Damajagua & Countryside Day Trips

If a half day excursion feels too short and you have the time, the full day countryside trip is the most rewarding way to spend a day in Puerto Plata. These tours leave the coast behind and head into the green interior of the Cordillera Septentrional, and almost all of them are built around the Damajagua waterfalls, the chain of twenty seven natural pools that you climb, slide and jump under the guidance of a licensed local team.

The classic Damajagua day trip bundles round trip transport from your hotel or cruise port, the park entry, helmet and life vest, the guided climb to charco 7 or 12 and a Dominican lunch of rice, beans, chicken and fresh fruit served at a riverside ranch. Operators then layer on extras depending on the package: a dune buggy leg to and from the trailhead, a five zipline circuit over the canopy, a stop at a monkey sanctuary, or a tasting of cacao and coffee straight from the farm. The bigger combos run five to seven hours and turn a single excursion into a full sampler of the north coast interior.

Expect to pay USD 60 to USD 100 per person for a transport, entry and lunch package, rising to USD 120 to USD 180 once you add zipline, buggy or monkey segments. Go on the first departure of the day: the river is calmest in the morning, the cruise crowds arrive later, and you finish with time to dry off. Bring closed shoes that can get wet, a swimsuit under your clothes and a change for the ride home, because you will be in the water for the best part of two hours and you will come back happily soaked.