Seek Advice on 9 days in Samana and possibly Cabarete
 

I am planning a trip to Dominican Republic in June. My partner and I are looking for nice getaway with plenty of adventure and culture. We do not want to stay in resort and will most likely look for lodging in hostel or with Air BnB. After some initial research I think Samana peninsula has what we are looking for in terms of beaches, sea kayaking, SCUBA (him) and snorkel (me) opportunities.
I would appreciate anyput on the following:
1) I think we are flying into Santo Domingo. I would rather not hassle with rental car. What is best mode of transportation to Samana?
2) I've been looking at staying in Las Galeras and Las Terranas. What are the differences in the two towns (cultural and proximity to above related activities)?
3) I am interested in visiting Las Haitises. Once there, is there somewhere to rent kayaks?
4) My partner is avid diver and would appreciate recommendations on dive spots.
5) Lastly, Im intrigued with Ciguapa Falls canyoneering trip that is based out of Cabarete. Is it worth taking time away from Samana to stay a few days in Cabarete?
6) If so, are there smaller towns outside of Cabarete that are recommended to stay in? (Keeping in mind we might be relying on public transportation to get into town for tour).
Any help is greatly appreciated! I have received invaluable help from this forum when planning Belize and Costa Rica excursions.

2) I've been looking at staying in Las Galeras and Las Terranas. What are the differences in the two towns (cultural and proximity to above related activities)?

Las Terrenas is busy, has long, beautiful beach...and it has lot of shops, restaurants, bars and so on.also better infrastructure than LG
Las Galeras is quiet, really quiet...The beach over there is OK, but I prefer these in Las Terrenas. you mya get bored after few days in Las Galeras - in Las Terrenas not really

6.If so, are there smaller towns outside of Cabarete that are recommended to stay in?

Since I dont like Cabarete that much haa...if I would be you I would stay only in Samana...9 days is nothing, nothing ;-)
not that far away from Cabarete is Rio San Juan, small charming dominican town with power outages ;-) 9 km of it is Playa Grande with usually dangerous waves....
Cabarete is a tourist trap and unless you are doing some watersports I see no reason to go there

Thanks Dominicantramp! I think we might stay in Las Terrenas based on your recommnedations. Sounds like with everything we want to do out of Samana (Las Haitises, sea kayak, snorkel/SCUBA) will be more centrally located in LT.
Re: Cabarete--Is the Ciguapa Falls worth trying to stay in Rio San Juan or Playa Grande? Or is there another town near where guides pick up tourists for these waterfall tours?

I am currently in Las Terranas so I had to register to reply your post. We have 21 days in total and are leaving on Friday. We did three days in Santo Domingo.

If you have 9 days don't forget travel will eat into that so personally I would stay in one place. Two at maximum. I too debated between Las Terranas and Cabarete, what swung is was the sea here is much calmer plus it looked a bit more neat.

Now that I am here, this is my take. I love our time here, my 15 year old daughter did her diving certification with one of the schools here who were really awesome. Being our first foray into diving I couldn't compare to anywhere but the water here are mostly clear on most days. The really awesome trip we did and perhaps best thing we did was go to Cayo Levantago with the dive school. The island is really pretty. My daughter did two dives near there including ship wreck diving. My younger son enjoyed snorkelling and I just enjoyed soaking the atmosphere from the boat.

Samana itself isn't really a beach from what I saw, more of a harbour and proper working town. Not many tourists there.

There is another waterfall in Las Terranas accessible by horse in El Lemon, didn't do it.

Now Las Terranas is crazy and loud. It depends what you are after. We have thoroughly enjoyed it and the madness. The motorcyclists here are crazy, roads crazy with no side walks. I have a 6 year old and we managed fine. I had to sharpen my bargaining skills and always asked for price first. Since language is a big issue as almost nobody speaks English here I was using my mobile. I would open calculator and ask them to type it in. If it's good, its thumps up.

On the weekends and even during the daytime, it almost feels like competition as to which car plays the loudest music, then local bars blasting theirs too. The beach is along the main road so you will have all the noise but it is beautiful. Loved punta popi better which is more local so more loudier. Sunday it literally full of local but they are all just having fun and never cause us problem.

For a quiter beach, you can get a taxi for about $30 return to Punta Bonita, its a lovely beach but it is the water more rough. There is no traffic so it is a nice break from the noise of Las Terranas.

Saying that, you quickly adjust or rather block the noise. We actually feel quite peaceful at the beach. You just find your own nice spot, though there is garbage sometimes that people live behind.

By the way to get from San Domingo there is a direct bus that is very comfortable that we took and it takes 3 hours. It cost 330 pesos about $10. The station is in an awkward place but a taxi from your hotel will know where it is. The bus has huge storage underneath so no need to worry if you have baggage.

Sorry, didn't spell check but hopefully you get the gist.

Hi, first of all, if you have enough time to check out Santo DOmingo a bit, do. We've written a short list of hidden gems in Santo Domingo: http://bit.ly/sdqgemslifestyle

Las Terrenas and Las Galeras are worlds apart. las Galeras is a little village, quiet has only one big all inclusive hotel.
And it's beautiful! I personally prefer LAs Galeras!
Las Terrenas is more "city" like, more going on, more hotels, but also nice. The beaches here are not as hidden as the ones in Las Galeras. One of our bloggers recently went on a roadtrip to Las Terrenas: http://www.lifestylecabarete.com/ind...e-road-trippin

And then, if you can, you should definitely check out Cabarete. YOu can find more info about the Cabarete Lifestyle on our website!

Enjoy!