Things to do in Samana?

[jollycruise]

Samana is best enjoyed through an excursion. We did the ATV tour and had a wonderful time. I have heard good things about the 4x4 tour and Cayo.

[Beachbum1944]

Cayo is nice but way too expensive now with NCL starting 2009 it will cost $45 each for an 8 min tender ride there and back.

[Hxx]

When are you going to be in Samana? We sail on the explorer on 12/12/08. I found a terrific excursion, but need to have 10 people, we are 4 so far.

 

Hi ill be there on the 04/12/08 with the sea princess. Looking at some of the posts, I think i will probably try a ship excursion to the beach.

[Darvik]

Is it possible to walk off the ship and catch the ferry independently to Cayo beach

 

Thanks :)

[OkieCruisers]

I just got back from my 14 night cruise and can say that my day at Samana was the best. I was also worried about all that I had read concerning what is near the port and what you can do on your own and not. I booked a shallow water fishing excursion with Catherine at http://www.casadoradodr.com/fishing.html. They are the ones that give a great van tour for groups of 10 but I spent weeks before the cruise trying to gather that group and did not have any luck. But I wanted to go fishing for the first time and found $70 per person for a 4 hour charter for a group of 4 reasonable. Catherine had a car waiting for us when we got off of the tender boat. We paid $20 each for the round trip 18 miles up the shore line to Las Galeras. The drive takes about 45 minutes and the road is pretty bumpy in spots but the ride is beautiful. The beach is also very beautiful when you arrive. Her husband, Roberto will be there waiting with the boat. Take plenty of sun screen since there is no shade on the boat but plan on having a very fun day. We booked the shallow water panga which is a total of $280 for the 4 hours. Just an idea, I know we had the most fun there possible.

[mlfoust]

I have booked the same trip on December 8th.

 

I would love to hear how your fishing trip went. Would you mind telling me some fishing tales about it?

 

Also, for anyone else interested in something to do in Samana...

 

 

 

We have booked a fishing excursion when we port in Samana with Casa Dorado. They have arranged a taxi that will carry up to 10 people to Las Galeras (La Playita) for a total of $100. I have been talking to Catherine DeLaura of Casa Dorado and she tells me they have some beautiful beaches in Las Galeras. They also have an excursion where a boat will take you to Playa Rincon for the day. Here is a link to their website:

 

http://www.casadoradodr.com/

 

 

Here is another link from some posts on the cruise critic about casa dorado:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/archive/index.php?t-783528.html

 

 

We are looking for some people to share the taxi ride with. If anyone is interested, just let me know.

[OkieCruisers]

It was a very fun day. It takes about 45 minutes to get from where the ship tender boat arrives to the Las Galeras beach. This is a beautiful beach, pictured in the last photo. That is the boat you see there also. The water was pretty rough that day but none of us got sick, took dramamine earlier. If you are going on the fishing charter, take sun screen and a hat. Also prepare to go bare foot. You have to get your feet wet getting to the boat and back. We troll fished the whole time and the guys all caught some smaller tuna. I landed that big barracuda. Catherine had said that the sail fish and maui maui were in season and we might have had a shot at them in their other boat but this is a shallow water fishing boat. The Las Galeras beach is nice but don't expect to find a beach bar or lounge chairs to rent. I didn't see them at Playa Rincon either. This is a very poor country but so beautiful. For the others going for the beach, just prepare them. Make sure they take some drinks, snacks and beach towels. Playa Rincon is a long beach and ranked as the 4th prettiest in all of the Caribbean. I would do this day all over again. I felt sorry for all of the other folks that either stayed on the ship or got off of the ship and were so disappointed with the stuff they found right there. Get out there and see some of the country.

[mlfoust]

Thanks so much for your reply. I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.

 

I am looking forward to getting my line stretched and then having some awesome woman on the beach grill up some fresh catch with some plantains!!!

[wave breaker]

Cayo is nice but way too expensive now with NCL starting 2009 it will cost $45 each for an 8 min tender ride there and back.

 

 

Paul,

 

Just looked your photo album over and you did a heck of a job with the pictures at port. So many and it wets my appetite for our cruise this spring. Nice job!

[cerros]

I had planned to do the horse back riding and waterfall trip. The photos of the falls looked like something worth seeing. We are not going until April 2012. If anyone takes it before then I would appreciate your feedback. I don't want to take a skinny horse. Would make me feel guilty riding him.

[Snackdaddy]

We love Samana and book itineraries that include her whenever we can. The peninsula is rustic and undeveloped, but who wants to go a fully developed St. Thomas-like port all of the time? Traveling is about exploring and learning new things. The people in Samana are great, the food is wonderful and the Brugal rum and Presidente beer is delightful :D

 

Take a tour with Terry and you will not be disappointed.

 

http://www.toursamanawithterry.com/Home_Page.html

 

Samana here we come in 2013!!!!

[alexandra cruiser]

I had planned to do the horse back riding and waterfall trip. The photos of the falls looked like something worth seeing. We are not going until April 2012. If anyone takes it before then I would appreciate your feedback. I don't want to take a skinny horse. Would make me feel guilty riding him.

 

can you share where you saw pics of this,,,looked at above website and didnt find...he s a big guy and would feel sorry for so called "skinny" horses..thanks :confused:

[TRAVELCRUZIN]

My sister has been to Samana on three seperate occasions the last three years and on the last two chose to do the Cayo excursion. She had nothing but great things to say about this island and the excursion.

 

She said the first time she went she had no idea what to do and ended up in town. She said she would NEVER do that again! Lots of kids hawking you for money, etc. Plus she said she really didn't feel safe walking around.

[lilybob]

We were in Samana last year and booked a tour with Terry Bandi. He does a number of different ones. We didn't want to do the more strenuous El Limon but wanted to see waterfalls. I requested to do the smaller waterfall, visit the town with the coral church, visit a local home, have lunch on the beach (where the local women made us great drinks inside coconuts.) He was able to accommodate the revised tour for us. We were two couples but to save money we went to our roll call to see if anyone else wanted to join us. We ended up being a group of 40! Terry arranged for two open sided safari type trucks and added an additional guide as the group was so large. It was the highlight of our trip.

 

Snackdaddy has provided the link to Terry's site in this thread.

 

There isn't a lot to do in the town so you really need to have something planned. The beaches were beautiful and we got to see a little of the interior of the country as well. Terry responded promptly throughout the planning process and met us at the port. I have to admit I was a little nervous as the group got so big but it turned out to be a great time. You might see many children who will want to make you a grass bracelet or "guide" you to the waterfall. I wish I brought more dollar bills with me.

 

There are also reviews of Terry's Tours on Trip Advisor

[cerros]

Alexandra, The tour I was looking at is with Raymond and Gregory Tours Dominican Republic. ( $39 ) You can see the horses on YOU TUBE by entering El Cascade Waterfalls. They are skinny and small.

[ifxatvs]

http://www.casadoradodr.com/excursions.php Roberto is the best. We went Snorkling and to the beach. He pulled up fish for us all to see and one lady had a hard time snorkling so he taught her how and stayed with her to help. Wonderful and perfect beach!!!!

[my_crib_too]

We recently had a great ATV tour with Razor Tours and wanted to share some information about them.

 

• $135 US Dollars for two ATVs.
  
• My wife and I were the only two people on the tour.
  
• Three tour guides for the two of us.
  
• One of the best tours of the many we took on this trip.
  
• We left and returned right from the tender docking point.
  
• Beautiful island, reminded us of parts of Hawaii.
  
• Very friendly people.
  
• Soft drinks included.
  
• Tour was at our pace. It had been a few years since my wife drove an ATV and we went very slow. This was not a problem.
  
• The girl in the picture was our guild to and back from the Cascada Lulu waterfall. Not a trip for someone with mobility issues.
  
• Our tour lasted slightly longer that 4 hours.
  

http://razortours-excursionsamana.com/atv-adventures.html

 

&

 

http://razortours-excursionsamana.com/index.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[my_crib_too]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[my_crib_too]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[my_crib_too]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[my_crib_too]

• We had a lot of fun.
  
• No pre-cruise deposit required.
  

[SteveLT]

Samana is by far NO LOOSER at all.

 

Plenty of Things to do in Samana Dominican Republic.

 

Here is a pretty complete list :

1) ATV Four Wheelers Adventure to Playa Rincon

2) Safari Expedition on Samana Peninsula

3) Boat Tour to Los Haitises Park, Caves & Mangroves

4) Zipline Samana in beautiful El Valle Virgin Forest

5) 40 Meters tall Waterfall Cascada El Limon Tour

6) Whale Watching Observation Tour ( Season : Jan 15 to March 31 )

 

We have in Samana Port about 6 Licensed Tour Operators offering all these Excursions online at much lower prices than on your Cruise Ship.

 

Get off the boat and enjoy natural Samana !

 

STEVE

Tour Guide in Samana

[SteveLT]

To make things easier,

 

Here is the link to the Website of the Town of Samana where most of the Tour Operators offering Excursions and Tours in Samana are listed.

 

http://gosamana-dominicanrepublic.com/cruise-ship-tours-shore-excursions-port-of-samana.html

 

 

STEVE

[my_crib_too]

Anyone had a recent tour with Razor?

[lbt43]

Anyone had a recent tour with Razor?

 

Go with casadoradodr.com