Samana is a great place to go
Hey I know how you feel, uncertain about the language, I suggest you hook up with someone when you first get here that can help you. There is a couple that does tours and things I have used them alot. Its not too expensive, but they can help you in a lot of ways. For instance, they have a horseback riding adventure, where you get to ride across the peninsula, see villages, rivers, even ride on the beach. They feed you this great meal, take you to a falls where you can explore, swim, whatever, and more. All day with them is only from about 50 to 65 for the day.. its a beautiful way to see Samana, the locals and explore. They speak english, and will help you with other things you want to know, how to get around and more. They are so helpful and informative, funny and just a great resource. So if you are on a budget, this is a worthwhile investment to get you started.
Also when you fly into the Dominican Republic, if you come in to Santo Domingo, as you exit the airport, there are taxi's there, they can take you to the Carribe Tours Bus station, which is a nice comfortable ride to Samana if you want to go. Laura and Domingo can meet you at the station and get you to where you are suppose to stay. They can also give you suggestions on places that are reasonable to rent but decent. If you fly in the last Carribe Tours Bus to Samana leaves at 4:30pm sharp! It takes about 20 to 30 minutes to get to it from the airport. So if you are arriving late, plan to stay. (You may want to tour around the capital anyway). To save money there is a clean little hotel near the bus station, they are not expensive and they will take you to the bus station (which is nearby) for free. They speak English there. So it is cheaper to take your taxi there, (which will cost you about 35 U.S. ) then stay the night at that hotel. which is about $30 for two.They will take you to a safe place to eat too if you want to go out to dinner, and also they cook in the morning. The owner ( a woman) will help you with whatever you want to see. Write down what you want to do, and where you want to go ahead of time in Spanish, you can just show it to the Taxi driver or at the bus station... the bus station is honest, go to the last booth when inside, the lady speaks english. Also the taxi drivers there at the airport have to all charge the same it seems. Or they are not aloud to pick you up. so you don't have to worry about that either. Go to
Explore Saman Dominican Republic for a Great Vacation you can get a hold of Laura there, she speaks english, (from the states). She can help you with everything in Samana, which really has the best of everything on the Island and a great place to make your main part of your visit and explore from there. It's absolutely beautiful and so much to see and do. If you want the name of the hotel, its something like the eating place in spanish... but I have a card somewhere and will find it for you if you are interested. It's for staying in the capital, Samana has many choices and Laura can help you with that. But make arrangements ahead if possible.
