Safe swimming beaches

We are spending two weeks on the North shore and would like to know of any beaches that are safe for novice swimmers. Many of the pictures that I have seen show beaches that seem to have a lot of undertow and or large waves. Thanks, and a Happy New Year to one and all.

Don't know any names, but look for beaches that have a
part "sealed off" by a half-circle of logs or similar.
They break the waves, almost eliminates the undertow and often
come with a shark-net underneath. Depends on how "novice" swimmer
you are. If very novice, I'd probably recommend a few days
practice in a pool before hitting "the real thing"! Notice
however that there are many places where you can "play" in the
water without any swimming capability whatsoever! There are
many dominicans who don't swim at all! Look for the places where
the children play, these are very calm. Even if I swim quite
good, I often go there, just to float, enjoy the sun, and maybe
have a "floating nap" after lunch... (The latter is not
really recommendable unless the part is sealed off. You may wake
up a little bit farther from the shore than you'd really wish.
Happened to me a few times in Miami, and it can be quite
exhausting to get back against an outward drift...)

Welcome here, and I hope you will have a wonderful stay!

/Gunnar

Depends what part of the north coast Rick,the beaches of Nagua (los gringos) and seems like the rest of them in that area are always a little rough especially for snorkeling but are not too bad for a novice swimmer.Las Terranas has fantastic beaches and in Samana there is a small beach which some locals use.On the way up to Las Galeras from Samana(20 min)you will find some of the best beaches in the DR,a sign will direct you to Playa Rincon(20-30min from main road) where fresh water runs into the sea and this is also a great beach and safe.But the one of the safest for a novice I think would be the beaches of Las Galeras.Check out Andy's"samana.net" website for more info on this area.Stay away from a beach off the main road to Las Galeras called Del Vallee,it has a bad rep

Good Luck

Sonny

The beach at Cayo Levantado is very nice to swim at on, and is well protected. This little island is worth taking a trip to even though it's near Samana. The beach at Playa Dorado is suitable for novice swimmer also.

And don't forget the best of all: Sosua