Shopping in Samana, DR

[bowlingalleycats]

Are there any shops at the dock in Samana where I can get the Larimar jewelry? Thanks.

[jollycruise]

Yes, there is a straw market that is within walking distance that sold some Larimar jewelry. Happy shopping!

[sanders]

Would you know how much the jewelry cost?

[CaroleSP]

Have you looked anywhere else. I've seen it all over the Caribbean. I think I got mine in St Thomas, years ago.

[MissRabbit]

Have you looked anywhere else. I've seen it all over the Caribbean. I think I got mine in St Thomas, years ago.

 

Was the jewellery you saw all over the caribbean made there though? I know the larimar itself would have come from Dominican Republic, but do you know if the jewellery was made there as well before it was imported?

[jollycruise]

Yes, Larimar is mined in the Dominican republic so it is nice to actually get a piece there. The prices at the straw market ranged from about $15.00 on up. They had earrings, necklaces and braclets to choose from. :D

[bowlingalleycats]

Thanks for your replies. I will look for it.:D

[rebelrum]

I think if you look really hard at some of the shops in town you can find the more unique items - my wife has a necklace from a small shop from a stop we made not too far from the cruise pier - but we can't remember the name of the place and I have been looking through our photos from February to jar our memories - the shop was the exception to the rule - but if I find it I'll post again

[lbt43]

You'll be able to find tons of stuff, just try not to get a raw deal!

[MissRabbit]

the more i research, the more ppl mention fakes and how expensive real larimar is. But i'm not really finding anywhere that says HOW to spot the fakes.

 

The best i can find so far, is that they're like snowflakes, no two alike. So if you see something with almost identical patterns in each stone, it's probably fake. Also that it's usually not a uniform shape so if something is too perfect, it's probably fake.

 

Mind you, that doesn't help if i'm looking at getting a single stone pendant lol

 

I guess as long as it looks real to me, it's pretty and i love it....that's good enough.

[read52]

The docking area for Samara has a few stands. The town that another poster mention is not at the immediate area of the dock. We went on an excursion so we did not go to the town.

[roscoegirl]

My daughter and I did the 'Discover Samana' excursion which is basically a comfortable bus ride thru many areas in the Dominican Republic...some areas are hard to witness but the people are very strong, resilient and have a great faith in God. Our guide was very knowledgeable and thorough in the giving history of the Dominican Republic and how people live in this region.

 

One of the stops on this tour, was a Cigar factory and right next to it was a nice gift shop. I bought two of the Larimar stones there for about $22-26 dollars each. The stones are beautiful (in fact, I kept both for myself instead of making a gift out of one!!;)) and had the holes already drilled in for hanging from a necklace or braclet. They were similar but not exactly alike and there are some rough areas on each stone...truly beautiful!!

 

Now also in St. Thomas, there are lots of shops at the port (Havensight I think we were at) and I bought two braclets there which had the Larimar stones...these were very inexpensive, $12 each, if I remember correctly, and the stones were set in silver. They look beautiful but only time will tell if the $12 bargains will hold up!!:)

 

Just a side note, the last stop on the Discover Samana tour was a town called Las Terranas (sp?) where some of our group set off to explore the shops there (was not much of a town once you left the resort areas) I stayed at the beach area (public beach) which was AWESOME!!!

 

I heard from several other passengers that they would not get off the ship at Samana because they didn't think it was anything of value to see.

I'm glad I did...I know who I am, where I came from and I respect others who live differently from me...Samana is a beautiful place to see, but only if you allow your heart to guide your eyes...

[read52]

My daughter and I did the 'Discover Samana' excursion which is basically a comfortable bus ride thru many areas in the Dominican Republic...some areas are hard to witness but the people are very strong, resilient and have a great faith in God. Our guide was very knowledgeable and thorough in the giving history of the Dominican Republic and how people live in this region.

 

One of the stops on this tour, was a Cigar factory and right next to it was a nice gift shop. I bought two of the Larimar stones there for about $22-26 dollars each. The stones are beautiful (in fact, I kept both for myself instead of making a gift out of one!!;)) and had the holes already drilled in for hanging from a necklace or braclet. They were similar but not exactly alike and there are some rough areas on each stone...truly beautiful!!

 

Now also in St. Thomas, there are lots of shops at the port (Havensight I think we were at) and I bought two braclets there which had the Larimar stones...these were very inexpensive, $12 each, if I remember correctly, and the stones were set in silver. They look beautiful but only time will tell if the $12 bargains will hold up!!:)

 

Just a side note, the last stop on the Discover Samana tour was a town called Las Terranas (sp?) where some of our group set off to explore the shops there (was not much of a town once you left the resort areas) I stayed at the beach area (public beach) which was AWESOME!!!

 

I heard from several other passengers that they would not get off the ship at Samana because they didn't think it was anything of value to see.

I'm glad I did...I know who I am, where I came from and I respect others who live differently from me...Samana is a beautiful place to see, but only if you allow your heart to guide your eyes...

 

 

I went on the same tour in July. Maybe it was the description from RCCL but some things were not what was expected. They said we would stop at a whale museum. It was a building with one set of whale bones. There were young boys selling shells for $1. I bought some because I know the country is poor. They also mentioned seeing churches which was only one from the bus. But the bus was comfortable and cool. The cigar factory was as big as the store. The men inside were very polite. My husband bought a couple of cigars as a gift for our son-in- law. These two stores were in the middle of nowhere. In this area, there were about 9 children begging for money. I gave each one a dollar as did many of the people on the bus. The last stop was a larger town but we only went to a couple of stores and went back to the eating place where most of the people from the bus sat. Some people had lunch, we had a couple of sodas from bottles. We don't eat on land. I know people will say you are missing the whole culture of the people. If it is weird and medical, we get it. My husband has health problems from something that only a small percentage of people get so we only eat on the ship. Let me add that it rained most of the time on this tour but we were in a bus most of the time. As a result, on the way back to the ship an electric pole fell in the street. We were stuck behind it for a while until they said the power was out and they pushed the pole with the bus. We made it back to the ship before they sailed. But another group on the cruise were not so lucky. They were caught behind a washed out road. The ship waited for them for 2 hours. Lastly, this tour was suppose to be 2 or 3 hours and it turned out to be 5 1/2 hours. I would go on the whale tour if I came again during the time the whales are there but if offered the same tours I would stay on the ship.

[jcl410]

Downtown Samana is less than 1000 meters from the tender dock. That's a half mile walk along the water front. If you don't want to/can't walk that far, they have rides that will take you there for $5/person one way subject to negotiation<grin>).

 

At the far end of town there is a newer shopping complex with air conditioning. I enjoyed just walking around and seeing what a "non-touristy" Caribbean town looks like.

 

Aloha,

 

John