Playa Rincon (Las Galeras)

[shopao]

Hi, I am interested in going to Las Galeras and hopefully find a boat to Playa Rincon. Has anyone done this trip on their own? :confused:

From what I understand you can find public transportation (guagas $10 p/p) from Samana to Las Galeras or take a taxi $40 to the beach 25 mins. Once there you have to find a boat to take you to Playa Rincon for around $15 p/p.

 

I was just wondering if this is a possible trip with the port time that NCL has allotted?

Also, is snorkeling good in that area?

 

Rincon looks amazing.:)

[LA_FadeAway]

Hi! We have booked an excursion to Playa Rincon for our group visiting Samana next Sunday (11/25) through Casa Dorado. They are charging $140 for a roundtrip truck transfer to Las Galeras and a boat to Play Rincon. The boat will wait there for us until we are ready to return. We have 8 people so it works out to only $17.50/pp which is a good deal compared to what the cruise ships are charging to go to Cayo Levantado. I don't think you can have more than 8. Here is a link to their website: http://www.casadoradodr.com/excursions.html

 

I'm sure we'll be posting a review of the trip after we get back since there is so little information available regarding Samana right now.

[BeadBabe]

Did either of you make the adventure? I will be in Samana on the Jewel on December 23rd and was thinking about it.

 

Did any of you make to it Playa Rincon? Did anyone use Casa Dorado http://www.casadoradodr.com/ to book an excursion?

[weloverunning]

Hi Beadbabe: We used casadoradodr.com for our excursion last week. Even though it was rainy in the morning, we had a great day. Roberto was there to pick us up at the dock. We opted to have him transport us in his pickup truck in order to avoid using a regular taxi. We drove to where his boat is located. The seas were quite rough but we went over to a quiet, serene bay where we snorkeled for a couple of hours, had our lunch (which we brought ourselves from the ship), and enjoyed having the beach to ourselves. Roberto stayed with us the entire time. He also had a young man with us while on the boat and beach who got some coconuts for us and cut them open for us to drink the milk and eat and generally help out. We paid $150 for the boat for the day and $50 for the r/t ride. So for $200 the seven of us had a wonderful day.

Roberto is a wonderful guide who is full of information and love for the island. Multiple times he expressed his dreams and plans for the betterment of the DR and its citizens (especially children).

We took a side trip to his home which is just about ready to open as a bed and breakfast. We look forward to hopefully visiting their home in the future.

[BeadBabe]

RPB

 

Thanks for the thumbs up. We, and some friends (8 of us) have booked with him for December 23rd. We'll post when we get back!

 

Thanks again!

[LA_FadeAway]

We also used Roberto/Casa Dorado to take a group of ten of us to Playa Rincon last Sunday. There were too many of us to take his pickup truck, so he sent a taxi for us from Yailin Tours (the driver was excellent). Roberto met us at the boat and stayed with us all day at the beach. He was very safety consciuos (made sure we all wore life jackets) and professional. The beach was awesome and the ladies in those restaurants cook the best fish ever. The only down side was that the seas were unusually rough that day which made the boat ride a little hairy; however, the captain was great and really seemed to know how to handle the swells and waves like a pro. I would definitely use Roberto again if returning to Samana. You can't beat his prices for a group either!!

[BeadBabe]

Thank you for the heads up on Casa Dorado....we are excited to go and will report when we get back

[illy]

I just came back from a cruise that stopped at Samana. There are tons of taxis offering tours. We had originally planned to go to Cayo Levantado but some of the parties in our group didnt want to do that so we ended up getting a taxi van to give us a tour and stop at the beach. We went to Las Galeras beach which was the closest (still about 30-45 minute ride). We bargained a van for $60 for 6 of us, they wanted more like $80-90. There is a small flea market next to port, the vendors drive you crazy trying to sell you stuff, we enjoyed the tour, although not our favorite port. The beach was very pretty, it was windy and the water was kinda cold but I'm from Miami so I'm used to warm waters. I would definitely do a beach tour, if I even end up there again, I would probably try Cayo Levantado. I heard Playa Rincon was very nice too, probably nicer than were we went, but another 30 minutes or so drive. We didnt want to take a chance.

[LA_FadeAway]

Illy, you probably made a wise choice if your driver did not have a 4WD vehicle. The people that came to Playa Rincon by regular van said the road was pretty bad (especially due to the recent hurricane rains) and they were afraid the van would get stuck on several occassions. Traveling by boat from Las Galeras to Playa Rincon seems to be the way to go if the seas aren't too rough.

[illy]

Our driver had a van, not sure if 4WD, I wanted to go to Cayo Levantado but the rest of our group didnt, so we ended up doing the Galeras beach which was very pretty, the only negative was the bathroom facility was poor (had to flush with a bucket of water) and the crowd/locals was so so but we had no problems at all and the beach was beautiful.

 

I loved this cruise, had a wonderful time.

[All Ann]

I have read of a problem in the Dominican Republic with Dengue Fever, has been 6000 cases this year, it is carried by mosquitos, were the mosquitos bad, did you use insect repellant?

[LA_FadeAway]

We never saw a single mosquito. Then again, it was pretty windy that day. I wouldn't worry about them if you're going to a beach. It may be different inland. In that case, I might use some spray.

 

Illy, I used those restrooms in Las Galeras. They were pretty bad, but the bucket thing was nothing new to me. Many of the toilets in Southeast Asia were the same way, even at decent beach hotels! They were the same way at the restaurants on Playa Rincon too, but not quite as gross.

[Beachbum1944]

LA_FadeAway...did Playa Rincon have anything else to eat other than fish? Also, could you rent beach chairs there? What was the total time to get to Playa Rincon from the port?

 

Thankyou............

[LA_FadeAway]

I think it was about 45 minutes total from the port to the beach (taxi and boat). There were three small restaurants on the beach, but it looked like they all served pretty much the same things: fish, lobster, chicken, beans & rice, and french fries. They also have nice cold Presidente beers. There were chairs for rent for $4 and a handful of vendors wanting to sell jewelry or braid hair. Fortunatley, there are only a few of them and they aren't real pushy. If I get a chance tonight, I'll post a picture or two from the beach. It's gorgeous!

[LA_FadeAway]

 

[butch6]

FadeAway - Based on your recent experience in Las Galeras/Playa Rincon - do you have any knowledge of the roads from one to the other? We are planning to rent/ride ATV's from Galeras to Rincon next month - do you think the roads are OK to do such an adventure? Captain Roberto from Dorado assures me "no problemo" - Just curious about your thoughts. Thanks!

[LA_FadeAway]

We didn't see the road (since we traveled by boat) but talked to some others who did take the road. They said it was pretty muddy and they were afraid of getting stuck a few times, but they were in a taxi van rather than a 4WD. The road was also still pretty wet due to the tropical storm that came through there recently. I bet it's better now. There were quite a few 4WD vehicles there, so I'm sure ATVs would make it just fine. That's actually a really good idea!

[BeadBabe]

LA FADE

 

So...can you rent chairs or umbrellas on the beach?

 

Did you go to La Playita too or just Playa Rincon?

 

Are their restrooms at Las Galeras? Playa Rincon?:D

 

CDC.GOV is suggested some malaria meds for the Dominican. You get bit by any skeeters?

[lbt43]

Thank you for the heads up on Casa Dorado....we are excited to go and will report when we get back

 

Thats great beadbabe, we will just miss you, but you will have fun with Captain roberto and staff. Has anyone else used roberto who woul dlike to tell us about it? I am going fishing with them on weds.

 

I cant wait!!!!!!!!

[LA_FadeAway]

LA FADE

 

So...can you rent chairs or umbrellas on the beach?

 

Did you go to La Playita too or just Playa Rincon?

 

Are their restrooms at Las Galeras? Playa Rincon?:D

 

CDC.GOV is suggested some malaria meds for the Dominican. You get bit by any skeeters?

 

There were chairs for $4 per person, but I did not see any umbrellas. There are enough trees around that you can find some shade if needed. We did not visit La Playita. There are public restrooms at Las Galeras and at the restaurants on Playa Rincon; however, none were very pleasant. I've seen much worse, but you actually throw a bucket of water in them to "flush". Kind of reminded me of Southeast Asia in that respect.

[1kycat]

Charlene, can I ask you if the boat in your picture is Capt Roberto's?

 

Sorry if I missed it somewhere.

 

Thanks

[1kycat]

Also, while I'm at it...someone who went with you made the comment that the "fish and lobster were very expensive". Could you elaborate?

 

Thanks again

[butch6]

We are leaving tomorrow for our cruise with Samana being our first port. We are booked with Roberto and plan to ATV from Las Galeras to Playa Rincon and back again -sure hope we can handle this adventure - I'll let you all know how it went after we return...can't wait to cruise!

[butch6]

Did either of you make the adventure? I will be in Samana on the Jewel on December 23rd and was thinking about it.

 

Did any of you make to it Playa Rincon? Did anyone use Casa Dorado http://www.casadoradodr.com/ to book an excursion?

 

Yes indeed we are back from the Dawn Xmas sailing and very much enjoyed our time in Samana. We used Casa Doraadodr.com. We took an ATV excursion with a guide from Las Galeras to Playa Rincon and back again. 6 of us had a blast!! Casa Dorado was the best - it is run by a Dominican and his American wife whose home we visited and we were treated wonderfully!! Both have lived/worked in the US for years but are currently residing in Samana and looking to build their excursion business-both are extremely knowledgable of the area. Everything was exacty as planned including pricing, pickup time/area/ the whole deal. NO complaints. Try them and you will not be disappointed. Playa Rincon was beautiful-and NOT crowded!!

[kruzingtogether]

How did you get to Casa Dorado and back? I saw that their website mentioned it was a "short taxi ride" -- is it easy to get the taxis to/from?