Newbie Question

By next month I assume you mean November. You should have no trouble finding a room. The fact that tourists visiting the North Coast this year are less than the hotels and resorts desire makes it even more certain you will have no trouble getting a place to stay, and moving to another location if after getting a room you find another place you prefer.

Please exercise EXTREME caution when driving out there - the roads are much more treacherous than on the rest of the island - especially in the mountains. As far as lodging, I've done it several times with no reservation and no problem - any season. Be careful and good luck!

BTW, Budget, National, and Europecar are all good car rental companies in the DR.

You will certainly get a better rate on your vehicle by patronizing one of the agencies just off the airport grounds. In any event, you will be attracted to something with a little ground clearance; I imagine that 4WD is not really necessary for your purposes.

The roads ARE bad--but they are Sooo much better than before. You'll be fine, and staying off the roads after sundown is an asatute move.

Spend some time in Las Galeras. For a really, serene and quiet night take a look at La Lomacita on the hill outside of LG and run by Armelle. Or try El Cabito, run by John and Katherine. In any event, take in a meal at El Cabito, arguably one of the best restaurants around, even if a bit off the beaten track.

newbie

try my place Las Galeras Samana : Dominican Republic Rentals : Home For Rent, and use that as a base, to tour the peninsula. The roads have improved greatly to there, and you can save a lot of money and gas renting an SUV, and go with a smaller car. From Las Galeras, you can rent a four wheeler, and tour all the great spots, Playa Rincon, El Valle, Boca Diablo, Limon, etc. The Coves, near Las Galeras, Samana, Dominican Republic

Enjoy!

Samana Peninsula

Hi:

You are better off to make a rent a car reservation prior to arriving in the DR. This way you know you are not being given the gringo price. I have used www.universal car rental.com for over 10 years. They are very reliable and they will meet you at the airport with the car. You sign the paper work and go. I would suggest you get a small suv 4x4, Chevy Tracker or Susuki Grand Vitara. You will need this to drive on some of the beach roads. The road between Samana and Las Galeras is very bad in many spots. It is worth the drive but it will take you extra time. If you are flying into Santo Domingo, Las Americas Airport you can take the new highway north. You will be on this for about 1hr and 15 min. When it ends take a right and follow the road into Sanchez. Take a hard left a few miles outside of Sanchez and follow the road into Las Terrenas. This is a mountain road with many curves which you will be on for about 13 km. When you come into Las Terrenas stay on main road into downtown area then you will start seeing the beach. There are many small resorts along this road right accross from beach. This is a good place to start your trip. There are many bars and restaurants. You can pick up maps of the peninsula and get your bearings. When you come out of the airport it's a little tricky. Stay to the right on the highway. After you pass the toll booths get into the left lane and go up onto elevated highway. After you come off this get back into right lane and stay right there is only a small sign for Samana which will put you on the new highway. After about 1/2 mile you will go through first toll booth. There are a total of three. You will need about 345 pesos for tolls so exchange some money before leaving airport. Driving during the day is not bad on the highway and secondary road. Just remember when you are driving through small towns slow down and remember people will be walking in the streets, also dogs, cattle and anything else that moves. Also people will pass you on both the right and left side with small motor scooters. Just keep alert and you'll be OK.

rent ahead

i agree with getting a car rental ahead of time. ive used europcar for 5 years now and always rented ahead of time. there's a discount for paying in full ahead of time as well. they guarantee no additional charges

before renting this way, there were regular issues with mysterious taxes and fees.

Oh yeah... booking online ahead of time will save you a lot of money! I always use priceline.com.

booking ahead with europcar got me the best deal. they have 4wd suzuki gran vitaras also. mine was around $580 for 2 weeks without insurance.

Samana driving and places to stay

I was there for the month of August, used Sosua/Cabarrete area as my base, rented a small SUV for a month at a cost of $740 US (not new car, but worked well). We drove to Samana right to the end of the road... the roads are fine but not great! If you want to go to Playa Ricon, take and SUV (front wheel drive is fine as long as it does not rain). Spend the day there, it's great and my kids loved it.

We had trouble finding a place to stay driving home. Ended up driving home to Sasua in the dark got home by midnight. I could simply be that I was not familiar with the area and did not know were to stay.

Anyway, it was amazing and one of the highlights of our trip to the DR.

By the way, there is great food on the beach at Playa Ricon.

Hope this helps.

LTSteve gave you some of the best directions I've read on driving from SDQ to Las Terrenas- follow them!! A great place to get your bearings in LT is Big Dan's Cafe Americano which faces the beach, just after you turn right on the road to Portillo. There are several small hotels also on this road... Have a great time!

Cell situation

AT&T does have a relationship in the DR (with CLARO) and you can use an AT&T cell phone through much of the country. Be prepared for a huge telephone bill if you do so.

That said, I did use an AT&T international data plan and a Blackberry for a couple of years to access e-mail and even do the first couple of dozen posts to the El Otro WA blog (see the archives at: www.elotrowa.com)

You may find it convenient and economical to purchase a pre-paid cell phone, probably from the Claro or Orange Networks.

Best,

Bill

Best advice I was ever given for phoning from the DR is....bring a MagicJack with you!! It plugs into your laptop (if you bring one and phone calls to your home area code are FREE and very cheap to other codes-- You can buy at Radio Shack and I got mine at Walgreens for $40--- best gadget I ever bought!