The peninsula of Samana is the most beautifull part of the whole Dominican Republic. Most big travelagencies don't bring you there because of its distance to the airport of Puerto Plata. Transfer 1 way is more or less 4 hours, but that's the price you have to pay for 1 or 2 weeks in Paradise. This is the part of the Island with the most beautifull nature. On Samana you can find rivers, waterfalls, jungle and whole lots of beautifull beaches, some of them in front of your hotel, others completely deserted. Look around a little and you can find a beach just for yourself!
At the end of the peninsula you can find a little village called Las Galeras. Not much going on there but there is a good all inclusive hotel called Casa Marina Bay, and 2 smaller but very stylish hotels: Club Bonito and Villa Serena. The main city on the peninsula is the city Samana de Santa Barbara. Nice to go there on a day trip, but no place to spend your holidays (not much going on and no beach close). Best place to go: Las Terrenas, a not so small village with bars, restaurants, live music every night, cold Cuba Libres, and full of hot latinos and latinas. Caribbean pure! There are a few bigger hotels like Cacao Beach, El Portillo and Guatapanal, and a whole lot of smaller hotels, from very simple and very cheap up to very luxurous and very expensive. You can check them out in the internet at: the samanapage or at domrep.com.
What to do? Visit the waterfalls of El Limon (go to the village of El Limon and ask for Santi), or go horsebackriding on the beach. Divers go to: Las Terrenas Divers on the Playa Bonita Beach, very good divingschool with a fantastic instructor. (call Hanjo, tel....809-899-2422) Take a boattrip to the mangrove forrests in nacional park "Los Haitises" from the little village of Sanchez (Amilka Tours, tel... 809-552-7664). From January till March you can see the Humpbackwhales in the Bay of Samana. (Call Kim the famous Marine Biologist, tel....809-538-2494) And go walking, walk away from the hotel, climb a mountain, go swim in the ocean or drink your Pińa Colada directly from the Pineaple at the beach. Things NOT to visit: Cayo Levantado, the so called "Bacardi Island". Its full of tourists and souvenirssalesmen, very expensive, and nothing to see.
Las Terrenas has lots of restaurants, French, Italian, Spanish, Bask, American, German and ofcourse Dominican Food. Fresh fish, Lobsters, Kingprawns, its all there for a very reasonable price. At night there are some nice bars on the beach, Paco Pasha, El Mosquito, and in the village itself there are some Tipical Discotheques (most famous: Nuevo Mundo).
Money: Best to bring US dollars, Visa and Mastercard are accepted in most hotels, but not in the shops.
Weather: mmmmmmm soooo nice.......
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