Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Golf
Playa Grande Golf Course
( 809-582-0860;
www.playagrande.com
; Carretera a Nagua; 9/18 holes US$80/140; 7am-4:30pm)
This par-72 course, built on a verdant cliff before Playa Grande, is part of a perpetually
stalled and ambitious private development - the latest involves Aman resorts and a renov-
ation of the course. Be sure to call ahead.
GOLF
PLAYAS GRANDE & PRECIOSA
Just 8km east of Río San Juan is
Playa Grande
, one of the most beautiful beaches in the DR. The
long, broad, tawny beach has aquamarine water on one side and a thick fringe of palm trees on the
other, with stark white cliffs jutting out into the ocean in the distance.
Facilities at the eastern end of the beach include a little 'village' of pastel-colored clapboard shacks
selling freshly caught seafood like lobsters, prawns and grilled snapper served with rice and plantains,
and pina coladas made with real pineapple and coconut juice. Plastic tables and chairs are usually
available so you can chow down on the beach in comfort. Facilities also include souvenirs, and bath-
rooms with outdoor showers. These amenities and the newly paved access road have diminished the
previously remote and wild feel of the area. Vendors rent beach chairs (per day RD$150), umbrellas
(per day RD$175), snorkel equipment (full day RD$500), body boards (per hour RD$150) and surf-
boards (per hour RD$500). If seeking solitude, walk west along the beach, away from the entrance.
Only 25m down a path leaving from just in front of Playa Grande's bathrooms is another spectacu-
lar stretch of sand called
Playa Preciosa
. Pounded by serious waves, few attempt to play in the surf.
Those who do - typically surfers at dawn - do so for the thrill. Some of the narrow beach is covered
during high tide.
A word about safety: these beaches have heavy surf and a deceptively strong undertow. Riptides -
powerful currents flowing out to sea - form occasionally, and people have drowned here. Be conser-
vative when swimming, and children and less-experienced swimmers should probably not go in at all
unless the surf is low. If caught in a riptide, swim parallel to the shore until out of the current and then
swim in.
If you take a
guagua
from town, drivers will let you off just before the security gate marking the en-
trance to the beaches. You can also hire a
motoconcho
(RD$75) or a taxi (RD$300) to take you direc-
tly there.
Sleeping
Bahía Blanca
( 809-589-2563;
bahia.blanca.dr@claro.net.do
; Calle Gaston F Deligne; r RD$1500; )
Perched on
a rocky spit over turquoise-blue waters and marking the eastern end of the town beach, the
long-running Bahía Blanca has undeniably beautiful ocean views. Rooms are decidedly
HOTEL
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