El Valle Buses?

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HopSkip

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Hi,
We're going to be taking a tour (from Punta Cana) that is in the mountains near a town that google maps has marked as "El Valle," which is on the Hato Mayor-Sabana de la Mar road about 11km from Sabana dlM. Instead of returning to Punta Cana with the tour company, however, we'd like to bail out in that area and make our way to Sabana de la Mar, then over to Samana. For some reaon, the tour company representative does not seem to know much about transpo options in that area.

Try as I might, I haven't been able to locate any bus schedules for the town of El Valle, only Hato Mayor, but if we go all the way south to Hato Mayor it will be a major backtrack back up the road. Is anyone familiar with El Valle and have any suggestions about regularly scheduled buses or guaguas that we could take. My spanish is pretty okay.

I'd also be open to a reserved transfer option (like a taxi), but have been told that there are not taxis in Sabana dlM, even though it is so close.

Thanks!
 
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PJT

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Jan 8, 2002
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El Valle - a Brugal signpost

Are you thinking of this as a "day trip" ? If so, think different. The public transport options for the area are very limited. Your planned undertaking at minimum is a two-day adventure. Please note: El Valle is more of a very rural point, a Brugal signpost, between Hato Mayor and Sabana de la Mar.

You have to understand the transport time and distance one way from Punta Cana to El Valle is going to be about 3.5 - 4 hours and 130 km - 80 miles. It eats up a good portion of the day. Yet, you have an opportunity and pleasure to take in the views of the countryside.

Public transport (mini buses) between Sabana de la Mar and Hato Major and in between stops is sporadic, not on a set schedule. Taxi service between the two points, unknown, Public transport, the ferry between Sabana de la Mar and Samana, is weather permitting. It has a schedule, hit or miss, expect an hour crossing. Intercity public transport via bus between Hato Major - El Seibo - Higuey - Punta Cana is dependable and on set schedules.

Your design is not a hop skip type of adventure, even for a local it involves some knowledge of the local logistics to insure a reasonable and timely passage.


Good luck and regards,

PJT
 
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HopSkip

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PJT,

Thank you for your reply, it's helpful to know that the HM to SdlM 'busses' do not necessarily stop in El Valle. On that basis, unless I hear anything different, I will continue to pursue private transportation. I have one lead, but am open to others. Thanks!

*sigh* I thought I'd provided enough detail, but I'll go ahead and explain further in case anyone else has ideas. The tour company we are going with runs the trip to the mountains and back to Punta Cana in a single day 6 days a week and has for years and years (w/ excellent TripAdvisor reviews), so I'm pretty sure they've got the timing thing down. I understand we will be at the Ranch by 10am. Instead of making the lengthy trek BACK to Punta Cana (where we don't want to be among all the cheesy, nasty all-inclusives), we thought we'd use our proximity to Sabana de la Mar (ONLY 11KM!) to head north toward the peninsula and the coast. Presumably, we will have about 3-4 hours of daylight to get from El Valle to SdlM.

Once we get to Sabana de la Mar we will be staying for a night (or two) at a local lodge and THEN going to the Ferry. I understand the Ferry usually runs at 3pm and 5pm and we have built into our itinerary, the option of catching either just in case one of the two is not running. (Backpacking in South America and Mexico taught me how 'reliable' local tranport can be.)

That said, let me know if you still think this plan is unworkable for some reason. Thanks!

Regards,
HS

(Oh, and in case someone wants to ask Well-why-on-earth-did-you-book-your-flights-into-PC-if-you-don't-like-all-inclusives? The tickets were comped.)
 
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HopSkip

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Alrighty, Google maps was apparently WAY OFF which I just learned from the tour operator after dozens of emails. Thus my question is now a moot point. Thanks for help anyway, all!
 
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LTSteve

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Jul 9, 2010
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Hi:

A large part of your plan seems to be getting to Samana. Are you familiar with Samana City? The malecon area next to the bay is pretty but the rest of the town is nothing that exciting with many over priced souvenir shops. There is really not much to do in town. You would need transportation to be able to go to any outlying areas. One thing I would recommend is zip lining. There is a tour company which has a really nice 11 station zip line and a natural pool with waterfalls for swimming afterwards. They will also bring you to a really nice beach called Playa Valle (not related to El Valle). You can check out this tour at samanazipline.com. I believe they will also pick you up in Samana and provide transportation. Good luck.

LTSteve
 
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HopSkip

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Hi,
Thanks for the additional replies everyone. The initial excursion is to the FunFun Cave. Googlemaps has it as being right outside El Valle but it is NOT. From what I've read, I don't want to be on the roads around Hato Mayor if I can avoid it.

We've decided to just return to Punta Cana after the tour and then drive from PC up to Playa Magante the next day via the toll roads. We'll make a full day of the drive, stopping along the way to have lunch, etc. We'll spend about 5 days at Playa Magante (cascading, caving and kiteboarding), then head over to Samana Penninsula for another 4 days (ziplining - as recommended by LTSteve, whale watching).

Then we'll make our way back to Punta Cana (have allotted another full day for the drive). I tried all sorts of variations that included getting to Samana and renting a car there or doing the whole thing via shuttles/ ferries and other transportation. With the new toll roads and encouragement from folks on the north coast this seemed the most straightforward, flexible -- not to mention cheapest by far, including gas! -- way to do it. I lived in Ecuador for a while so my Spanish is okay.

Any other thoughts folks? Thanks!!!
 
S

Salsafan

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Aug 17, 2011
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Hi HopSkip
With your good spanish you can negotiate with a taxi: for max 1000 peso they bring you anywhere on Samana-Halfisland oneway. If you also agree them to fetch you, the better. By the marketplace in Samana-City there are also many 'carro publicos' with fixed routes. I would first ask there, if they go to your destination, then it would cost max 100-150 p, but its not as comfortable cause you are sharing the car (but maybe more interesting :)
 
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LTSteve

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Jul 9, 2010
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You won't have any problems driving from Punta Cana to the Samana Peninsula. On the peninsula most of the roads have been re-paved and the driving is not difficult during the day. If you have the time another thing to do is Cascada de Limon(Limon Falls. You can take horses to the falls and then swim in a natural pool at the base. The falls cascade down from the Rio Limon about 110 meters. When you return to Punta Cana go back through Las Terrenas and take the new highway past Coson and along the coast. There are some spectacular vistas. There is a toll of rd450 but it is worth it.

LTSteve
 
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tht

Master of my own fate.
Oct 10, 2002
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Planet Earth
There's no Albrook Mall in this El Valle, I know it's one in Panama but that's another country. The road between Hato Mayor and El Valle is still no good, I drive there once in a while, with a 4WD. And BTW the thread is from Jan. last year.
 
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