Our trip to Barahona, Santo Domingo and Las Terrenas August 2012...

deroque49

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Mar 15, 2012
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I just returned from my first trip to the Dominican Republic. It was an amazing 12 days and was a great way for my wife and I to celebrate our 5th anniversary. We picked the Dominican Republic because of the cheap price of the flights from the U.S. and because of the great mixture of history, beaches and unique culture in the DR. We wanted to see a lot of the island instead of staying in one place. It was less relaxing moving around so much, but we enjoyed seeing different parts of the island. But, it would've been much more difficult doing all the moving around if I didn't speak Spanish because we had to ask for directions several times and not speaking Spanish would've made it very difficult. We rented a car from Nelly Rental a Car at the airport. They ended up being pretty cheap (about $150 for 4 days with GPS, the GPS was VERY useful). We rejected the insurance on the car as our car insurance covers any car we rent. The guy at the rental office tried his very best to scare us into buying the insurance, as it would've doubled the price of the rental, but we did not get the insurance and did not end up needing it. The crappy thing is that gas in crazy expensive in the DR, but I thought it was worth it to be able to move around and see more of the island.

We got in about 1:30 and rented our car and drove straight to Barahona. It took about 3.5 to 4 hours for the drive. We at dinner at Brisas del Caribe in Barahona and got the Mariscos Mixto and shared it. It was a very good first meal in the country; fish, lobster, conch, shrimp and rice and patecones. I would definitely recommend going there if you go to Barahona. They are on the road that is right on the coast. Just ask people and they'll point you in the right direction. After dinner we drove to our hotel, Rancho Don Cesar, which is just outside of the town of Paraiso. I'm very glad we stayed at that hotel. It was $90 per night, the rooms all have A/C and a balcony and are very nice looking. The owners were incredibly nice people, very helpful and very happy to fulfill any request we made. They are just starting out, so not many people know about them, but if you don't stay at Casa Bonita (very expensive) then I would recommend staying at Rancho Don Cesar. If you are interested, here is their website: Rancho Don Cesar, Mi hogar en el Paraiso The hotel is outside of the town and surrounded by trees, so it is very quiet and relaxing. The ground are very beautiful. They have tropical flowers and fruit trees everywere, and quiet verandas to relax in. The river is also right behind the hotel, which is very refreshing to take a dip in. The water is very clear and cold, but not too cold. We had most of our meals at the hotel during our four day stay, and our final bill for the food was $75, very good price. We requested seafood so we ate fresh fish and shrimp for most of our meals. The breakfasts were also very good. We looked forward to the fresh mango juice every morning. The first day we were there we went to Playa San Rafael. It is a very attractive pebble beach. The current is pretty strong there, but we were able to swim out a little ways. The beach is fairly clean and there are little huts that prepare food and drinks. There is a lookout just south of the beach off the highway with an INCREDIBLE view of the beach and the green hills above it. The second day we went to Bahia Las Aguilas, which is a MUST if you are in Barahona. Going to Barahona without going to Bahia Las Aguilas would be like going to Disneyland and not riding the rides. It is a must. The drive along the coast from Barahona all the way down to Enriquillo is amazing. The views of the ocean are breathtaking and we stopped several times to take pictures. Although you have to be careful of potholes (big ones!) and horses and donkeys. The day we went to Bahia Las Aguilas it was raining, but right when we got to the restaurant where the boats leave to go to the beach the rain stopped and the sun came out. It was great because we were the ONLY ones there. We enjoyed some great fish at the restaurant and then went to the beach and had the entire thing to ourselves. It was very relaxing. Then after enjoying Bahia Las Aguilas we took a quick detour to Pedernales. We just wanted to go across the border to say that we had been to Haiti. When we got there there was a gate across the border and the guard said that they close the border at 6:00. I begged him to open the gate just to let us take a quick picture and then come back, but he said he didn't want to get into trouble with his boss. But then these two Haitians came up to us and said they would take us across. We had the guard watch our car and these two "guides" took us around the customs building (more like a hut) and we saw that the "security gate" was only like 20 yards long and people were just walking around it. The guards could even see them walking around it and they didn't care. So our "guides" took us across to the Haitian side and showed us the UN security camp and talked to us a little about the history and stuff. It was a fun experience, but a little sketchy as I didn't completely trust the guard that was watching our car, or the group of Haitians that had formed around the rental car while we were looking around. We got back in our rental car and I got out some money to give 200 pesos to our "guides" and to the guard that watched our car and when the group of guys around our car saw me take out the money they all immediately put their hands inside my car asking for money. I quickly rolled up the window and got the heck out of there. It was sad to see people that desperate, and it was a little sketchy at the border area there, but it was an interesting experience and now my wife and I can say we have been to Haiti. I'm just glad our windows weren't busted out and the tires ripped off our rental car while we were there. We saw poverty in the DR, but in our short experience there at the border it seemed like the Haitians were in much more desperate circumstances. I think seeing poverty like that puts things in perspective and helps you to realize the things that we have here in the US. It also makes me want to do more to help those less fortunate than us. We didn't feel unsafe there at the border, but like I said it was a little sketchy. We didn't feel unsafe at all during our trip, even in Santo Domingo. We just tried to be smart, not wear flashy clothes or jewelry and don't go into sketchy places at night. Anyways, back to the trip. The third day we were in Barahona we went to Casa Bonita for lunch. I'm glad we went as the view is amazing and the food was very good. We also bought some Larimar jewelry for a very good price in the town of Barahuco. If you want to buy Larimar in the DR do it there, because it is much cheaper there because that is where the mine is. The Larimar we saw in the Samana Peninsula was MUCH more expensive than it was there in Barahuco. After lunch went to a beach just south of Barahona called Playa El Quemaito. It is a decent beach, not as attractive as Playa San Rafael, but it was much easier to swim there as the waves broke on the reef a couple hundred feet from shore. So there were basically no waves at the shore. Our hotel owner said that it is the only beach in the area that doesn't have a strong current.

The next day we drove from Paraiso to Santo Domingo and then turned in the rental car there in Santo Domingo. We had planned to see the Colonial Zone all in one day, but when we got to the Marriott Courtyard it was already the early afternoon and we were tired from the trip, so we decided to order a pizza and relax in the hotel room for the night. The next morning we ate breakfast at a restaurant called La Dulcerie. It was incredible. If I ever go back to Santo Domingo I will make sure I go back to that restaurant. My gosh it was good. So good I was dreaming about it for the rest of our trip. After breakfast we took a taxi to Plaza Lama where the bus leaves to go to Las Terrenas. The bus was 350 pesos per person, and MUCH cheaper than taking a taxi from Santo Domingo to Las Terrenas.

We stayed at a place called Monte Placido just west of Las Terrenas. It is on a hill overlooking the coast. We payed $350 for seven days, which was an incredible price for how nice the place was. It is not a hotel, they rent out their rooms long term or short term. The view cannot be beat. It is fantastic, and they have a nice infinity pool where you can relax and take it all in. Our room didn't have A/C, and it got pretty hot during the day, but for the price we loved it. We also rented a 4x4 vehicle from the owner of our hotel. Here's the website if you're interested: Monte Placido Vacation Rentals - Monte Placido Vacation Rentals While in Samana we just did more relaxing on the beach and exploring the town of Las Terrenas. There are a bunch of cool shops and restaurants there in Las Terrenas. Our favorite beach in the area was Playa Moron. It is a very picturesque beach and is pretty hard to get to so there were barely any people there. We also went to the Limon Waterfall by horseback. It was pretty fun, I would recommend doing the trip. I would do it by horseback as the hike would be pretty tough as it goes up and down hills. But if you're into hiking it probably wouldn't be too bad. If you do it by horseback make sure you are getting a decent price. There are a ton of people in Limon that do different kinds of excursions and many of them are out to rip off some ignorant tourists. So just make sure you are paying the going rate, not the rip off rate. I just asked our hotel owner what we should be paying before we went. We also went to Playa El Valle which was pretty difficult to get to as well (4x4 needed). It was a pretty beach, but not near as pretty as Playa Moron. We also wanted to go to Playa Rincon and Playa Fronton, but decided to relax for our last few days there instead.
We then took the bus back to Santo Domingo and saw Zona Colonial. We mostly went shopping and saw some of the main historical attractions. The Iglesia Primada de Las Americas was the best part of the Zona Colonial. We then took a taxi to the airport to catch our flight.

Our trip was very enjoyable and I hope to some day be able to come back. We enjoyed the amazing beaches and loved the friendliness of the local Dominican people. We were glad that we didn't stay at an Americanized all-inclusive because we got a taste of the real Dominican Republic. Although the beaches were probably better in the Samana Peninsula my favorite part was Barahona. It felt more authentic as there are a lot of French and Italian immigrants in Las Terrenas. I also really loved our hotel in Barahona, Rancho Don Cesar. We became friends with the owners and they were very good people. It was great to be able to talk to them about the area and about the Dominican Republic in general. We love the DR! I'll add pictures later.
 

agw

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Feb 14, 2010
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deroque49,

Thanks for the great report! Barahona is an area of the D.R. I've not been to yet and I got a lot of useful info from your post! It was on our list last year, but we ended up going to Samana instead, but it's back on my list for this coming winter.
 

Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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Excellent report. I was especially interesed in Barahona because I have not yet been there.

What is there to do there beside beaches and checking out the border crossing?
 

SKY

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Apr 11, 2004
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Excellent report. I was especially interesed in Barahona because I have not yet been there.

What is there to do there beside beaches and checking out the border crossing?

Polo Magn?tico is interesting to see. But you need a car. Your car will go uphill on its own.
 

Matilda

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Sep 13, 2006
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Excellent report. I was especially interesed in Barahona because I have not yet been there.

What is there to do there beside beaches and checking out the border crossing?

Visit bateys and sugar cane fields
Coffee plantations
Larimar mines
Horse riding
Bird watching
National parks
Bathe in rivers right on the beach and eat fab fresh fish.
Bathe in sulphur pools
Taino caves
Lake Enriquillo - see crocodiles and iguanas

Matilda
 

deroque49

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Mar 15, 2012
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I wanted to go to Polo Magnetico, but didn't get a chance. I also really wanted to go up to the Larimar mine, but didn't get a chance to do that either. We wanted to have a balance of doing things and relaxing, so some days we nixed some activities in order to do more lounging around and relaxing.
 

keepcoming

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May 25, 2011
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Very good trip report. I too have not been to Barahona and now will make it a point to visit there. Sounds like it could be nice a relaxing weekend getaway.
 

Caribbeandreamto

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Mar 26, 2011
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I would argue there is more to do (excursion wise) in the southwest than in any other area of the country. In addition to what was already mentioned:

Cachote Cloud Forest
Wine country in Neyba
Hoyo de Pelempito
Laguna Oviedo
Villa Miriam and San Rafael
etc, etc...
 

Gilles Beaulieu

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Apr 7, 2010
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Another cheap tourist.

??We picked the Dominican Republic because of the cheap price of the flights from the U.S. and because of the great mixture of history, beaches and??
 

Jenny429

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Also if you are there to swim.. Los Patos is great... The smallest river.. you see where it starts and where it goes into the ocean.. It's a nice place to have lunch and swim. I recommend Hotel El Quemaito and not the beach (that the OP went to) The beach is more calm than San Rafael so if you have kids with you El Quemaito is best, but there is nothing more than a rock beach there, gorgeous but nothing like Bahai de Las Aguillas.. I love Barahona! Been here 2 years, after visiting often for 21 years.. Love it here..
 

deroque49

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Mar 15, 2012
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IMG_19991231_232549.jpg


It took longer than planned, but here are some pictures from our trip... more coming...
 

Ivybean

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Nov 30, 2012
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I am planning on going to Barahona with my fiance this March for 2 weeks, as he is orginally from there. I had heard a number of disturbing things from his friends about DR, whom are also Dominican. This was a breath of fresh air, thank you for your review/comments. I will look up the hotel Rancho Don Cesar.

Thanks again,
Ivy