PUERTO PLATA and PLAYA DORADA comprise the mass tourism capital of the Caribbean. The city of Puerto Plata is a vibrant Dominican town of 200,000 that's well worth exploring for its historic architecture and nightlife. Its core, the Old City , borders the port to the east, a narrow grid of streets that was once the swankiest neighbourhood in the country. Around the original town sprawls a patchwork maze of industrial zones and concrete barrios known as the New City , formed over the past century with the growth of the town's industry. Most visitors, though, are here for package tours to Playa Dorada - located a kilometre east of the city limits - a walled-off vacation factory that pulls in over a half-million tourists each year.