Flying over the Dominican Republic's northern coast

Aerial view of Puerto Plata (Playa Dorada all the way to the left)

Aerial view of Luperon Airport and Puerto Plata (toward the top)

Another aerial view of Puerto Plata and Playa Dorada (the bay at bottom left)

Aerial view of Sosua, Dominican Republic

Aerial view of Barrick Gold mine.

Aerial view of Barrick Gold mine.

Flor Cafe: an awesome new garden restaurant in Cabrera

On our drive from Cabarete to Hotel La Catalina near Cabrera, we passed the nursery/cafe below. Wow, what a discovery! The American expat owner has lived in DR for 30 years, and opened this restaurant and nursery just two weeks ago. She makes her own cheese and milk from an attached dairy, and the restaurant is situated among an immaculately manicured garden of orchids and exotic plants. The furnishings are top notch, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a more relaxing and classy experience on the entire north coast. We had breakfast, and can absolutely recommend the florito sandwich, the "mangu" (a mash of local root vegetables), and the homemade Greek yogurt with spices. Oh, and don't miss the coffee!

Playa Caleton

Playa Caleton is a well-known beach located on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. It has a perfect combination of beautiful water, a calm bay atmosphere, beach shack restaurants, and tree cover for shade. The downsides of this beach are: it's difficult to find and it gets extremely crowded on weekends and Dominican national holidays. And by crowded, I mean that on a Dominican holiday I would say without exaggeration that a thousand people might be on this beach! The beach access road is a dirt road off of the main road just east of Cabrera. You have to watch very carefully for the sign on the left, and expect only a very small dirt road. Note that four wheel drive is not necessarily required by the road is very rough and uneven.

Day trip from Santo Domingo to Casa de Campo

Casa de Campo is definitely a feasible day trip from Santo Domingo. The drive follows one main highway, and takes about 2 hours. The highway from Santo Domingo to Casa de Campo is still under construction, so part of the way (near La Romana) involves a clearly-marked detour over a temporary highway. Tourists should note that along this highway will be at least one police check point. Either every car will be pulled over, or only certain cars will be selected for inspection. The police inspect the vehicle's paperwork and make sure passengers have valid visas.

The entrance fee for those not staying at Casa de Campo is US$ 25 per day per person. This only covers entrance. There is also a package whereby US$75 will get you the entrance fee, lunch at the beachfront restaurant, and use of a beach chair and umbrella. The beach at Casa de Campo is just okay. By Dominican standards, it is really nothing special. But if you're staying at Casa de Campo, the beach will serve you just fine as a place to relax and get some relief from the heat.

The main attractions in Casa de Campo are: driving around looking at mansions, visiting the shops and restaurants at the marina, playing golf, and visiting the shops and restaurants at Altos de Chavon. The Altos de Chavon is a fake Medieval village that is quite interesting. There are some very reasonably priced restaurants (I saw fajitas for US$10) and stores selling souvenirs as well as clothes. Apparently this area is really crowded during the high season around Christmas. We went in July and had the place to ourselves (although all establishments were open).

We had a wonderful buffet lunch at Lago Grill (US$ 45 per person). I'm told by a friend that they also have a very nice breakfast. We had unlimited lobster and assorted seafood, plus all of the types of food you might expect at a large lunch buffet. The ceviche and caprese salad were especially memorable. The view is quite beautiful as you peer over the rolling golf course as it meets the sea.

If the US$ 400+ room rate at Casa de Campo is not in your budget, I suggest either renting a condo through a rental-by-owner site, or staying at one of the nearby resorts in Bayahibe (we stayed in Cadaques Caribe Resort). The drive between Bayahibe and Casa de Campo is an easy 20 minutes.

Marina shops at Casa de Campo.

Beach at Casa de Campo

The pool was quite nice.

Buffet lunch at Lago Grill, Casa de Campo

 

View out over the golf course from Lago Grill.

Altos de Chavon. The chapel is on the left.

  

 

Altos de Chavon hanging out over a beautiful ravine below.

The Chavon river running through Casa de Campo.

Las Galeras, Camping at El Cabito, and Playa Madama

During the Semana Santa holiday (known as Easter weekend in the U.S.) we decided to drive all the way to the northeast tip of DR on the Samaná peninsula. Our first destination was the El Cabito restaurant and camp ground. El Cabito is not your average restaurant setting. It is a wooden platform perched precariously over sheer cliffs overlooking the crashing ocean waves. The restaurant seats only about 20 people, and the food is cooked in a small hut nearby. There are camping spaces for about 8 tents, and the place offers cold showers and restrooms for campers. We felt safe as the place is secluded, and the European owners have their house just a stone’s throw from the campground. You can also rent hammocks for the night, although they are in huts with a roof but not much in terms of walls. In other words, you don’t get any privacy from the other campers.

El Cabito is probably most famous as the place to watch sunsets, although we were not fortunate to have clear weather on the two nights we spent there. We had our own treat of beautiful tumultuous clouds and stormy seas, which was also charming. With the mist, cold wind, and green pastures, the place actually reminded us of Scotland. Not what you’d expect from the Caribbean!

The drive to El Cabito is somewhat of an experience. It’s safe to say you need a four-wheel drive vehicle to get there, as there are muddy sections and some steep climbs. We did see people walking, which I think would take about 20 minutes to half an hour. You can also take a motorcycle from town, but I can only imagine that the ride must leave the passenger feeling very sore. The unpaved road winds through farmland and empty lots, but with beautiful views of the surrounding countryside.

The food at El Cabito was very tasty. We ordered the fresh catch, and you can see the picture of how enormous the fish was! Our friend who recommended the place said the fish in coconut sauce is unbeatable.

By far the best experience we had from El Cabito was to hike to Playa Madama. The proprietor said the hike takes 30 minutes, but that’s only if you know the route! I took us about 2 hours, and the walk is through some dense jungle that has been roughly cleared by machete. You will need to remind yourself during this walk that DR has no poisonous snakes, because your legs will disappear beneath hedges and brush as you push through the trail. Definitely wear closed toe shoes and pants so as not to end up with scraped legs. Most of the walk, however, is through open paths that are quite comfortable. Someone has marked the trail with red flags, but they are intermittent so you need to use your inner Magellan to find the way. You will pass beautiful cliffs that are composed of a Martian-like porous rock. In the distance you can see lush mountains climbing out from the oceanside. It’s really breathtaking scenery.

And then you reach Playa Madama, which really takes your breath away. The inaccessibility of the beach keeps tourists away, so you have the place to yourselves. The snorkeling would be great here, or just enjoying the turquoise water. We didn’t make it to Playa Fronton, which is an additional walk, but the pictures online show that Playa Fronton is really the crown jewel of this area. If you’re in to hiking, I suggest researching how to continue the trek to Playa Fronton.

As for the town of Las Galeras itself, it has one main street with some restaurants and bars but is otherwise quiet. It is definitely not like Cabarete, Las Terrenas, or any of the larger seaside towns. We heard that Le Taino is the best restaurant in town. We opted instead for an Italian eatery run by an Italian couple. We ate there for lunch, and could not resist going back for dinner! It was some of the most deliciously authentic Italian food I’ve had outside of Italy. Food prices are not cheap here though, as food is generally expensive in DR. Expect to pay US$10 or so per entrée at a casual eatery.

There are two public beaches walkable from Las Galeras – the main public beach at the end of the main road, and La Playita about 20 minutes walk away. Both are decent, but are not spectacular compared to other beaches in the area.

 

The dirt road to El Cabito.

 

The dirt road to El Cabito.

 

The dirt road to El Cabito.

 

El Cabito restaurant, perched above the cliff.

 

El Cabito camping grounds.

 

Looking down toward the restaurant (under the thatched roof).

 

Camping at El Cabito.

 

The view over the bay.

 

 

 

 

Our fish dinner at El Cabito.

 

On a wet, gray day, the landscape kind of reminded us of Scotland!

 

You can see that the path to Playa Madama is not very clearly marked! It snakes through this brush.

 

The path to Playa Madama.

 

Passing beautiful cliffs on our way to Playa Madama.

 

 

 

 

Arrived! How beautiful is this secluded beach of Playa Madama?

 

 

 

Just past Playa Madama are some more beautiful scenes.

 

 

 

 

I forgot to mention that in Las Galeras town is a wonderful breakfast place called "Casa Por Qué No?" It is a B&B run by a French-Canadian couple who cook the breakfasts themselves and serve you. The breakfast was wonderful value. I recommend the salty pancake (really a version of a crepe) and the French Toast.