Room 1
Samana holidays
A favourite of in-the-know travellers, Samana’s not as touristy as other parts of the Dominican Republic: gloriously undeveloped beach areas meet quiet fishing villages and boho expat hubs. The amount there is to explore will make you want to stay another week (or forget the flight home and settle here for good, as many do).
- Flight time
- 9h
- From London
- Currency
- RDS
- Dominican Peso
- Time zone
- GMT -4h
Getting to Samana
Samaná El Catey International Airport (or Aeropuerto Internacional Presidente Juan Bosch) has flights from Toronto and Montreal with connections to London airports. From the airport, you can reach Las Tarrenas in half an hour, Samana city in 40 minutes and Las Galeras in an hour.
Average weather in Samana
- Temperature (°C)*
- Rainfall (Inches)*
Holidays in Samana
In Samana City, the Malecon is the main strip of restaurants and bars. Blue Lagoon and Coco Loco are popular watering holes, but venue names/owners tend to chop and change, so your best bet is to ask a local or follow the sound of meringue… In town, the Cielito Disco is a top spot for dancing.
There’s a lot more going on in Las Terrenas come nightfall, especially during Dominican spring break season (Easter). Nightclubs like La Bodega (meringue, bachata and salsa tunes) and Gaia stay open into the early hours. The Soho beach bar (sister bar to Uncorked in NYC) does awesome cocktails and happy hours, and One Love Surfshack is a cool little beach bar selling burgers and beers.
Las Galeras is a quieter option, with a huddle of restaurants and bars along Calle Principal. Stop at the End of the Road for mojitos and burritos.
Local produce features as much as possible in Samana cuisine - with the Caribbean’s biggest coconut plantation and sea surrounding on three sides, coconuts, fish and seafood (sea bass, tuna, marlin, lobsters…) often appear on the menus. Look out for Pascado con coco which combines the two rather deliciously. There’s also huge influence from the European expats who live here, evident in the pizza and tapas restaurants that line the peninsular.
Head to the Malecon in Samana City for the hub of eateries - Coco Loco is worth a stop, whether for a quick coffee or barbeque grub, you can sit back, enjoy and soak up the sights of the marina.
Las Galeras has a delicious mix of beach shacks selling hearty homemade food, and one-of-a-kind restaurants hidden in spectacular locations. Several modest shacks are well worth visiting for mind blowing food and a warm family welcome. End of the Road serves up awesome Tex-Mex, while Alfredo uses his Sardinian heritage to create incredible Mediterranean-style fish and seafood dishes at El Mango.
For magnificent Mediterranean cuisine somewhere special, El Caleto sits on the edge of the headland. If you’re here in the winter months, you might be able to see whales from the deck, and throughout the year, the sunsets are truly amazing. El Monte Azul is a unique hilltop restaurant where Pierre and Vanina serve incredible dishes (try the lionfish) which come accompanied by 360° views of the bay and mountains.
If you’re craving a bit of adventure, head through the jungle down the dirt track to Il Pirata – Manuela’s created an open-air restaurant under a palm-thatched roof on the back of her house. She serves up traditional and fabulously fresh Italian food, and you’ll soon see why it’s a local’s favourite.
Cosmopolitan Las Terrenas is filled with all kinds of restaurants, especially around Pueblo de los Pescadores. Originally used as a landing site by fisherman, there’s now a string of bars and pizza, burger, seafood and sushi restaurants on the beachfront – we love El Cayuco for its mixed menu and ocean views.
There’s no New-York-City style shopping-til-you-drop here, but with beaches like these who wants to?! Plaza Pueblo Principe in Samana city is a good place to pick up souvenirs with a handful of gift shops as well as small supermarket and a couple of bars and restaurants. There’s also Plaza Commercial El Paseo in La Terrenas which has shops selling jewellery and clothes as well as cash machines.
Activities in Samana
With beaches trimming the peninsular, reefs offshore and jungles, rainforest and mangroves inland, Samana’s up to its armpits in activities.
Watersports
Diving in Samana
Edging this rocky peninsular, cliffs plunge into the ocean where underwater visibility goes as far as 50 metres. Listen out for humpback whales, which you can hear underwater. Swim through caves and coral gardens. In Las Galeras, Cabo Cabron’s tower should be on the bucket list of serious divers, where a 46m cliff plunges into the water. The Kaio Aquarium is a natural aquarium where you can snorkel with dozens of species of marine life. There’s also the Barco Hundido shipwreck, which has become home to a colourful variety of marine life.
If you’re staying in Las T, head to Ballenas where there are reefs, cays, tunnels and caves to be discovered. The Dolphin Wreck is a popular dive site here. From Samana City, the Farola Cay wall and Victoria Shipwrecks are two of the Dom Rep’s most popular diving spots. You can also take a boat to Cayo Levantado to snorkel and scuba dive amongst brilliant reefs.
Surfing in Samana
Surfers will want to head to Las Terrenas, where Coson, Ballenas, Bonita and Punta Popi are favourite local surf spots – Coson’s one of the most reliable, with a reef break and a beach break combined with winds from the south. It’s rarely busy though, and often you have the waves to yourself. Local companies like Kiteworld in Las Terrenas offer surfboard rental and lessons.
Windsurfing & kitesurfing in Samana
Las Terrenas is considered a less crowded alternative to kiting hot spot Cabarete. It has some cracking kitesurf locations, with IKO schools (like LT’Kite) running classes and clinics (board and equipment rental is also possible). The El Portillo, Punta Popi and Coson beaches are kiters’ favourites, with December-September seeing the most favourable conditions. Windsurfing equipment can usually be rented from the nautical club at Las Ballenas.
Sailing in Samana
The Las Terrenas Sailing club on Playa Las Ballenas has a fleet of Optimist, Sunfish, Laser and Hobie Cats to rent, with the option of having a boat captain for an extra fee. They also run junior camps for children over four or five days and lessons for groups and individuals. This was correct when written, but it’s always worth getting in touch with the club for the latest info.
Fishing in Samana
Half and full day deep sea fishing trips (most running from Las Terrenas and Las Galeras) show you where to find the biggest and best big game catches, providing equipment and instruction if needed. Commonly found fish include marlin, sailfish, wahoo and mahi mahi. Between November and April are the best times for fishing in these parts, though there’s still plenty of opportunity year round.
Canoeing & kayaking in Samana
For a grand day out, kayaking tours often run to Los Haitises, where you can paddle through the mangroves and explore the national park. Last time we checked, you could also hire ocean kayaks by the hour (solos and doubles) from the Sailing Club in Las Terrenas for a leisurely paddle along Playa Las Ballenas.
Land activities
Golf in Samana
There aren’t any golf courses in this neck of the woods, so if you want to fit in a few rounds on holiday you might be better off staying in Punta Cana or La Romana, where spectacular courses trim the coastline. New courses seem to have popped up in Punta Cana every time we return there, with favourites including the 18-hole Punta Espada Nicklaus course in Cap Cana and by P.B. Dye’s 27-hole course at La Cana. Down in La Romana, the Teeth of the Dog course is known throughout the Caribbean as one of the finest. Like two other courses here, The Links and Dye Fore, Pete Dye is the mastermind behind Teeth of the Dog’s design, promising a world-class golfing experience.
Cycling & mountain biking in Samana
The Samana mountain range stretches along the peninsula – brimming with potential for mountain biking. Technical trails lead to El Valle, El Limon, Playa Rincon and Boca del Diablo, or the “Mouth of the Devil” – the best way to find them is with a local guide who knows the lay of the land.
Walking & hiking in Samana
Keen walkers have so much to explore in these parts – not least La Galerias’ idyllic beaches of Rincon, Fronton and Madama that are cut off from main roads but reachable on foot. From Samana City, the Bridge to Nowhere lets you head out to forested cays, with brilliant views back over the port. Trekking through the Samana countryside takes you past coffee and cocoa plantations, mango trees and all sorts of flora and fauna.
Las Terrenas has lovely long stretches of sand for walks along the seafront. The hike to the El Limon waterfall is a must, with five different jungle trails taking 30-45 minutes to reach the waterfall. This is also a good point for excursions to the Parque Nacional Los Haitises, where you can trek through jungle to see the Taino carvings on the caves.
