Best 5-7 days road trip

If you will be in Cabarete and want to do short trips only, I guess Cabrera, Rio San Juan, Puerto Plata, Nagua, maybe you can go all the way to Samana (about 1.5 hours), plenty of options there (Las Terrenas, Cayo Levantado, Salto El Limon, Las Galeras, Playa Rincon, Playa del Valle, etc)

I know a cigar factory in Santiago, but nothing else. I admit I don't know much about that subject.

Laguna Gri Gri, La Isabela

The road to Samana is narrow, but in pretty good shape. It runs along the coastline, as a plus.

From Cabarete and within 2-3 hours of driving there are many places. You can reach the whole Cibao region, including the mountain towns of Jarabacoa (rafting, paragliding, horse riding), Constanza (the road Jarabacoa-Constanza is supposed to be spectacular), and even Santo Domingo. I've done one-day round-trips from Santo Domingo to Cabarete several times.

I don't think you would be allowed to do the 27 "charcos" with a five year old.
You would have to be Sebastian Vettel in a Formula One car or a motocochista on a stolen superbike to get from Cabarete to Samana in 1.5 hours. I would say three hours, but it is a pleasant drive.

In fact the north coast is Atlantic ocean, not Caribbean sea anymore, but it's still nice in most places along the north coast.

Saona island is southeast, you can get there from Bayahibe by renting a boat. It's a very nice place. It would be a little over 3 hours from Cabarete, I guess. You can get there by taking the Samana Highway to the south and into Autovia del Este and then east to Bayahibe.
27 charcos are nice, but there's a lot of walking involved. Might be hard for a 5-year-old kid, but maybe not so much. Depends on the kid, I guess.
You can get a map at nearly any gas station. GPS works fine, even on cell phones like google maps or waze, etc. You do need data service, though it could be expensive if you pay roaming data services. Getting a prepaid sim card could be a solution for that.

Feel free to ask as many questions as you can. DR is a beautiful island, but you will only enjoy it to the fullest if you get all the information you need before getting here.

drstock said:

I don't think you would be allowed to do the 27 "charcos" with a five year old.
You would have to be Sebastian Vettel in a Formula One car or a motocochista on a stolen superbike to get from Cabarete to Samana in 1.5 hours. I would say three hours, but it is a pleasant drive.

Click to expand...

What?. I make 3 hours from Cabarete to Santo Domingo!. From Cabarete to Samana it's only 120 Km of very good road...

Thanks god for google maps...

You can have a stop at Bonao. Visit the museum or the house of Cristian Tiburcio. Also restaurant Tipico Bonao is a nice restaurant with local food. After that the road to Constanza and after that Jarabacao (there you can visit coffee plantation).
Ciboa valley has also cigar plantations.. Don Estaban in Santiago is one you can visit.

Well, OK, maybe I'm exaggerating about the time to Samana, but I think the OP wants a slow ride with a few stops along the way.

The Dominican Republic is one of the best destinations in the Caribbean for road trips. The reason is that the roads here are good and there is lots to see and do.

If you are interested in cigars, the two options are Santiago and La Romana (in the southeast).

There is a well run cigar operation in La Romana:
Cigar Country Tours - Tours & Excursions - La Romana, Dominican Republic.

See http://dr1.com/travel/laromanaguide.pdf for suggestions of what there is to do.

Staying in La Romana you have Bayahibe/Dominicus beach + you can take the children to the new Los Delfines Water Park (midway between Boca Chica and Juan Dolio). You could consider one of the resorts in Dominicus, or one of the small hotels in Bayahibe. Check out Hotels & Resorts - Directories, Dominican Republic.

In Santo Domingo there are many parks for the children, including several at shopping malls. For instance, there is an aquarium that has just opened at Sambil Mall with a very good showing of marine creatures. The children will especially enjoy it. 360 Galerias (Americana Departamentos), Agora Mall, Silversun all have good sized entertainment parks for the children. There is also the National Zoo that has the lemur monkeys. That zoo has a good children's petting section, and it is a lovely nature walk.


Samana works well with a 7 day trip, but I would stay at different hotels making my way to Samana city, Las Galeras and then Las Terrenas. But you would be too far from Santiago -- 3 hours drive.
http://dr1.com/travel/samanaguide.pdf

The Santo Domingo guide -- sending here the Spanish version -- is an older one. The new one will be out later this month.
http://dr1.com/travel/santodomingoguideEspanol.pdf

But it helps give you an idea of what to do in the capital city.

From La Romana, you can be in the city in two hours.

If you decide to head north, the children will have a great time at the Ocean World Park.
Ocean World Adventure Park - Tours & Excursions - Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.

For a family with two small children, driving all the way out to La Isabela is too much. And I would leave Damajagua for when the children are older. Cabarete is famous for its water sports, that your children will not very much be into now -- windsurfing and kiteboarding or surfing. But the beach is fine for swimming close to shore.

So my recommendation is this time around to choose La Romana.

27 charcos is very nice, but with a five year old you can only go to the first charco. An option would be to let the ladies go to the 1st charco and swim there, and wait for the men, going to the 12th charco down (or even the 27th). We were told due to 'derrumbes' it is not worth it to go to the 27th, but this was in March or April and it hadnt rained enough yet. Should be different now.

Try a MotoCaribe Motorcycle Adventure Tours van tour...