Rincon is one of the easiest to get to remote beaches in DR.
It's about 30 minutes from Las Galeras, an hour from Samana and 2
hours from Las Terrenas. If you want, you can hit Limon and Rincon in
the same day but as I think I have mentioned before, Limon is not
that great of a waterfall. If you can, go to Salto Alto in Bayaguana
instead.
I keep stopping at the same colmado about 15 minutes outside of Samana
to get ice. I think it's called Colmado Wendy. I don't see that many
ice machines close to Rincon so I play it safe and stop before.
The turn to Rincon is just after the Texaco station on the road to Las
Galeras. Get gasoline here if you are short, it's the last place.
The road to Rincon is fine for even a car, it is dirt at the end but
in good shape. When you arrive, you have a lot of options about where
to go. Just be very careful: the road is generally ok for cars, but
just off the road, it's "flojo." you'll get stuck. Even my "AWD"
jeepeta got stuck... If you stop and the sand doesn't seem hard, look
for a grassy bit to park on. This time, I saw CESTUR driving around,
but it was the first time I've seen them. If you get stuck, you can
google for the cell phone number of Cestur in Rincon and call them,
they are nice and will pull you out, but they don't speak any english.
This beach is HUGE. If you go to the left, you will arrive at a small
stand of restaurants, Cana Frio. Lots of people will try to get you
food, give you a beach chair to sit in, etc. If you are hungry, go for
it, but this place is over crowded, full of trash, and not worth it.
The river is cold but not that cold, good for rinsing off before you
go home. There are some old pillars for a foot bridge, standing on
those for a selfie is basically the famous Rincon photo. But as I
said...eat something, take your picture, then scram for the beautiful
sections.
Between that restaurant and the road you arrived on, are some palm
trees the perfect distance apart for a hammock, and very few people.
For most of the bay area, there are a few distinct levels of sand, and
almost no rocks at all. For maybe 5-10 feet, there is very shallow
sand, where the waves roll out. You can sit here and just enjoy being
splashed. Then it suddenly is 1-3 feet deep, with waves that make it
4-6 feet deep. Then it's 6' deep. The water in the shallow section is
murky, but then it clears up normally. The waves here can be strong.
Keep going to the right of your entrance road, and just keep going and
going. It takes a minute or two to reach the other corner, at which
point you can't even see people in the crowded mess that is Cana Frio.
There is another set of restaurants at this end of the beach, and a
protected bay for swimming. On either side of this bay, there are some
rocks, but in the middle again it's just sand. That makes this area
great for wading and enjoying, unlike some beaches with lots of rocks.
You can also climb the hill to see out, with Las Galeras in the
distance. If you climb down to the section of beach, someone will be
along shortly to tell you that it's not safe and you should leave.
Besides, that area the swimming is not good, better in the bay.
In between those two end points, you can easily go somewhere without
people in close sight. Cana Frio side will have 3-8 bus loads of
people, the point will have 20 car loads, in between, nobody.
This beach is somewhat popular for camping in groups, and we camped
here solo without any issues. I would have felt much more comfortable
with 1-2 other tents with us.
The middle of the beach does have some trash. It's not pristine, but
it's also far from the worst I've seen.
Rincon is still one of my favorite beaches, the only reason I don't go
more often is the drive, more than 4 hours from Santiago. But if you
are in Las Terrenas, Saman or Las Galeras, I think this is the best
beach in the area and a must see.
Protected bay on east side
gringo...not a post turtle
It's about 30 minutes from Las Galeras, an hour from Samana and 2
hours from Las Terrenas. If you want, you can hit Limon and Rincon in
the same day but as I think I have mentioned before, Limon is not
that great of a waterfall. If you can, go to Salto Alto in Bayaguana
instead.
I keep stopping at the same colmado about 15 minutes outside of Samana
to get ice. I think it's called Colmado Wendy. I don't see that many
ice machines close to Rincon so I play it safe and stop before.
The turn to Rincon is just after the Texaco station on the road to Las
Galeras. Get gasoline here if you are short, it's the last place.
The road to Rincon is fine for even a car, it is dirt at the end but
in good shape. When you arrive, you have a lot of options about where
to go. Just be very careful: the road is generally ok for cars, but
just off the road, it's "flojo." you'll get stuck. Even my "AWD"
jeepeta got stuck... If you stop and the sand doesn't seem hard, look
for a grassy bit to park on. This time, I saw CESTUR driving around,
but it was the first time I've seen them. If you get stuck, you can
google for the cell phone number of Cestur in Rincon and call them,
they are nice and will pull you out, but they don't speak any english.
This beach is HUGE. If you go to the left, you will arrive at a small
stand of restaurants, Cana Frio. Lots of people will try to get you
food, give you a beach chair to sit in, etc. If you are hungry, go for
it, but this place is over crowded, full of trash, and not worth it.
The river is cold but not that cold, good for rinsing off before you
go home. There are some old pillars for a foot bridge, standing on
those for a selfie is basically the famous Rincon photo. But as I
said...eat something, take your picture, then scram for the beautiful
sections.
Between that restaurant and the road you arrived on, are some palm
trees the perfect distance apart for a hammock, and very few people.
For most of the bay area, there are a few distinct levels of sand, and
almost no rocks at all. For maybe 5-10 feet, there is very shallow
sand, where the waves roll out. You can sit here and just enjoy being
splashed. Then it suddenly is 1-3 feet deep, with waves that make it
4-6 feet deep. Then it's 6' deep. The water in the shallow section is
murky, but then it clears up normally. The waves here can be strong.
Keep going to the right of your entrance road, and just keep going and
going. It takes a minute or two to reach the other corner, at which
point you can't even see people in the crowded mess that is Cana Frio.
There is another set of restaurants at this end of the beach, and a
protected bay for swimming. On either side of this bay, there are some
rocks, but in the middle again it's just sand. That makes this area
great for wading and enjoying, unlike some beaches with lots of rocks.
You can also climb the hill to see out, with Las Galeras in the
distance. If you climb down to the section of beach, someone will be
along shortly to tell you that it's not safe and you should leave.
Besides, that area the swimming is not good, better in the bay.
In between those two end points, you can easily go somewhere without
people in close sight. Cana Frio side will have 3-8 bus loads of
people, the point will have 20 car loads, in between, nobody.
This beach is somewhat popular for camping in groups, and we camped
here solo without any issues. I would have felt much more comfortable
with 1-2 other tents with us.
The middle of the beach does have some trash. It's not pristine, but
it's also far from the worst I've seen.
Rincon is still one of my favorite beaches, the only reason I don't go
more often is the drive, more than 4 hours from Santiago. But if you
are in Las Terrenas, Saman or Las Galeras, I think this is the best
beach in the area and a must see.
Protected bay on east side
