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| Info-Samana |
Samaná is located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in the northeastern province of the Dominican Republic. Its capital is Santa Bárbara de Samaná. The province, with more than 92,000 inhabitants, spread over 854 km2 of tropical forests, coconut groves, hundreds of beaches with turquoise crystal clear waters, waterfalls and protected national parks. It was discovered on January 12th, 1493 by Christopher Columbus, who was greeted with a barrage of spears and arrows from native Taíno warriors. Each year between the months of February and March, humpback whales leave the cold waters of the North Atlantic and swim down to breed near the shores of Samaná. They can be easily seen from the city port. |
It takes about half an hour to cross the peninsula north to south and an hour from West to East. We have over forty websites of our trips. An impressive collection of photos, videos and info from several travel destinations. Here are some of them ... The most popular ¬ Cayo Largo, Cuba Our snorkeling sites ¬ Jibacoa, Cuba « Au Naturel » beaches ¬ Tulum, Mexico Our « coup de coeur » ¬ Peru History and civilisations |
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There are more than fifty hotels in the Samaná peninsula and about twenty bed and breakfasts. For all tastes and budgets. These hotels are primarily located in the towns of Las Terrenas, Las Galeras and south of the peninsula. A hotel chain stands out among all the hotels in Samana by the size of its hotels and quality of services, it's Bahia Principe. Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts is the newest division of Piñero Group, one of the major groups in the Spanish tourism industry with hotels in Spain, Portugal, Russia, Miami, Argentina, Mexico, Dominican Republic and Jamaica. Bahia Principe was founded in 1995 with the opening of the Bahia Principe San Juan in Puerto Plata, a hotel of 940 rooms in Dominican Republic. The hotel group has 23 hotel establishments totalling 11,000 rooms, primarily in the Caribbean (Dominican Republic, Mexico and Jamaica). We visited Samaná in April 2010, and as we were there for only one week, it was impossible to visit all the hotels on the peninsula. We visited the Gran Bahia Principe Cayacoa, Luxury Bahia Principe Cayo Levantado, Gran Bahia Principe El Portillo and the Grand Paradise Samaná, a hotel part of the Amhsa Marina Hotels & Resorts group, the largest hotel chain in the Dominican Republic (5 hotels). The Gran Bahia Principe Samana was closed during our stay for renovation. Unfortunately, April is not the best month of the year to visit Samaná, it is the beginning of the wet season. The sky was cloudy almost every day, which did not give to our photos the best results. It is a shame considering the beautiful landscapes of the region and the nice hotels. On the other hand, it only rains one day. It is preferable to go during winter. Visit the Weather section of our site to learn more about the climate of Samaná. The hotels we visited (or stayed) are located mostly in the villages of Las Terrenas, Las Galeras, Santa Barbara de Samaná (the capital of the province) and in the Bay of Samaná. To identify the tourists in all the hotels, a bracelet is giving to us while registering. The Gran Bahia Principe hotels offer the Royal Golden Club. In addition to the standard facilities and services, the hotels provide several inclusions of luxurious accommodations in privileged sectors (gold bracelet). All hotels offer an « all-inclusive » package like meals, drinks, activities, entertainment, non motorized water sports and many more.. Carts are available 24 hours to transport tourists and suitcases to their rooms or to hotel’s services. The hotels in Samaná are served by the El Catey International Airport Juan Bosch (AZS) opened February 7th, 2007, but in service since November 6th, 2006. The airport is located about one hour of Gran Bahia Principe Cayacoa and hour and half from the Gran Bahia Principe El Portillo. This airport is new, air conditioned, offering several services, including a duty free shop, restaurant, VIP lounge and many more. Click HERE to see our photos of the airport and its services. The buses are comfortable with air conditioned. The roads to serve the hotels are paved. As some of these roads are messed up, there are many renovations of the roads in the peninsula. Within years, the transfer will probably be shorter and more pleasant. The travel documents are delivered to you, in the bus, during the transfer to the hotel. The purpose is to avoid waiting in line at the hotel lobby. You will find in the envelop, your color bracelet, labels (with your room numbers) for your suitcases, documents about the excursions available in Samaná and two magnetic cards. Your luggages will be transported directly to your room. You may relax and enjoy your vacation right after stepping out the bus! The meeting with your tour operator representative is usually the same day or the next morning if your flight arrived late in the day. Note the safety deposit boxes in rooms are not free. This is a fee of $ 4 per day. Click HERE to learn more about the Dominican Republic and the hotels.
Click the thumbnails to learn more about these hotels.
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The hotels of Samaná |
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295 rooms
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4 on 5
80% positive 
This hotel is located 45 minutes from the airport.
Gran Bahia Principe Samaná
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109 rooms
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This hotel is located 60 minutes from the airport.
Gran Bahia Principe Cayo Levantado
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193 rooms
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4½ on 5
This hotel is located 60 minutes from the airport (+ 5 minutes in boat).
Gran Bahia Principe El Portillo
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462 rooms
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This hotel is located 75 minutes from the airport.
Grand Paradise Samaná
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334 rooms
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3½ on 5
This hotel is located 90 minutes from the airport.
