Things to Do in Las Galeras.

Playa Rincón — the famous one: 3 km of pale sand and palms, about twenty minutes by boat or thirty by 4x4 on the dirt track. Beach shacks serve fresh fish at the western end.

Playa Frontón and Playa Madama — under the cliffs east of the village, no road at all. Twenty minutes by boat, or an hour on foot from Boca del Diablo. Frontón has the best snorkelling on this coast.

Playita and Playa Grande — walking distance from the village, and where most boats leave from. Playita is the sunset beach.

Playa Colorada, Playa Bremen, Las Tortugas, Playa Ermitaño — the smaller coves, usually strung together as a "seven beaches" boat trip or a guided coastal walk.

Boat trips out of Las Galeras start around USD $30 per person for a shared morning of three beaches, and run to about $97 for a private boat for two. Horseback or walking routes to the nearer beaches start around $25 for an hour.

Cabo Cabrón National Park — the headland east of the village, with boat-and-hike trips out to Las Pozas, the three natural pools in the rock.

Boca del Diablo — a blowhole where the Atlantic forces itself up through a hole in the cliff. It is the start of the flat hour-long trail to Frontón, and the photo stop of the day.

Diving — Las Galeras has the peninsula's dive centre, working the walls around Cabo Cabrón. Around $73 for a dive.

The long hikes — the seven-beaches trek with the Cueva de Duarte, and the 11 km climb up Loma Pilón de Azúcar in the Sierra de Samaná, both with certified local guides.

Quads and buggies — self-drive rental from about $45, or guided days taking in the old marble mine, the blowhole and Rincón.

The village is small, so most people mix beach days with one or two trips out:

El Limón waterfall — on foot or on horseback to the 40-metre fall, about $65–90 including transport.

Los Haitises and Cayo Levantado — the mangrove-and-limestone national park by catamaran, usually bundled with the island. Around $75.

El Valle — a wild beach on the far side of the sierra, best in a 4x4, sometimes combined with the zipline.

Whale watching, January to March — humpbacks come into Samaná Bay to mate and calve. Trips run from Samaná town with pickup in Las Galeras, around $81.

Las Galeras sits at the end of the road east of Samaná town — about forty minutes by car or taxi, or a shared *guagua* from the Samaná bus stop. From Las Terrenas it is roughly an hour and a half. Punta Cana and Santo Domingo are both long transfers; see the transfer guide for times and prices.

How long: two nights covers Rincón and one boat trip. Four nights lets you add Frontón and Madama, a hike or a dive, and a day trip to El Limón or Los Haitises.

Do you need a car? No, and most visitors do not have one. The village is walkable, boats leave from the beach, and operators collect you. A car or quad only helps if you want to reach Rincón by land or explore El Valle.

Best months: December to April is driest and calmest for the boats. Whale season is mid-January to late March.