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 houses more than hotels. About two thousand people live here, a mix of Dominicans, expats and snowbirds who come down for the winter. It is gated, quiet, and small enough to walk end to end. There is no strip of all-inclusives and no cruise crowd, which is either exactly what you want or exactly what you don't.
The beach
A wide sand beach with calm water, five minutes on foot from where we are. It is a village beach: locals, families, a few loungers, sea grape trees for shade. Not a resort beach, and better for it.
The golf course
Costambar has its own nine-hole course, 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.