The town of Sosúa, gateway to Sosúa Beach where the Atlantic Ocean serves up saltwater therapy with a side of sunshine. This former coconut plantation turned resort town once housed Jewish refugees fleeing WWII, though now you're more likely to flee from sunscreen vendors. We're here to soak up the rays and the local culture, in that order.

This is our Puerto Plata travel guide, written from our November 2015 road-and-resort reality, not brochure fantasy.

Our Dominican Republic vacation began when we traded Newark Liberty’s airport carpet patterns for the runway at Aeropuerto Internacional del Cibao in Santiago. The name sounds dramatic. The luggage carousel looked less so. From there, we headed north toward Sosúa and checked into an all-inclusive resort, the kind where the buffet never sleeps and self-control files a formal complaint.

Sosúa sits on the north coast of the Dominican Republic, facing the Atlantic. That detail matters. The water and wind behave differently than the calmer Caribbean-facing side of the island. Mornings can feel gentle. Afternoons often bring more breeze and more surf. The ocean sets the pace.

Over the next few days, we explored the green countryside beyond the resort strip. We passed through towns with names that roll off the tongue: Barrabás, Imbert and Damajagua. Coffee is taken seriously here and Dominican tobacco culture is no joke either. The cigars we saw were rolled with patient hands and zero interest in rushing for tourists.