DIY Puerto Plata - Taino Bay

[sunandsnow]

We were on Celebrity Silhouette and docked at Taino Bay on March 1st. We had scheduled the Snorkeling in Sousa Bay excursion through the ship. It was canceled too late the evening before for us to rebook anything else. Luckily we had planned on exploring Puerto Plata on our own after the excursion, so we decided to do that instead of trying to find something at the last minute outside the port area.

There is a shuttle to take you from the ship to the Taino port area. There is a small booth to exchange currency. We paid for our purchases with US $ in Puerto Plata and didn't have any problems. There are several stores and restaurants. Also a large resort pool area, small beach area (no ocean access) and a lazy river.  It is very nice. We walked outside the port area. Follow the signs to the exit. There will be men in bright yellow shirts with government ID trying to guide you for a fee. We told them No and they did not keep trying.

It took about 7 minutes to walk to town. We walked toward the San Felipe Apostal Cathedral stopping at Umbrella Street on the way. We stopped at the Plaza Independencia and took some photos. My DH sat on a bench while I  walked around the area and shopped  in some of the stores. Next we walked down Beller Street to the Pink Alley for photos. We continued walking and shopping around the area.  My DH purchased a Larimar ring and I bought a Larimar/pink conch shell necklace. We went inside the church. We took a different route on the way back to the ship. We walked along the Malecon along the ocean. We took photos of small fishing boats, palm trees and a pier.  We hadn't planned on it but in our wandering we ended up at the San Felipe Fortress. We didn't go inside. We did take a nice photo of our ship from the fort. 

When we got back to the port, we took the shuttle to the ship. We changed into our swimming suits and headed back out to the lazy river tube ride. It felt great. We were the only ones enjoying it. 

When we started researching Puerto Plata there wasn't very much information. We were disappointed that our snorkeling excursion was canceled but glad we had a Plan B. We had an enjoyable day. We felt it was an easy walk and felt safe.

Our friends had a tour on the cable car to the top of the mountain to see the Christ the Redeemer statue, into town and the fort. They enjoyed their tour also.

[Sudoku]

Thank you for sharing your wonderful day.  We will be in town the week of April 8, on the Norwegian Escape.  This is exactly what my brother was planning.  Thanks for making it easy.

[tweety33]

 

Thank you for the review!! This is exactly what we want to do. I was so happy to hear it was only a 7 min walk to town and you felt safe. A few questions.

1. how long did it take you to walk from the fort back to the port? 

2. Total how long did you spend doing all this, from leaving port and getting back into port?

3.  Did you see lots of other tourist walking out of the port & around town?

[Ofmyheart]

TY for all of this info. We leave later this week & was unsure what to do. 

 

Previously we did a tour, was looking for something different.

[sunandsnow]

On 4/3/2023 at 6:28 PM, tweety33 said:

 

Thank you for the review!! This is exactly what we want to do. I was so happy to hear it was only a 7 min walk to town and you felt safe. A few questions.

1. how long did it take you to walk from the fort back to the port? 

2. Total how long did you spend doing all this, from leaving port and getting back into port?

3.  Did you see lots of other tourist walking out of the port & around town?

It probably took around 10 minutes to walk back from the fort. We were in town around 3 hours. However we were shopping for jewelry which took longer. We went in three jewelry stores. We didn't stop to  eat  anywhere. We did  make a  stop at a pharmacy. We hadn't planned on going to the fort but we took a wrong turn through a park area. 

We left the ship after most people had so we weren't with a lot of people in the port area. We were walking up the street towards the church behind another couple. We happened to see Umbrella Street and stopped. They kept walking. There were several tourists in town. We ran into our friends in Central Plaza who were on a tour. 

 

Edited April 5, 2023 by sunandsnow

[tweety33]

That was very helpful, Thank you!!

[tkere]

Thanks so much for the post!  I will be there in a less than 2 weeks and my kids are doing a big excursion but hubby and I just want to walk around.  I knew they had a lazy river and though it might be just ok, glad you liked it.  The map was very helpful!

[vacation44]

On 3/30/2023 at 6:55 PM, sunandsnow said:

We were on Celebrity Silhouette and docked at Taino Bay on March 1st. We had scheduled the Snorkeling in Sousa Bay excursion through the ship. It was canceled too late the evening before for us to rebook anything else. Luckily we had planned on exploring Puerto Plata on our own after the excursion, so we decided to do that instead of trying to find something at the last minute outside the port area.

There is a shuttle to take you from the ship to the Taino port area. There is a small booth to exchange currency. We paid for our purchases with US $ in Puerto Plata and didn't have any problems. There are several stores and restaurants. Also a large resort pool area, small beach area (no ocean access) and a lazy river.  It is very nice. We walked outside the port area. Follow the signs to the exit. There will be men in bright yellow shirts with government ID trying to guide you for a fee. We told them No and they did not keep trying.

It took about 7 minutes to walk to town. We walked toward the San Felipe Apostal Cathedral stopping at Umbrella Street on the way. We stopped at the Plaza Independencia and took some photos. My DH sat on a bench while I  walked around the area and shopped  in some of the stores. Next we walked down Beller Street to the Pink Alley for photos. We continued walking and shopping around the area.  My DH purchased a Larimar ring and I bought a Larimar/pink conch shell necklace. We went inside the church. We took a different route on the way back to the ship. We walked along the Malecon along the ocean. We took photos of small fishing boats, palm trees and a pier.  We hadn't planned on it but in our wandering we ended up at the San Felipe Fortress. We didn't go inside. We did take a nice photo of our ship from the fort. 

When we got back to the port, we took the shuttle to the ship. We changed into our swimming suits and headed back out to the lazy river tube ride. It felt great. We were the only ones enjoying it. 

When we started researching Puerto Plata there wasn't very much information. We were disappointed that our snorkeling excursion was canceled but glad we had a Plan B. We had an enjoyable day. We felt it was an easy walk and felt safe.

Our friends had a tour on the cable car to the top of the mountain to see the Christ the Redeemer statue, into town and the fort. They enjoyed their tour also.

Thank you very much for taking the time to report your experience.    We plan on just walking around too when we stop there in February so your post is very helpful to us.

[sebas030]

On 3/30/2023 at 6:55 PM, sunandsnow said:

We were on Celebrity Silhouette and docked at Taino Bay on March 1st. We had scheduled the Snorkeling in Sousa Bay excursion through the ship. It was canceled too late the evening before for us to rebook anything else. Luckily we had planned on exploring Puerto Plata on our own after the excursion, so we decided to do that instead of trying to find something at the last minute outside the port area.

There is a shuttle to take you from the ship to the Taino port area. There is a small booth to exchange currency. We paid for our purchases with US $ in Puerto Plata and didn't have any problems. There are several stores and restaurants. Also a large resort pool area, small beach area (no ocean access) and a lazy river.  It is very nice. We walked outside the port area. Follow the signs to the exit. There will be men in bright yellow shirts with government ID trying to guide you for a fee. We told them No and they did not keep trying.

It took about 7 minutes to walk to town. We walked toward the San Felipe Apostal Cathedral stopping at Umbrella Street on the way. We stopped at the Plaza Independencia and took some photos. My DH sat on a bench while I  walked around the area and shopped  in some of the stores. Next we walked down Beller Street to the Pink Alley for photos. We continued walking and shopping around the area.  My DH purchased a Larimar ring and I bought a Larimar/pink conch shell necklace. We went inside the church. We took a different route on the way back to the ship. We walked along the Malecon along the ocean. We took photos of small fishing boats, palm trees and a pier.  We hadn't planned on it but in our wandering we ended up at the San Felipe Fortress. We didn't go inside. We did take a nice photo of our ship from the fort. 

When we got back to the port, we took the shuttle to the ship. We changed into our swimming suits and headed back out to the lazy river tube ride. It felt great. We were the only ones enjoying it. 

When we started researching Puerto Plata there wasn't very much information. We were disappointed that our snorkeling excursion was canceled but glad we had a Plan B. We had an enjoyable day. We felt it was an easy walk and felt safe.

Our friends had a tour on the cable car to the top of the mountain to see the Christ the Redeemer statue, into town and the fort. They enjoyed their tour also.

One thing I couldn't find about the lazy river and the poll, is there a fee to use it ?

 

Thank you in advance,

 

 

[sunandsnow]

The lazy river is free.

[catbro]

Would you know if there is a fence around the port complex or is it possible to walk from the Lazy River area in the port to the streets downtown? Is there a single exit/entrance for those walking? THanks.

[nzdisneymom]

Thank you for your review - we are interested in walking into town after we get back from our shore excursion.  Were their "tourist" signs to point to some of the places of interest (like Pink Alley and Umbrella Street)?