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Our 10-Day Roadtrip In The Dominican Republic With The Dominican Expert : A Travel Guide

Hello from Luperon in the Dominican Republic !

If you’re new to our blog, we’ve been based here for a couple of months now together with our 2 cats and our sailboat, S/V Empress . We didn’t really plan on living here. We just went here for a Caribbean trip until we found it to be nothing less than dazzling. We just fell in love with this place– it’s such a beautiful country with beautiful and warm people. The bonus is that it’s a very affordable here. Days turned into weeks and weeks into months until we finally decided to just settle here for a while.

My family is in the Philippines and Jonathan’s are in the UK. To see them, it’s either we come home to each of the countries every 2 years or so, have a vacation and meet somewhere in another country ( like what I did with my sister Krista who I met in Europe ), or if we’re lucky, they’ll be the one to visit us wherever we may be based.

It’s one of those lucky days because Jonathan’s sister and her boyfriend visited us for 2 weeks and of course, we had to show them around. We were kind of busy catching up with work so good thing Dominican Expert helped us to prepare for our itinerary.

Table of Contents

ABOUT DOMINICANEXPERT.com :

They are a company based in the Dominican Republic which offers customized vacations to the most beautiful spots in the country, featuring pristine beaches and plenty of sunshine. This tour was organized by the Dominican Expert which is obviously an expert on self-drive tours and tailor-made itineraries in the Dominican Republic.

Honestly, it was like driving yourself to hot destinations at your own pace and time minus all the nitty-gritty details as they will be the one taking care of it! Here’s a list of the lovely places around that we visited (thanks to the Dominican Expert ) and here’s what you can do in case you come here for a visit too 🙂

Number of days: 2 days 

Luperon is considered as a shelter from the hurricane season for sailors like us due to its locations, shape, and cheap construction costs. Other than that, we have nice and pristine beaches all over which makes it ideal for swimming, snorkeling and sunbathing. A day trip to Cayo Arenas aka Paradise Island (which is only a 90-minute drive to Punta Rucia where you can catch a boat to Cayo Arenas) made our guests experience the true beauty of the Atlantic– white fine sand, clear blue waters, and of course, lots of sun!

You can also go on a road trip to Cambiaso where you can ask this local family for their fresh catch! We had a massive lobster for 900 Pesos which included the grilling and side dishes (rice, fried plantain and salad).

Your stay in Luperon wouldn’t be complete without sailing. There are friendly pirates everywhere so I’m sure you’d find one to take you out for a sail. Too bad the waves were crazy when our visitors were here so we couldn’t set sail!

PUERTO PLATA

Number of days: We stayed here for 4 days. There are plenty of things to do here so if you have more time, then extend your stay as you wish!

Travel time from Luperon: Only 30 minutes by car

Where we stayed: We stayed in 2 different hotels here. One is Garden by the Sea centrally located between Sosua and Cabarete and the other one is VH Atmosphere Adults Only Resort & Beach Club which is located at the center of Playa Dorada Golf Course. They are totally different– the first one being cozy and the second boasting with luxury. Both equally worthy for a stay and both worthy of a separate review.

What to do: Puerto Plata is Dominican Republic’s Ninth Largest City. For 4 days, you can do the Canyoneering Activity at Damajagua aka The 27 Waterfalls , Walk around the City Center, Go on a Rum Tour, Take the Cable Car to get a birds-eye-view of the city and to reach the top of Mt. Isabel de Torres , Go Horseback Riding, and Visit the Monkey Jungle where you can also go ziplining. Here, you can also enjoy Puerto Plata’s nice and pristine beaches– our favorite is the Plata Sosua where the sand is fine and the waters crystal blue!

For those who love water activities, Cabarete Beach is the place to be. You can go Surfing, Kitesurfing, and Windsurfing– all for an affordable price compared to other countries. I was supposed to do Kitesurfing but the wind didn’t cooperate. Good thing we live here now I can always come back here to do it! 🙂

EL VALLE & LAS GALERAS in SAMANA

Number of days: 4 (Please extend your stay for months!!)

Travel time from Puerto Plata: More or less 4 hours by car but there are plenty of things to see along the way so it might take you longer.

Where we stayed in Samana: We one night at Unique Exotic Eco Hotel which silently screams zen and relaxation in El Valle and we spent another 2 nights at Samana Ocean View Eco Lodge  in Las Galeras whose pool overlooking the mountains and the ocean instantly captivated us. We absolutely loved our stay in both hotels! We got what we all wanted: Tranquility.

Depending on your starting point, Dominican Expert highly recommends stopping at Laguna Dudu for a quick bath at their freshwater lagoon surrounded by lush forests and caves or get a glimpse and swim at the majestic waterfalls of the Salto El Limon.

After these quick stopovers, head on to El Valle where you can go see the less touristy beach called the Plata El Valle which is famous for its fine and golden sand. In Samana, expect to be surrounded by all the greeneries. It’s a very peaceful place to relax and take a break.

The next day, head towards the harbor of Santa Barbara de Samana where you can take a boat to the lovely Los Haitises National Park . It’s a park home to diverse mammals and birds, some of which are endemic to the island. It’s a beautiful place to go cruising, caving, and hiking. This is definitely a must-visit in the DomRep! On the way back to your hotel, stop by at this famous hotel called the Cayo Levantado where you can have lunch and relax by the beach.

PLAYA RINCON in SAMANA Province

Number of days: 1

Another must-see beach is the Playa Rincon known for its nearly white sand beach and the multicolored waters from clear to green, to blue. The backdrop of the mountain from the beach makes this a picture perfect site. Playa Fronton is another beach but with a completely different atmosphere. This one will make you feel as if you’re in the Philippines’ famous Palawan because of the towering cliff surrounding it. Las Terrenas is another charmer for its fine sand lined with huge palm trees and of course, the turquoise blue waters.

That’s the end of the trip, so from Playa, you can always make your flight back home or move forward if you have time. I highly suggest coming in February to catch the Humpback Whales in Samana. It’s something you don’t usually see and I bet you’ll love it! I hope we’ll still be here by that time :p Anyway, that’s it for this post. Let me know if you’re coming over and who knows? We could just meet! Positive vibes, everyone! 🙂

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4 thoughts on “ Our 10-Day Roadtrip In The Dominican Republic With The Dominican Expert : A Travel Guide ”

Thank you for this article and its beautiful pictures, it is a destination that makes you want to enjoy your holidays there.

Your journey and photos are an inspiration!

Great read ! Didn’t know where to start for our visit coming up in March . This sure helps a lot

Thank you! You’ll enjoy this roadtrip for sure, DomRep is beautiful!

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Written by Kach Umandap

Founder of Two Monkeys Travel Group. Since 2013, Kach has visited all the 7 continents (including Antarctica) and 151 countries using her Philippines Passport. In 2016, she bought a sailboat and went on sailing adventures with her two cats - Captain Ahab & Little Zissou in the Caribbean for 2 years. She now lives in Herceg Novi, Montenegro where she's enjoying her expat life and living on a gorgeous Stonehouse. She writes about her experiences traveling as a Filipina traveler with a PHL Passport. Also tips on backpacking trips, luxury hotel experiences, product reviews, sailing & adventure travel.

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Rates can vary widely by room type and season. "We Paid" is intended to give a general sense of price, but you might find considerably different rates for your trip.

When we book, we aim for the optimum season for the destination, but we avoid holidays and major public events, when prices are highest. We generally book a room at one category up from the most basic.

We take advantage of promotional rates, when possible. That means the rate you see above might have included other benefits, such as spa or meal credits.

• Known as the “Pebble Beach of the Caribbean,” the golf course is a world-class jaw dropper, with an unprecedented 10 coastal holes, including an unforgettable five-hole cliff-top finale.
• Amanera owns its own mountain across the road form the main resort, with guided hikes to an open-air thatched lean-to, where a lavish picnic lunch is served with sweeping vistas of the azure Caribbean.
• Emptiness is the true luxury at this enormous Dominican Republic hotel, intentionally employed throughout the property so you feel like you have run of the place. All restaurants and bars, the lobby infinity pool, and the beach are excessively oversized — any could accommodate all guests at once and still feel uncrowded.
• Activities abound, and Amanera employs its own guides for hiking, while trainers have group and private yoga classes. Offsite excursions range from deep-sea fishing and kite surfing to rum distillery tours. 
• You can add on a private transfer in luxury auto, plus an airport meet-and-greet VIP experience where arriving guests are led to a private lounge for drinks while their baggage is retrieved and loaded, then whisked through immigration.
• Only guests of the Dominican Republic hotel and Playa Grande Golf & Ocean Club members can play the golf course.
• All lodging is in individual freestanding villas, 25 of them. The villas have Balinese architectural influence and generous indoor and outdoor living areas.
• Vastness is used to accentuate the luxury feel in the villas, which are broken up into multiple indoor and outdoor spaces. Even the smallest one-bedroom casita has two separate outdoor dining areas that could seat 20 and an actual pool, not a plunge style.
• All airy accommodations have high ceilings, warm wood and glass doors that open up to vast outdoor spaces that put you closer to nature.
• The Main Restaurant is the main three-meal-a-day option, with inside and outside seating at Casa Grande. It features organic produce, fresh seafood and modern takes on Dominican traditions.
• The Beach Club sits down by the resort’s beach, providing lunch and beachside service during the day, then torch-lit dinners on the sand or the open-air structure. It has a heavy emphasis on freshly caught local seafood and ceviche, and even offers ceviche cooking classes.
• Beyond the beach is popular local park with serval open-air traditional Dominican “beach shack” bar/restaurants. To provide an authentically colorful local experience without worry, the luxury hotel has befriended and vetted the best purveyors and can reserve seats for friendly but VIP treatment.
• The Lounge Bar specializes in a deep list of Caribbean rums, rum cocktails and has weekly cigar rolling demonstrations by a master craftsman with tastings — Amanera is the first Aman resort with its own private-label cigar brand, custom made exclusively for the bar and adjacent cigar shop.

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