Travelling to SD

[Diana]

I will be in SD from Feb 23 to Mar 9, I have been to DR many times before, however never during Carnival. I have also read on the board that La Vega and Santiago are the places to be at this time. My questions are:
How far is Santiago or La Vega from SD and how far are these 2 places from each other?

Also I would like to make my way to Samana as I was doing a little researching and it looks beautiful. Since I'm there during whale-watching season, I really would like to see this place. I read that it is about 4 hrs away from SD. Is the best way to get there by bus? Or rent a car? (I heard it's a good idea to rent a jeep when in Samana-any suggestions?) And any recommendations on nice, affordable places to stay for a few days. During my seraches I came across bed and breakfast however no prices were listed.

Thanks for all your help.

[Dolores]

La Vega is but an hour's drive from Santo Domingo and a half an hour from Santiago, so you can make it a day trip. Lots of affordable hotels in Samana. The all-inclusive's like Portillo are also cheap. Samana is posting low occupancy because it depended a lot on the German market which is down because of the recession in Germany. We recommend you visit Samana with a vehicle such as a pick up or a jeep, especially if you will travel to Las Terrenas on the north side. For car rentals, we recommend our sponsor, National Car Rental at http://www.dr1.com/national
The road strip that gives Las Terrenas its charm is a sand road with ups and downs, difficult to navigate with a car.

For more information on carnival, Samana and whale watching see the following pages:

Carnival
http://www.dr1.com/calendar

Samana
http://dr1.com/travel/samana/

Whale-watching
http://dr1.com/travel/special/whales.shtml