Casa Marina Bay/Samana

Going to DR in April and staying at Casa Marina Bay in Las Galeras on the Samana Peninsula. Can anyone give me any information on this resort and on this area??? I am having trouble finding information about activities, this resort in particular, tours, activities, whether or not the area is good for snorkeling, etc. Any info would be appreciated. Thank you. Mia

From Las Galeras, take the short boat trip to Playa Rinc?n. If you enjoy nature, you will be in heaven.

Hi Mia, Las Galeras is a very quiet spot, if you like organized action, you are at the wrong spot. In the DR though, you make your own action, everywhere or with anyone. People are friendly and like parties or what ever. There is plenty fish there, early every morning you will find locals returning from fishing, some of them with harpoons. You can ask them where the snorkeling is the best. If they want to take you, bargain a lot. Start at 40% of the asked price and settle at 60% (if you not skilled) Coming from the town Santa Barbara de Saman? you will pass Los Cacaos Beach, (you have to ask, you can not see it from the road), and the entrance of the La Tambora Hotel. The owner, an Italian, can give you advice. He has connection with a diving school. You must follow the recommendations of DR1 about Playa Rincon. Go there, it will be the emotional highlight of your life. 6 km untouched white beach, no house. Bring some food, drink and some friends. You will never forget it. If you want to meet more people, take a "guagua" to town, for a couple of dollars. Or rent a small motorbike.

Have fun Peter

Re: Casa Marina Bay/Samana - just got back

Hi Mia- I was just in Las Galeras last week. Cala Blanca, the beach in front of the Casa Marina Bay hotel, is beautiful -- much nicer than the main Las Galeras beach. Snorkeling is OK if you can swim out to the reef (need fins). From what I've heard, the snorkeling is better on the South coast, especially Isla Catalina, but I haven't tried that myself. We tried to find good snorkeling in Las Galeras area and Las Terrenas area, but weren't very successful. But maybe we weren't in the right places or the tides were off, making the water murky. Except for Sosua, the snorkeling was disappointing on the North Coast/Samana. The water was clear, but we just didn't see many fish. (we had much better snorkeling in Hawaii.)

That said, the area is extremely beautiful and you've made a good choice! Be sure to go visit Rincon beach. We drove there in a regular rental car, which you can do if you're adventurous and it hasn't been raining (roughest road in the last km or so; 4WD would have come in handy there but was not an absolute necessity). It takes about an hour. OR you can do the boat ride from Las G. in about 20 minutes. It is almost deserted and the waters are crystal clear. It was by far the nicest thing we did on our vacation.

If you have time you could also visit Playa Madama -- we didn't get there but heard it was nice, and I heard there's even Taino paintings in the caves at the beach (need flashlight).

Also, if you get sick of the food at your hotel, walk into town and eat at Chez Denise. The fish filet (dorado) with coconut sauce is out of this world and costs only 100 pesos.

Also, bring your snorkel gear and enter the ocean in front of the Villa Serena hotel in Las G (there's a small cove on the town side of the hotel that you can reach by walking 10 minutes along a path behind the beach walking from Las F. beach). It's a lovely swim out to a small deserted island offshore. If you can, then swim out to the reef which meets the island; you may see some fish.

Another tour you can do is Las Terrenas. It takes about 90 minutes by car from Las G. Be sure to visit Playa Coson (you can walk from Punta Bonita) - another gorgeous almost deserted beach, best visited at low tide, but again not much fish (for snorkeling) and water was murky when we were there. At punta bonita you can wade all the way to the reef at low tide; water is clear there.

Hope that helps! I'll try to post more about our trip in the coming days so keep a lookout.

Best, JD

PS Below is a good webpage link for you to visit for info on Las Galeras (do keyword search for Galeras).