Barahona and the South

imsteiner

New member
Oct 19, 2009
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I am planning my first visit to the D.R, so i guess i need some help right away.
Its not your normal first visit for a Canadian to this fine country. I will not be staying in an all inclusive resort, YEAH!. The more I research the South West the more excited I get to get down there and see it. Im so looking forward to driving the coast south of Barahona, all the way to Pedernales!
Im very keen to check out Bahia de las Aguillas. I know that my wife and myself will want to be there at least a couple of days as well as probably a night in Pedernales.
The information i have found has either been not recent or confusing. I wonder if the educated people on this site could help me out.
Are we able to camp at bahia?
Is it worth it renting a 4x4 to get down there? I know that there is a boat but it seems expensive. Plus i know that we will want to chill out there for more than half a day or a day. Is there a way where we can take the boat or some trip and stay there for a while.
I read about some tours that operate out of Barahona or Pedernales. Just wondering if anybody could comment on the value of these.
Is the Barahona airport the only place to rent a 4x4 there?
And, finally, is there any new accomodation or any recommendation on places to stay south of Barahona- looking to spend 40-50 US a nite.
I am 38 and very well travelled, im so looking forward to spending some time in the lesser spoiled Dominican, any advice would be great thanks, Chris
 

ben jammin

Well-known member
Aug 3, 2007
648
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this trip will be included in my next DR visit and to save some leg(finger)work here are some links to check. also click on the southwest forum where you posted this and go back and there is much info. GoBarahona.com - Come and Enjoy this Adventurous Place!!! - Home ECO Tour Barahona, our ecologic tours in Dominican Republic Aparta Hotel Pontevedra http://www.villamorinda.com/untitled-1.swf Price List of the Hotel El Quemaito Hotel Loro Tuerto - Bienvenido al Caribe autentico - Homepage Barahona, Dominican Republic - Hotel Costa Larimar Hotel Casablanca ? a jewel in the Dominican Republic > Home
the barahona airport does not have flights into it (there was a thread on here recently about charter flights from PR but i have emailed requests for info and received none) so you may end up flying into santo domingo as closest access. if so rent the 4x4 there. a poster by the name of destination barahona said he has vehicles for rent so you may can take the bus from the capital and rent from him once there, just find a thread he has posted on and rightclick his name to private message him. i have his email and asked for vehicle rentals but he said he'd get back to me but never did but he probably checks the SW forum here and others may have info on rentals. good luck and happy travels... ben
 

minerva_feliz

New member
May 4, 2009
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Need to re-think your plan...

A COUPLE DAYS at Bahia de las Aguilas? You know, there is LITERALLY nothing there. Here is what I would suggest...

-Base yourself at a hotel on the coast outside of Barahona. I recommend Hotel Quemaito or Playa Azul because they both have pools, restaurants, swimmable beaches and are in your price range. From there you can make day trips to other places. Buy some snacks in Barahona to keep at the hotel.
-Take your time driving down the coast to Pedernales, and spend the night there. Get up early the next day to enjoy a full day at Bahia de las Aguilas. You will want to bring all your food, drinks, snacks with you, and snorkeling equipment it you are interested. Buy some cheap sets in your country, you can use them there and at Quemaito. If you want to stay at Bahia later into the evening, past 6 or 7, you will probably want to spend the night in Pedernales again because driving back to Barahona for 3 hours in the dark is not a good idea. Leave around 5 and you'll bet back before it gets too late. If you are in Pedernales during a Friday morning, you can check out the market at the border.
-Look around on this section at the past couple pages for ideas about other things you can do. This could be solo if you speak Spanish or with one of the tour companies. I recommend: buy larimar at the shop below Casa Bonita, hike up the waterfalls up above San Rafael beach, and come to Barahona one night to go out to a bar. Thur-Sun are all good "going out" nights.
-I don't know of any vehicle rental at the Barahona airport, and in the entire city for that matter. I also tried to rent a vehicle from the guy mentioned in the previous post with no luck, did not get back to me although he says he has a Toyota Hilux and a little economy car. Best bet would be to fly into Santo Domingo and rent something there. Then you could see a little of the Colonial Zone too, and drive down.
 

minerva_feliz

New member
May 4, 2009
458
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camping at bahia...

Sorry, just noticed that. Last time I went I was told no camping, but if you are going to drive yourself out to the beach instead of taking a boat, it is doubtful that someone is going to go out there to tell you that you have to leave later in the evening. Maybe the no-camping is only for certain times related to turtles laying eggs? There used to be a place to rent tents in Pedernales, but if you have one you're better off bringing it, unless you plan on going there through a tour company and they have some for you.

Watch your stuff on the beach and keep your vehicle locked...there is a thread on here mentioning that there were some thefts out there when it looked like the beach was abandoned.
 

drloca

Silver
Oct 26, 2004
2,097
216
63
A COUPLE DAYS at Bahia de las Aguilas? You know, there is LITERALLY nothing there. Here is what I would suggest...

-Base yourself at a hotel on the coast outside of Barahona. I recommend Hotel Quemaito or Playa Azul because they both have pools, restaurants, swimmable beaches and are in your price range. From there you can make day trips to other places. Buy some snacks in Barahona to keep at the hotel.
-Take your time driving down the coast to Pedernales, and spend the night there. Get up early the next day to enjoy a full day at Bahia de las Aguilas. You will want to bring all your food, drinks, snacks with you, and snorkeling equipment it you are interested. Buy some cheap sets in your country, you can use them there and at Quemaito. If you want to stay at Bahia later into the evening, past 6 or 7, you will probably want to spend the night in Pedernales again because driving back to Barahona for 3 hours in the dark is not a good idea. Leave around 5 and you'll bet back before it gets too late. If you are in Pedernales during a Friday morning, you can check out the market at the border.
-Look around on this section at the past couple pages for ideas about other things you can do. This could be solo if you speak Spanish or with one of the tour companies. I recommend: buy larimar at the shop below Casa Bonita, hike up the waterfalls up above San Rafael beach, and come to Barahona one night to go out to a bar. Thur-Sun are all good "going out" nights.
-I don't know of any vehicle rental at the Barahona airport, and in the entire city for that matter. I also tried to rent a vehicle from the guy mentioned in the previous post with no luck, did not get back to me although he says he has a Toyota Hilux and a little economy car. Best bet would be to fly into Santo Domingo and rent something there. Then you could see a little of the Colonial Zone too, and drive down.

Agree with all the above and highly recommend Playa Azul, you wont be disappointed!
We did in fact rent a vehicle from "destinationbarahona" and he was most helpful. He had had a basic vehicle (no 4 x 4's at that time so Hoyo Pelampito wasnt doable). There are NO other car rentals in Barahona.

To be honest, bring snack food from your home country. We kept granola bars and the likes in the car but gave almost everything away to the kids begging as I wont give money.

Enjoy this most spectacular part of the DR.
 

Marilyn

Bronze
May 7, 2002
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Agree with all the above and highly recommend Playa Azul, you wont be disappointed!
We did in fact rent a vehicle from "destinationbarahona" and he was most helpful. He had had a basic vehicle (no 4 x 4's at that time so Hoyo Pelampito wasnt doable). There are NO other car rentals in Barahona.

To be honest, bring snack food from your home country. We kept granola bars and the likes in the car but gave almost everything away to the kids begging as I wont give money.

Enjoy this most spectacular part of the DR.

Just wanted to clarify that you don't need 4x4 to go to Hoyo de Pelempito, the road up to the entrance of the park (1-2 hour drive from Pedernales) is in excellent condition and after that it gets rough but not steep, last time I went (3 years ago) I drove my Mercury Mystique all the way there without a problem, a Mercury Mystique is a medium-sized car, just like the Ford Contour.
 

drloca

Silver
Oct 26, 2004
2,097
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Just wanted to clarify that you don't need 4x4 to go to Hoyo de Pelempito, the road up to the entrance of the park (1-2 hour drive from Pedernales) is in excellent condition and after that it gets rough but not steep, last time I went (3 years ago) I drove my Mercury Mystique all the way there without a problem, a Mercury Mystique is a medium-sized car, just like the Ford Contour.


We were advised by a local person so just followed their advice as it had been raining fairly heavily just prior to our vist...we were obviously disappointed. Our vehicle was small and we didnt want to risk it being unfamiliar with the terrain.

Maybe we will have your luck next time.
 

Marilyn

Bronze
May 7, 2002
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We were advised by a local person so just followed their advice as it had been raining fairly heavily just prior to our vist...we were obviously disappointed. Our vehicle was small and we didnt want to risk it being unfamiliar with the terrain.

Maybe we will have your luck next time.

In that case it was best that you didn't venture up there, locals know best, especially if you were driving a small car. Besides, I went three years ago, I don't know the current condition of the roads.