Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Bayahive beach

DeputyDog38

By DeputyDog38,
in Dominican Republic

Recommended Posts

TC Cruiser

TC Cruiser

Posted
Posted

Everyone, I would also like some information on this beach. The CC posts make it seem like a good idea to skip Casa de Campo and go to Casa Del Mar (Bayahibe Beach Break). However, the 2007 Frommer's Caribbean guide gives Casa de Campo three stars but Casa del Mar only one star.

 

Which one would you choose?

 

Sorry DeputyDog38, I don't mean to hijack your post but I thought we might get more feedback with a single post.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
tango9

tango9

Posted
Posted

I was on the Jubilee a few years ago and we stopped at Romana. We took a short cab ride to Bayahibe Beach. It is a beautiful beach, with beautiful clear waters. There were allot of Spanish speaking people on the beach so I think there are many resorts around. There are some crummy bathrooms, lots of vendors in those wooden shelter type structures. I think there are water sport type things you can pay for too

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cruisingbooboo

cruisingbooboo

Posted
Posted
I have been to Casa del Mar on two occasions. The beach and the resort are just lovely. The water is usually very clear and calm and there is great snorkeling right from the beach.

How far from Casa De Campo? do you remember the taxi rate? was there food there? where did you tell the taxi to drop ou off?

Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mom1132

mom1132

Posted
Posted

Just back from Casa De Campo with Explorer of the Seas. We got a party of 10 together and took a taxi to bayahibe beach for $11 each return with a 3 hr wait. The beach is nice, we didn't eat just had some drinks. Lots of shady spots. There were people offering snorkelling tours - they took us 3 minutes from the beach and there is a nice little reef there. They also had banana boat rides -no sure how much but looked fun. Our driver was very nice and offered to take us to Altos or the marina for a tour after the beach but we all wanted to go back to the ship. Just be forewarned if you do the public beach there is no bathroom. We tried to tip the guy to let us into the resort but the one guard said no. The ride was about 25-30 minutes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cruisingbooboo

cruisingbooboo

Posted
Posted
Just back from Casa De Campo with Explorer of the Seas. We got a party of 10 together and took a taxi to bayahibe beach for $11 each return with a 3 hr wait. The beach is nice, we didn't eat just had some drinks. Lots of shady spots. There were people offering snorkelling tours - they took us 3 minutes from the beach and there is a nice little reef there. They also had banana boat rides -no sure how much but looked fun. Our driver was very nice and offered to take us to Altos or the marina for a tour after the beach but we all wanted to go back to the ship. Just be forewarned if you do the public beach there is no bathroom. We tried to tip the guy to let us into the resort but the one guard said no. The ride was about 25-30 minutes.

Hi Mom, Thanks for the info.. I'm on EOS next month...so was that 11.00 pp each way or r/t ? you said you had a few drinks but didn't eat so I assume there was food available? Is the beach public? Where did you get dropped off?

Thanks in advance !

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Snackdaddy

Snackdaddy

Posted
Posted

cruisingbooboo,

 

We are just off of the January 4, 2008 Explorer as well. We, party of nine, toured La Romana and Bayahibe Beach for $87.00 plus tip. we needed to pick up a few toiletries and some Brugal rum, so our driver took us to a small souvenir shop and then on to the JUMBO supermarket in town. If you really want to get a feel for the culture in La Romana, I highly recommend a visit to the local supermarket. The locals are warm and friendly. The way the scooter/motorcycle "cab" drivers packed groceries and a passenger was quite creative and impressive. Our driver then took us to Bayahibe Beach.

 

The public section of Bayahibe Beach was just OK in our opinion. The private section of the beach used by the cruise ship tours actually bordered the public beach. That side seemed to be much nicer. There were a lot of empty beer bottles and refuse left by beach goers. The beach chairs were $5.00 to rent. My wife speaks Spanish fluently so she managed to rent two chairs for $4.00 each. The Presidente beer was very cold and good. :cool: There are a few food shacks with some women preparing a variety of foods. The chicken, rice and beans, and tostados with hot sauce were all really good. The bathroom was a shack with a barrel--that's it. Hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go...:rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
tweety33

tweety33

Posted
Posted

How did you get your tour, was it with a cab driver once you got off the ship. How long was your tour around the island? What did you see? Did the driver wait while you shopped at Jumbo, and swam at the beach? Do you think it is safe with just 2 of us on a tour with a cab driver? How was the Jumbo store we wanted to see it? Was it worth going to and cheap prices? THanks for your info.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Snackdaddy

Snackdaddy

Posted
Posted

tweety33,

How did you get your tour, was it with a cab driver once you got off the ship.

--The cab/van drivers are waiting outside of the Security Gate.

How long was your tour around the island?

--We spent 1 hour shopping and 3 hours at the beach.

What did you see?

--Our driver spoke very little English and was not a tour guide. Our traveling companions spoke fluent Spanish so they were able to converse with him. I can’t tell you for sure what we saw other than a lot of poverty, sugar cane fields, a sugar factory, helmetless motorcycle riders and lush landscape.

Did the driver wait while you shopped at Jumbo, and swam at the beach?

--The driver waited for us in the Jumbo parking lot. He dropped us off at the beach and came back for us later. Many other drivers waited for their passengers. (We paid at the end of the tour, so we didn’t mind when he left.)

Do you think it is safe with just 2 of us on a tour with a cab driver?

--I think it will be safe with just two of you. However I always believe that there is safety in numbers (and cheaper too). Check your Costa Roll Call thread to see who may want to join you.

We were thinking of doing that as opposed to the hop on hop off bus, because we wanted to see the Jumbo store? Was it worth going to and cheap prices?

--The Jumbo store is just a regular supermarket with items comparably priced to New York City prices—we went to buy toothpaste and Brugal rum. When we arrived in St. Thomas we found Brugal rum to be much cheaper—go figure.

For me a trip to the Jumbo store was purely to see the locals outside of sterile tourist traps. If you are a sun and beach person, skip the store and head for the beach. The earlier you get there, the better spot you will secure on the beach.

 

I hope this helps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cruisingbooboo

cruisingbooboo

Posted
Posted
cruisingbooboo,

 

We are just off of the January 4, 2008 Explorer as well. We, party of nine, toured La Romana and Bayahibe Beach for $87.00 plus tip. we needed to pick up a few toiletries and some Brugal rum, so our driver took us to a small souvenir shop and then on to the JUMBO supermarket in town. If you really want to get a feel for the culture in La Romana, I highly recommend a visit to the local supermarket. The locals are warm and friendly. The way the scooter/motorcycle "cab" drivers packed groceries and a passenger was quite creative and impressive. Our driver then took us to Bayahibe Beach.

 

The public section of Bayahibe Beach was just OK in our opinion. The private section of the beach used by the cruise ship tours actually bordered the public beach. That side seemed to be much nicer. There were a lot of empty beer bottles and refuse left by beach goers. The beach chairs were $5.00 to rent. My wife speaks Spanish fluently so she managed to rent two chairs for $4.00 each. The Presidente beer was very cold and good. :cool: There are a few food shacks with some women preparing a variety of foods. The chicken, rice and beans, and tostados with hot sauce were all really good. The bathroom was a shack with a barrel--that's it. Hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go...:rolleyes:

Snack daddy, was that $87.00 for all of you or per person? What prevented you from going on the " cruise ship" side of the beach? How much were the beers/ food? What is Bruhal rum? any other not to miss deals at Jumbo? How many hours was your tour? Is it about a 30 min ride to the beach? How long did you have the taxi?

Thanks!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Snackdaddy

Snackdaddy

Posted
Posted

cruisingbooboo,

 

No worries.

 

A Security Guard prevented us from going on the "cruise ship" side of the beach.

The beers were $4.00 for a large Presidente.

A plate of rice & beans with chicken and salad cost $8.00.

A plate of tostones (twice-fried plantain patties) cost $5.00.

According to Wikipedia, "Brugal is the name and brand of a variety of rums from the Dominican Republic produced by Brugal & Cía."

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Leslie K

Leslie K

Posted
Posted
Do you think it is safe with just 2 of us on a tour with a cab driver? quote]

 

My 18 yo daughter and I took a cab ourselves to the beach from the dock. We got going too late to get grouped with others which would have reduced the cost per person. Our cab driver spoke English and was quite friendly. The fee to Bayahibi beach was $55 for two hours at the beach. We could have paid for additional time. The driver left and came back to us at the designated time. No money was paid until we returned to the dock so we weren't concerned about being stranded or losing our money. There were plenty of other cruisers at the beach - yep, those towels are hard to miss!

 

Getting to the beach a bit late meant that they were out of lounge chairs for rental. They became available later as people were leaving but it wasn't worth it by then. We didn't visit the shops or eat there... but did enjoy Presidente beer. My daughter was a bit reluctant to admit that she liked it better than Corona.

 

The trip was about 25 minutes each way. Driving was a bit of an experience. The driver tends to drive a bit over the center line. I realized that by doing that he missed many pot holes that were in the right side of the lane. The road is one lane each way and passing is a given although I'd never experienced an effort to pass while going up hill with limited visibility. We ended up not passing until we got to the other side of the hill.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lucyjlou

lucyjlou

Posted
Posted

We booked the bayahibe beach break thru carnival...anyone done this? Do we get to use the pool at the resort as well as the beach? It includes chair and towel and domestic bar..what was available at the bar? Is the beach nice? Can we use the resort bathrooms then?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jccruiser

jccruiser

Posted
Posted

thanks for all the info - this is the most informative beach post I have seen so far for Casa de Campo/La Romana.

 

So basically the more people you can get into yr group for the cab the cheaper it works out? And everyone felt safe at the public beach in Bayahibe? is there any decent snorkelling there?

 

thanks again for sharing:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...