Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
from 4:30am to 4:45pm), Puerta Plata (RD$300, 2½ hours, 8am) and Santiago (RD$300,
three hours, hourly from 4:45pm to 2:30pm).
FERRY
Transportes Phipps provides the only ferry service - passengers only, no vehicles - across
the Bahía de Samaná to Sabana de la Mar (RD$200, one hour plus, daily at 7am, 9am, and
3pm, sometimes 11am as well). Buy tickets on board. From there, it's possible to catch
guaguas
to several destinations in the southeast and then on to Santo Domingo, though the
road network in this part of the country is rough and public transportation is not so com-
fortable.
Getting Around
Samaná is walkable, but if you're carrying luggage, catch a
motoconcho
(motorcycle taxi)
- they're everywhere. 4WD vehicles are your only option in terms of car rental - roads on
the peninsula are bad enough to warrant the extra expense. Rates average around
RD$2500 per day (tax and insurance included) and discounts are typically given for rent-
als of a week or longer. Try
Xamaná Rent Motors
(
809-834-7841; Av Malecón;
8am-6pm
Mon-Sat, to noon Sun)
.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Las Galeras
POP 6,929
The road to this small fishing community 28km northeast of Samaná ends at a fish shack
on the beach. So does everything else, metaphorically speaking. One of the great pleas-
ures of a stay here is losing all perspective on the world beyond; even a trip to one of the
beautiful outlying beaches seems far away. But Las Galeras, as much as anywhere else on
the peninsula, offers land- and water-based activities for those with a will strong enough
to ignore the temptation to do nothing more than lie around their bungalow or while away
the day at a restaurant. The town's laid-back charms have not gone unnoticed, drawing a
mix of European and North American visitors who make it a more eclectic global village
than other more touristy spots on the peninsula; and it's one of the few independent-
traveler-minded locales in the DR - there's barely an all-inclusive resort in sight.
