to Costambar — twenty five minutes, and what the taxi should cost
- Where to eat in Costambar — the six places in the village, and the colmados
- The 27 waterfalls of Damajagua — the 7, 12 and 27 fall routes, and what to bring
- The cable car up Isabel de Torres — what is at the top, and why to check before you go
The beach
A wide sand beach with calm water, five minutes on foot from our door. It is the village beach — neighbours, families, a few loungers, sea grape trees for shade. Somebody usually has music on.
The golf course
Costambar has its own nine-hole course, Los Mangos, and we are directly across from it. You can walk to the first tee.
Where to eat
All of these are in the village, minutes from the door.
- El Farolito — on the beach
- El Carey
- Estrella de Mar
- La Perla de Hamburgo
- Happy Hippo
- Mar y Sol
For everyday things there are colmados in the village, and the big supermarkets are ten minutes away in Puerto Plata.
Getting here
- Puerto Plata airport (POP) — 25 minutes
- Downtown Puerto Plata — 10 minutes
- Santiago (STI) airport — about an hour and a half
Most people take a taxi from the airport. Tell us your flight and we will tell you what it should cost before you land.
Days out
- The 27 waterfalls at Damajagua — 40 minutes. Climb them, then slide and jump back down.
- The teleférico — 15 minutes. The only cable car in the Caribbean, up Isabel de Torres.
- Puerto Plata old town — 10 minutes. San Felipe fort, the Amber Museum, Umbrella Street.
- Cabarete — 40 minutes. Kitesurfing and surfing, and a beach full of people doing both.
Do you need a car?
Not to stay in Costambar — the beach, the golf and the restaurants are all walkable. For anything beyond the village most people use taxis or motoconchos, and a rental car makes sense if you plan to explore the coast.