Las Galeras is a small village at the far end of the Samaná Peninsula in the Dominican Republic. It's famous for its world class lonely beaches, e.g. Playa Fronton or Playa Rincon.

Get in

Getting there and away is the difficult part. Public transport is limited, the condition of the road to Samana was bad but has now been tarmaced and is smooth and comfortable. Caribetours offers transport from Santo Domingo to Santa Barbara De Samana and back six times daily. You can get in at the various stops in between. 4 of the 6 buses take the new highway and bring travel time down to 3 hours. From Samana you will have to take a guagua, a local minibus, which takes another 1 hour. The minibuses leave from the morning to the afternoon (6PM). The easier way to get there is by renting a car in one of the bigger cities in the country. Hereby you can avoid the fairly expensive transport fairs (15 US) later on, when you are planning to spend the day at one of the fabulous but hardly accessible beaches.

Get around

The motoconchos, the local motorbikedrivers, will take you about anywhere you want. Locals are also offering taxi service with their private cars. Check prices before you hop on.

Do

The main thing to do here is hang out at the various beaches. For the more sporty orientated, there are a few possibilities. There is a dive school in town and now a new one has opened which is owned by a British couple who also speak, Danish, Spanish, French, Italian and German. various excursions can be organized by the local travel agencies. Mountain biking is another option as is horse riding, quad excursions and some excellent snorkelling. From mid-January to the end of March you can also go whale-watching. At Playa Fronton you will find one of the best climbing spots in the Dominican Republic with over 13 climbing routes of various levels.

Diving

There are some nice divesites near Las Galeras around Cabó Cabron and Cabó Sámana. Aside of coral gardens there are cave, wreck, wall dives. All divesites can be reached by boat. The dominant coral species in the area are the common sea fans and sea rods. Around the caves and caverns it is a good chance to see moray eels, in the sandy parts stingrays and sometimes bluespotted eagle rays.

Divesites around Cabó Cabron: Puerto Malo Tibisi I Tibisi II La Laguna Piedra Bonita Cueva de Chopa La Herradura

Around Las Galeras: Barco Hundido Coral Garden Playita

Around Cabó Sámana: Piedra Solitaria Los Hoyones Fronton Los Carriles I Los Carriles II

• 1 The Dive Academy Las Galeras, Calle Principal 5, ☏ +1 829-577-5548, diveacademy.dr@gmail.com. (updated Sep 2015)

Eat

• El Cabito, La Caleta, Las Galeras (between Gran Paradise Samana and Playa Madama), ☏ +1 829-697 9506. 10am-10pm. Nice restaurant perched on 15m high cliff with view over the Rincon bay and beautiful sunsets. International cuisine specialized in seafood and fish. 5-20 US$. 

Sleep

There are various hotels and guesthouses in las Galeras. Due to the reputation of its world class beaches you will find anything from an all inclusive resort to a cheap bed and breakfast accommodation. Most hotels are situated at the main intersection at the end of the village. If you don't plan to get there in the middle of the high season (December and Easter holidays) you won't have to book in advance.

- Hotel GriGri, located at the main intersection; fair sized clean rooms with up to three beds for around 30US

- La Ranchata, 20 min walk out of town, nice rooms, double for about 17US

- El Cabito, located 3 km away from the main intersection; two cabins for 30US and camping, hangmats and treehouse for 7,50US

- Hotel Porque No, at the intersection, small hotel owned by a very friendly French Canadian couple offer rooms with breakfast.