Places to stay in La Roma

[fladrifter]

Hola,
Would like to know some reasonable places to stay in and around La Roma area. Looking to do some snorkeling and sight seeing. Am familiar with North Coast but not South. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Mike

[drloca]

I assume you are referring to La Romana.

Have done some great snorkelling at both Saona Island and Catalina Island, both of which are accessible from the La Romana area.


You could also visit Altos de Chavon.

[Chirimoya]

The impressive Cueva de las Maravillas is between La Romana and San Pedro.

Bayahibe is a nice beach/resort area nearby. There have been some threads in the past with accommodation suggestions in La Romana city itself, but depending on your needs it might be better to choose one of the hotels in Bayahibe.

[fladrifter]

Yes, I did mean La Romana. Sorry I get ahead of myself. thanks for the info, from what I've read it seemed like the two Islands and Bayahibe were the places to go. Thanks for insight on Cueva de las Maravillas. Much appreciated.

[Kaki]

Are you looking for an all-inclusive or a smaller hotel? I have recommendations of both!

For the village of Bayahibe, you can access one of two public beaches in the village, or go 10 minutes further down the coast to Dominicus and the public beach there. You can snorkel from all of these locations with better and worse success, and the beaches are different too. There is one small beach which might be extremely private (with only you on it), one is wider and one is deeper. The water usage is different and the sand is different too.

If you think that you will find great snorkeling anywhere you stop at Catalina and Saona Islands, you could be setting yourself up for disappointment. I would toss Catalinita Island into the mix as having potentially the best of the three, and then certain reef areas off the south coast of Saona Island. But if you go with one of the bulk tours to Saona, you won't likely stop where the best reefs are because they stop where the large catamarans can anchor. Find a tour that will take you to Canton de la Playa. There are two prime areas for snorkeling at Catalina: the Wall and the Aquarium. The Wall is a deepwater reef, in the deep water. The boat you are in will have to know the area. Some people like to hire a local with a boat to take them to Saona or to duplicate a guided tour with more zest and for less money. That can work in some instances if you find one who knows where to head.

I have a favourite company for land and sea tours. I haven't done them all, but I am intrigued by most. Seavis Bayahibe has a tour which takes you to the Caves and to La Romana and Altos de Chavon. A bit of everything! They do a Two Island snorkel tour to Catalinita and Saona Islands, and a Saona VIP stopping at Canton de la Playa as well as the Piscina Natural (a common stop provided on all tours) and a run through the mangrove forest. They use a small boat and max out the tour at 15 people. Timing can be dictated by those on the tour, staying for longer in one area if desired, or cutting beach time short to enable a ride from Catalina Island up the Chavon River.

I have an album of pictures of Bayahibe (including where I was staying at the guesthouse "Villa Iguana") posted at Villa Iguana and Bayahibe, Dominican Republic January, 2008 pictures, photos, and videos, from caribbean on webshots From that album you can see other collections showing the all-inclusives Sunscape Casa del Mar and the Viva Wyndham Dominicus property.

It's easy to get public transportation from Bayahibe to Dominicus and back again, as well as to and from La Romana. That drive takes about 25 minutes and there is a lot to see within that distance which might have you looking for a cab. Cueva de las Maravillas is about 20 minutes on the other side of La Romana, 45 minutes from Bayahibe.

If you scroll through them, there are pictures of a trip I took to Catalina Island and snorkeling at both Catalinita and Saona in my collection too.
Kaki

[fladrifter]

Thanks Kaki. Much appreciated. Was told to stay in Juan Dolio instead of La Romana but now I'm kindda going between Boca Chica and Bayahibe. I assume the snorkeling is better in the Bayahibe area, is this so? Might just end up winging it and not making reservations as there seems to be availability in both places. Would really like to do the caves from what I've read, even tho I'm not a cave type person. Thanks for the information.