In our last blog we reported on our chaotic arrival and the dark side of the Dominican Republic. We weren't sure if we would like it here. We now know: the Samana peninsula makes up for everything that shocked us at the beginning. You can stay here if you love peace and quiet and like to spend your time on the most beautiful beaches you can imagine. We got through our first night in Boca Chica well. There was even breakfast waiting for us in the restaurant of the Batey Boutique Hotel. Now all we had to do was find the road to Samana and make the 4 hour drive to the other side of the country. With traffic, it's no picnic.
Preparing for a long journey
In daylight, the somewhat dodgy beach town looked a little better. Nevertheless, we wanted to exercise caution when going shopping: We still had to withdraw money and get provisions for the journey. It can't be a coincidence that there are always particularly dubious characters hanging around ATMs. During our travels we have already learned how to withdraw money as safely as possible.
After we had completed all the errands and loaded the car, we set off. We took all sorts of screenshots of the correct route and set off. This time we even found the right exit straight away and ended up on the long toll road towards the Samana peninsula.
Tip: Don't forget to get a few Dominican pesos for this route. On the way to Las Galeras, we passed four toll booths and paid 60 pesos twice and 200 pesos twice (520 pesos is roughly 8 euros). On the well-developed toll road, traffic suddenly decreased and the garbage on the side of the road also became less and less. We were finally “on the road” and were very excited to see what awaited us in the next two weeks. Skeptical? Yes, we still were.
How did we end up here?
More or less by chance - due to the only possible flight connections to Costa Rica - we landed in the Dominican Republic. A holiday destination that wasn't actually on our list and about which we also had some prejudices. We also immediately thought of “bed castles” and rather unsympathetic tourism in an overall rather poor and not necessarily safe country. During our initial research we quickly read how unsafe it is supposed to be here. Beautiful hotels, surrounded by barbed wire and securities, and outside there is crime and poverty. It's best not to leave your hotel and the ideal world within. Doesn't really sound like we like it.
But we researched further and “discovered” the region of the Samana Peninsula. And now we are here and can confirm: The Domrep can do things differently! If you have a bit of courage when driving, you can drive around alone in a rental car relatively easily. Yes, you can move around freely here, be outside at any time of the day or night and our hotel has neither a fence nor security - just like all the other buildings here. There are numerous excursion destinations in the area and of course the almost endless, beautiful beaches.
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People here may live simpler lives, but we don't see poverty here like in India or Africa, for example. The people here seem content and happy, even if they have to make do with a little less than we think they need. In contrast to other areas, the dirt and rubbish are also quite limited here. Actually a place to feel good and completely to our taste. Explore beaches and nature during the day, eat delicious and cheap food and visit a cocktail bar on the beach in the evening. Not fancy, but relaxed and safe. For us, paradise.
Easy life in Las Galeras
So our worries were unfounded. Las Galeras turned out to be a small fishing town with a relatively decent tourist infrastructure and our accommodation, booked via the Internet, is one of the most beautiful and comfortable facilities we have ever stayed in. The Hotel La Isleta is located at the end of a cul-de-sac, has a small pool, a barbecue facility, offers a daily simple breakfast and is a place to feel good. From here, three beaches, several small supermarkets, restaurants and tour providers are within walking distance.
In Las Galeras the clocks are different and in the evenings people play boules on the beach.
Our bungalow was comparatively huge, had two bathrooms with toilets, two bedrooms, a kitchen with a dining area and two great terraces with a sea view - one of which even had a view of the sea. Dominique, the owner, doesn't speak German, but speaks French, English and Spanish. He lives with his family directly on the hotel premises and is almost always available to answer any requests or questions. Even though breakfast was always a little time-consuming, we had a wonderful time here. The Caribbean work ethic, or let's say the work pace, is a little different than ours, but you can and have to get used to it.
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The Hotel La Isleta was exactly what we wanted - TOP!
What excursions can you do from Las Galeras?
Since we had a rental car, we drove around a bit ourselves and booked tours with Marcel and Sunshine Holiday Tours - a German who emigrated here 17 years ago. His office is in the middle of Las Galeras and his tours are cheaper than elsewhere and there are German-speaking tour guides. The German is also always a good contact for other questions and problems and we can recommend him without reservation.
We booked two excursions with Marcel:
Drive to Samana and visit the local market hall. Here you can experience something of typical Dominican life. The market hall is full of exotic fruits and the spices give off a different scent every few meters. This tour then went to the waterfalls of El Limon. The nature experience on this 40-minute hike to the large waterfall is wonderful, but unfortunately this place is a little overcrowded.
You can cool off wonderfully in the pool of the El Limon waterfall.
You should definitely refuse the offer to let a horse take you to the waterfall. The poor animals are treated with anything but care and the arduous journey is nothing but animal cruelty. After the waterfalls, we ate in a typical Dominican restaurant (food and drinks are included in the price of this tour), visited the Samana pedestrian bridge, which is worth seeing, and visited “El Diablo”, a kind of geyser on the way back to Las Galeras lies.
The lively city of Samana has several highlights and is the starting point for several excursions.
Boat tour to the Haitises National Park followed by a visit to “Bacardi Island”: This tour was slightly more expensive than the one to the waterfalls, but still cheaper than other providers. You take a tourist catamaran from Samana to the other side of the Bay of Samana and visit two stalactite caves that are worth seeing. The no islands, bays and coastal sections of the national park, which opened in 1976, are strongly reminiscent of areas in Thailand (e.g. the James Bond Rock in Khao Lak). After this short tour, you take the boat back for 40 minutes and make a 3-hour stop including lunch on the so-called Bacardi Island - the well-known commercial was filmed here in the early 1990s. The island itself has two sides: on one side there is a luxury hotel with its own beach, on the other side is the publicly accessible area with a few bars, shops and the very beautiful but busy beach. You can always take beautiful photos here.
The day trip to the Haitises National Park and Baccardi Island is almost a must.
The beaches of Samana
We were lazy and only visited five beaches in 2 weeks, but we had a clear favorite.
Playa el Rincon: In the course of our numerous trips over the last 25 years, we have already visited some beautiful beaches, but Rincon is right at the top, if not in first place. The bay in which this still very natural beach is located is three kilometers long and can be reached via a short cul-de-sac. On one side a river flows into the sea in whose clear water you can take a very refreshing swim. THAT is a great experience. At the other end of this stunning beach is the “touristy” part – although that is an exaggeration. There is a tour bar, a corrugated iron restaurant that is better than it looks and a few loungers that can be rented for 200-250 pesos per day. Here you will find turquoise blue water and palm trees like from a catalogue. There are no hotels here and we hope it stays that way. This is pure Caribbean!
Playa el Rincon is one of the most beautiful beaches we have been to so far.
Our house beach, the beach of Las Galeras, was a real Caribbean beach despite all the complaints from some hotel guests. Only a few stones spoiled the pleasure of going in, so you just have to be a little careful or put on protective water shoes. The big advantages of this beach: There is quite a lot of parking and the infrastructure is excellent with a hotel bar, the Coco Fabuloso restaurant at the other end, a wonderful little beach bar with affordable drinks and small snack pizzas as well as two other new restaurants. In addition, the town is only a stone's throw away and the walk to our bungalow at La Isleta took less than five minutes. We spent a few evenings here.
There were two other beaches within a 15-minute walk of our hotel:
The Playa del Aserradero, from La Isleta to the right over the house beach, past Coco Fabuloso and through a small palm grove, you come to the beach of the Wyndham Alltra Samana, a beautifully located all-inclusive resort, which is about half of this beautiful beach claims. Since the beaches in the Dominican Republic are public and you are always allowed to walk along the coast, walking through the resort and using this beach is permitted. Here the sea water feels 2 degrees warmer than in the other bays and invites you to linger longer.
From La Isleta to the left, past the Hotel-Restaurant Arena along a path and through two private properties, you come to the very beautiful beach of La Playita. There are a few locals here, especially on weekends, but otherwise this dream beach is almost never overcrowded (compared to European holiday destinations, it isn't even on weekends).
Other beaches on this side of Samana that we didn't visit include Playa Colorada, Playa Escondida, Playa Celeon, Playa Delgado and Playa Frontòn, to name just a few. One thing is certain: If you are looking for dream Caribbean beaches that are not overcrowded, you have come to the right place.
Eating out at Las Galeras
If you're on holiday in Las Galeras, you should definitely eat out every now and then. In addition to a few small supermarkets with a very clear selection of products, there are a few restaurants that definitely delight the palate. Let's start in the morning: If you want to have a good breakfast or stock up on delicious baked goods and great French baguettes, the Aux Delices De France bakery, just a few meters from Marcel's Sunshine Tours, is the perfect place to go. A real insider tip for those with a sweet tooth.
For anyone who wants a good dinner, we recommend the restaurants C.L' Aventura De John or La Bodeguita, both of which offer a good price-performance ratio. In our opinion, the best restaurant is by far the Marakana. Everything is just right here: the atmosphere, the service and the food. Marakana serves good meat dishes, tasty wine and probably the best wood-fired pizza in the whole of Domrep. Definitely try it.
The anti-tip: Avoid the restaurant of the Hotel Arena right next to the Hotel La Isleta, the service is reminiscent of a sick joke and the food (especially the pizza, whose dough has died under half a kilo of cheese) encourages the human instinct to flee. You'd better go to the beach bar on the beach at Las Galeras and eat one to five snack pizzas!
Conclusion
The peninsula was a truly positive surprise to our somewhat dystopian arrival in the Dominican Republic. Here you can still find real dream beaches and tourism has not yet taken over. Even the Dominican mountains of garbage on the side of the road are limited. The Hotel La Isleta with breakfast, small pool and its owner Dominique were the best choice for our two-week stay in Samana. We felt very comfortable and, above all, safe here. Gladly again!
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kind regards from Steffi, Max and the kids
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