Samana, Las Galeras and Las Terrenas Real Estate and Vacation Properties
The province of Samana is located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in the northeastern part of the Dominican Republic. It is known for its mountains of which it is almost entirely formed. Samaná has numerous beaches, and with the 6 November 2006 opening of the new Samana El Catey International Airport it is bound to become one of major tourist destinations in the Dominican Republic.
Samaná is considered one of the most beautiful areas of the Dominican Republic, yet remains one of the least known by Dominican natives in general and foreign visitors in particular. Its tourist industry has not yet exploited the full potential of its location: the tropical forests, coconut groves, hundreds of cozy alcove beaches with turquoise crystal clear waters, waterfalls, protected national parks, a protected bay, a peninsula.
The bay of Samana is one of the breeding places of the humpback whale. Thousands of humpback whales come to the coast off Samaná from January to March. There are many boat excursions during this time to get a glimpse of the humpback whale babies and their parents lobing their tails and breaching must meters from the tourist-filled boats.
A toll highway connecting the Samaná peninsula to Santo Domingo was finally opened to the public in 2008. It halved the driving time from 4 hours to 1.5 hours as it is a straight 120 kilometres (75 mi), connecting from just east of Santo Domingo (near the SDQ airport) to just west of Sanchez. There is a significant tourist development evident throughout the Samaná peninsula, particularly that of large all-inclusive resorts, in anticipation of the increased tourism to follow the road's completion as well as an influx of Samana real estate possibilites.
The province of Samana hosts the sea side town of Santa Barbara de Samana (commonly referred to asSamana). It is situated on the Bahia de Samana (Bay of Samana). Since 2005, it has evolved into a cruise-ship stopover port, and therefore has exploded the local tourism. Samana town has numerous hotels and restaurants, however, it isn't known for its beaches and now is one of the busiest places in the world to observe the humpback whales in their natural environment.
Further around the Samana peninsula is the small fishing village of Las Galeras.Those who like small village life will fall in love with the coconut plantations, numerous secluded and private beaches and the tropical lushness of the hills that are prevalent throughout this region. Las Galeras is known for its beaches. Pure white sand, turquoise waters and are hailed as the most gorgeous in all of the Dominican Republic. Most will vote that Playa Rincon is the crown jewel in all of the beaches in this area. Conde Nast voted Playa Rincon as one of the top 10 beaches in the world. Today the area of Las Galeras remains quaint and fairly unspoiled. There are a few small hotels and restaurants in Las Galeras. The Las Galeras real estate market is still in its infancy state, however there are properties that are available to buy.
Las Terrenas is the busiest area on the Samana Penninsula and in Samana Province. Miles of beaches adjacent hotels, restaurants and private condo developments, most have been built in the last 5 years since the opening of the Samana El Catey International Airport. Las Terrenas has a bustling expat community, mainly from European countries like France, Italy and Switzerland who arrived in the 70's and who have lent the area a unique flair and have offered the tourists plenty of options.
There is shopping, restaurants of every cuisine imaginable, Sports and recreation, nightlife and many accommodation options from the very economical to 5 star luxury. We see big things happening in this area in the future with regards to the Las Terrenas real estate market. Beautiful villas and estates have been built in Las Terrenas as well as many condo developments in the last 5 years improving the Las Terrenas real estate market.
