Road Trip
Here is the route I would suggest. If you leave Puerta Plata and drive on, I believe RT 5, which is the main road, head east towards Cabarate. It is a good place to stop, watch the kiteboarders and have something to eat if you want. Continue east through Rio San Juan into Nagua. In Nagua follow the signs for Santo Domingo . You will leave Nagua and be heading towards San Fransico de Marcois. Continue following signs to Santo Domingo and the town of La Vega. You will eventually get on RT1 heading south to Santo Domingo. This is a major highway and you can make good time. It is a straight shot to SD. In Santo Domingo do your shopping downtown but stay overnight in the Colonial Zone in the El Conde' Hotel, which is located in the heart of the Zona Colonial. You are right across the square from the first church in the new world and all the historic sites. The El Conde' is an old colonial hotel with reasonable rate, adequate rooms and a great location with a beautiful outdoor cafe out front. It is a great place for locals and tourists to sit have a drink or an espresso and forget about the rest of the world for a little while. If you are interested there are many local guides who will give a walking tour of the many historic sites located in the streets around El Conde'. The tour is relatively in expensive but tell your guide that you are not interested in buying any trinkets or cigars otherwise a lot of the tour will be his effort to get you to the shops where he can get a cut of what you spend. The same stuff is sold all over the DR. If he is not willing to just show you the sites without giving you the KMart tour than walk around the area yourself but definitely do pay to go through Alcazar which is Diego Colon's, Gouverneur of Santo Domingo and son of the famous Christopher's original stone home which still sits on the bank of the Ozama Rio in the corner of the historic district. When you leave Santo Domingo take the highway and head towards Las Americas Airport. About 10 minutes from the airport you will pick up the new highway north to El Catey- Las Terrenas-Samana. You will be on the highway for its entire length which will take about 1hr and 15mins. and about 365 pesos worth of tolls. There are two tolls booths fairly close together at the Santo Domingo end and one about 10kms from the end of the highway at the northern end. When you exit the highway if you take a right you will be heading towards Samana, left and you will be heading back to Nagua, Rio San Juan, Cabarate, Sousa and Puerta Plata. If you want to explore the Samana Peninsula head over the mountain where the sign points to Las Terrenas about 8 kms from Sanchez. This is a very "scenic" ride with many twists and turns. Take your time on the road. There are a lot of photo oportunities, especially the first climb up the hill. If you look behind you, you will see before you, Samana Bay in all its' glory. Follow the road all the way into Las Terrenas. There are many hotel and restaurants all along Playa Las Ballenos, Playa Las Terrenas and Playa Punta Poppy. If you desire continue of the road going out of Las Terrenas along Punta Poppy towards El Limon Falls. You can take a guided horse back tour or just wave as you go by and head for Samana. The malecon at Samana Bay is beautiful but the town itself is one
big tourist trap. If you want to do any tours in Samana, such as, Los Haittes Park or Cayo Laventado make sure you have a reliable tour operator otherwise you will get the "special gringo price" and by this I mean screwed but with a smile. Once you leave Samana head out of town the way you came but go straight back towards Sanchez. You will then not have to go over the mountains outside of Las Terrenas. Retrace your route and head for Puerta Plata. It will take you about 3 1/2 hours from Samana. Wow that's a lot to do in 24 hrs. I'm tired just thinking about it. Have fun.
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