The beach of Costambar is especially long (5 kilometers), with beautiful stretches of white sand, fringed on the road side by tropical trees, many of them almond. These trees offer convenient shade and escape from the midday sun. They are also an ideal setting for your own little picnic site. The kitchen staff of Olas Tropicales, can prepare a delicious picnic "to go" for you, if you so wish.

If you are feeling energetic, we can provide you with a bicycle to aid in your explorations of the area.

Scattered along the Costambar beach’s roadside area, are restaurants, snack bars and beach bars, offering everything from Pina Colada’s, Cuba Libre’s to hot dogs or Dominicana specials to a gourmet meal complete with musical entertainment.

Dominican people just love to dance, watch them dance Latin American rhythms then, join in with them to dance the “Meringue”, the country's national dance. At the same time try out your Spanish with them. They will be pleased at your attempts and will help you out to the best of their abilities, with a smile and encouraging word

Throughout the community there are a varied selection of restaurants also food and gift stores. Be sure to wander into one of the local “watering holes”, ( you do not have to drink alcoholic beverages), here you may have the opportunity to meet and speak with, those friendly, smiling humans called “Dominicanos,” you could not meet a more warm hearted people. Or perhaps meet `snowbirds ‘ running away from all their winter blues in Europe and mainland North America. Perhaps enjoy conversations with transplanted Europeans and North Americans who now permanently live and work in the Dominican Republic, with always a good story to tell. Their version, always the latest, and the best
(much better than yesterday’s).

The community of Costambar is located on the country’s, 125 kilometer, north coast, known as the Amber Coast (Costa de Amber), where the community's name is derived from.

Amber, is a semiprecious stone which originates from the sap of a type of pine tree, now long extinct, and results from the sap being petrified, subjected over millions of years to the earth’s compression. The Dominican north shore has an abundance of the most beautiful and finest amber qualities in the world, much of it containing entrapped insects or fauna.

You may perhaps recall the Dominican mosquito trapped in an amber stone in which the blood of its last victim, a prehistoric dinosaur, was analyzed, for its DNA, then chemically re-created. This formed the basis for the book, “Jurassic Park “ and later the block buster movie of the same name.

Our Costambar B&B; Inn location is at a central point for the north coast, an ideal geographic location for visiting the many attractions of the City of Puerto Plata and other interesting locations, both east and west, along the Amber coast.

You may tour, easily by car or motor bike or organized tours can be arranged by us to take you for golf outings, deep sea fishing or trips, picnic party rafts, scuba diving and snorkeling, horse riding, jeep safari tours, or tours to various destinations and activities.

The climate on the Amber Coast has an average temperature throughout the year above 80 degrees F (25 degrees C) with little difference in seasonal changes, humidity ranges from between 55-65%, and is lower in the desert regions, rainy seasons are from June until August and December until February. Rain is generally in the form of showers or cloud bursts (aquacero), several inches can fall within a short period, but then "out comes the sun and dries up all the rain" for the wind department there is a mixture of Trade Wind patterns and the rhythmic land and sea breezes. These combinations serve to make our relatively high temperatures easy and pleasurable to enjoy.

The city of Puerto Plata, founded in 1504 by order of Fray Nicolas de Ovanda is of Victorian (gingerbread) architecture, little of the original “new world” architecture remains, a notable exception to this is the Fort San Felipe, Spanish built in the 1600’s to protect the community from marauding pirates.

On the subject of pirates, Cofresi the community immediately west of Costambar, is named after Hispanola's most famous pirate, a Puerto Rican of German-Jewish ancestry, who used to spy on the seaward approaches to Puerto Plata harbor, from the hills of Cofresi. When the ships approaching the harbor appeared to be heavily laden, after they had entered into the harbor to discharge their supplies, so did Capitano Roberto Cofresi and his crew of buccaneers, who never left empty handed.

Puerto Plata’s downtown Central Park, (Parcque Central), with its lovely turn of the century gazebo is an ideal location to head for when visiting the city’s shopping areas, Amber Museum, Taino Indian Museum, Museum of Dominican Art, Fort San Filipe, the Cathedral and both the new and old market places. The market places offer you a chance to experience the trading styles and customs of yesteryear. All of these locations are just an easy stroll from the Parco Central location. A pleasant way to spend part of a Sunday afternoon is to listen to a band concert played on the gazebo.

While in Puerto Plata, visit one of its “Discos” , which operate well into the small hours of the morning, but one of the most popular dance dates, for Dominicans, is Sunday afternoons, for many, their only day off work in this busy tourist area.

Also on Sunday afternoons a stroll along the Malecðn waterfront boulevard is an enjoyable event with many Dominican families out for the day with their lovely children dressed in their “Sunday best”, a tradition which we do not seem to follow anymore. A pleasure to see the importance of family values is not lost to Dominicans.

The Malecðn is also the place to be during one of the many Dominican fiestas, which range from the National Day to the Merengue Festival. There are usually parades, lots of music, exotic costumes and lots of dancing. There is one thing is for sure, Dominicans know how to party, sing and dance with an abundance of energy.

Between Costambar and Puerto Plata, is a cable car ride, to the top of Montana Isabela, 2,590 ft. At the summit of the mountain are large areas of botanical gardens, ( four square miles), with expansive displays of fauna, trees and tropical plants, including two water garden locations. The panoramic view of the Dominican north coast and the Atlantic ocean from this site is breathtakingly spectacular.

Along the coast to the east, is the town of Sosua, here the Dominican people donated a deserted, former banana plantation station, to 600 wandering, homeless European Jews, This occurred just prior to the second world war, previously they had been rejected from disembarking by many countries in the western world. Sosua today, is a thriving tourist city with many hotels, restaurants, bars and an active night life.

Further to the east is Cabarete, which is internationally renowned as a wind surfing Mecca and is included as one of the official legs for the wind surfing world championships. The big competitions are held yearly, usually in the month of June.

Past Caberette is the picturesque community of Rio San Juan with its famous “Gri Gri Lagoon”, Renowned for its clear waters, lush vegetation, huge mangroves and bizarre rock formations. There are many marine caverns here that can be toured by boat. This is cattle raising country and a large producer of cheese and dairy products.

Again to the east, with its transparent blue waters, almost at the tip of, the island of Hispaniola, is Samana. It is to Samana Bay, that 3,000 humpback whales come each year, from the Arctic and North Atlantic waters, to mate and give birth to their young. The whales visitation period is between approximately the first week in December until the second week in April. It is quite a sight to behold., watching from a boat, while these mammoth 60 ton mammals leap (breaching) out of the water with such ease and cavort with such agility and grace, a truly magnificent spectacle.

Samana is also notable for its many caves, their interiors decorated with century old Taino Indian drawings and underground rivers coursing through the interiors. Samana, has a notable place in the history books, at the “Bay of Arrows," the “Great Admiral” confronted the Ciguayo Indians, this was the first battle in the Americas between North American Indians and the European settlers.

Heading west of Costambar, along the coast, is the sailing boat haven of Luperon, here you can view pleasure sailing craft from around the world, perhaps at the same time speculating in your mind, living out some of your own past or future, nautical adventures, fantasies and dreams. Luperon is also a scuba/snorkel diver's and fisherman’s paradise, because of the large variety of different species of fish found there.

Just west of Luperon is the first European settlement of the “New World“, La Isabella, where Columbus landed, established and originally organized, from this base, the territory known as “ New Spain “. Here you will find a museum in honor of the "Great Admiral” and with many 16th century artifacts on display. Within the community there are a number of rebuilt structures, such as a replica of the first Christian church of the new world. Columbus’s former residence is also laid out clearly and there are plans to fully reconstruct it in the future

Although the majority of Isabela’s original structures were demolished many years ago, the Dominican government is doing an excellent job of restoration, in a historic setting of extraordinary natural beauty.

The most sizable community and furthest west, on the Dominican north coast, is the dry and dusty desert town of Montecristi and the promontory El Morro, which reputedly inspired Alexander Dumas’s ("alleged") biographical novel, “The Count of Montichristo", which was my favorite book as a young boy. The coastal waters off Montichristi house many sunken treasure galleons, (187). Salvage experts from all corners of the world work on recovering some of the treasures throughout the year. Montichristi is also noted for its natural canals network. It also formed the first city government in the new world as well as being the site of the first tribunal in the Americas. The Parque National El Morro is composed of both land and sea portions, great places for diving, bird watching (163 species), the fauna in the Parque is prodominately dry sub-tropical forest.

Before leaving the area of convenient day trips, from “Olas Tropicales “, we have at least one more to add. About one and a half hours away from “ Olas Tropicales “ is the city of Santiago, birth place of many former heads of state, and the national music and dance the, “Merengue”. From Olas Tropicales there is a choice of two routes, the first one is along the regular main road, the way of the autobus, or the second choice over beautiful mountain roads, my own particular favorite trip.

The trip through the mountains is on a newly reconstructed roadway, “The Tourist Route “, commercial vehicles are not permitted on this route, so stop along the way, and take in the sights, be sure to take your camera with you. The scenery is out of this world, each tiny village you pass through, sell from their stands the different fruits, vegetables, flowers and cheese, peculiar to each area. This is also a great trip to spot your favorite Christmas plant, the poinsettia, except you will see it in all its glory, at a later stage rather than at your local florist, they are developed into tree form.

Santiago, is the second largest city in the Republic, the surrounding lush Cibao Valley is home to the country's large tobacco industry. This is where the drug nicotine was first introduced to Europeans. Much prized purist cigars are produced here, visit for a while at the Museo Del Tabaco. There are many interesting historical structures, in this finely designed city. One that most stands out is the “Monument to The Heroes of The Republic” built in the 1940’s , it stands at one of the major intersections, sixty seven meters high. Built out of solid white marble the interior, which houses government offices, is decorated with an excellent collection of murals by Spain’s Vela Zanelli. Santiago is also a favorite shopping destination for all north shore residents. They use it when shopping for a greater selection of hardware, housewares, and automobiles. They also enjoy its many restaurants and cultural events.

Now, let's go make Reservations!

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