From Puerto Plata, the Carretera de las Américas heads 50km west to El Castillo , a seaside village located on the site of Columbus's first permanent settlement. It's easy to see why he picked it, since the town is set on a splendid bay of tranquil, blue water and a solid wall of imposing, Olympian peaks.

Just off the main highway, before you make town, is the entrance to Parque Nacional La Isabela (9am-5.30pm, closed Sun; RD$30), which preserves the ruins of La Isabela, the first European town in the New World. Centred on the private home of Columbus himself, which is perched atop a prominent ocean bluff, the park also encompasses the excavated stone foundations of the town and a small museum.

A few kilometres further on, you enter the village, draped over a steep hillside above Playa Isabela, which attracts few beach-goers and is instead marked mainly by small wooden boats. A kilometre offshore is an intact coral reef where there's a healthy, multicoloured reef bed that's home to thousands of tropical fish and sea creatures. The Rancho del Sol hotel can arrange diving and snorkelling trips .

If looking to spend the night , check out Rancho del Sol (tel 809/543-8172; US$25-50), located off the Carretera de las Américas at the town entrance, which rents simple but well-maintained duplexes with kitchen and bath. They also have a great seafood restaurant - the menu varies with the day's catch. Miamar , Calle Vista Mar (tel 809/471-9157, fax 471-8052; US$25-50, breakfast included), is a modern hotel with a swimming pool and enormous rooms with lovely ocean views. For good Dominican cuisine try Milagro , near the entrance to Rancho del Sol , a small and friendly comedor with a good selection of local dishes.