Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
RÍO SAN JUAN
POP 9000
Only an hour east of Cabarete, this sleepy town is distinctive because of its location on a
mangrove lagoon and its business-owning French expat community. Several of the north
coast's best beaches are within easy driving distance, and diving and snorkeling are nearby.
The small
Campo Tours
( 809-589-2550; Calle Duarte 17)
agency sells predigested package
tours, including a glass-bottomed laguna boat tour (US$20) and a three-hour deep-sea fish-
ing trip (US$70).
Laguna Gri-Gri
, which shares the same ecosystem as Los Haitises south of Península de
Samaná, at the northern end of Calle Duarte, was once Río San Juan's claim to fame. Un-
fortunately, overuse and pollution mean the lagoon is no longer pristine and swimming is
not recommended. It's still picturesque and a dozen or more boatmen offer hour-long tours
(US$35 for up to seven people) through tangled mangrove channels, including interesting
rock formations. Look for a small shack next to the public bathrooms down by the Laguna
- you'll find it easier to join a group on weekends, when Dominicans come to take this trip.
Other than the small town beach on the bay, which is good for swimming,
Playa Caletón
is
the closest beach. It's a small, peaceful bay (weekends can be crowded and loud with car
radios pumping out merengue) with tawny sand, almond trees and towering palms only
1km east of town. Food stands are near the entrance. Take a
guagua
(RD$15) or a
moto-
concho
(RD$35) to the turn-off, from which it's a 200m walk down a rocky access road
past a goat farm to the beach.
Activities
Diving & Snorkeling
Río San Juan has a great variety of nearby dive sites, including
Seven Hills
, a collection of
huge coral heads descending from 6m to 50m, and
Crab Canyon
, a series of natural arches
and swim-throughs. Twenty minutes east of Río San Juan is
Dudu Cave
, one of the best
freshwater cavern dives in the Caribbean, where the visibility is almost 50m. Most dive
shops require an Advanced Diver certificate or at least 20 logged dives to do these trips.
There's no dive center in Río San Juan; your best bet is to organize something in Sosúa,
where you'll pay roughly US$100 to US$120 per person for a full day of diving (minimum
three people).
