Kat
Contributor
My boyfriend and I just returned from a short trip to DR.
Wed. Jan. 2nd, 2008
We flew from Chicago-O'Hare into the Punta Cana Airport. We had carry-on only and we were able to zip through the airport quickly. I have the packing down to a science now, I brought all my dive gear, except fins, as carry-on. As always, there are hordes of people waiting to assist you with transportation. Your best bet is to head to a reputable tour operator (Apple, Funjet,etc..) and ask for assistance. We were directed to a cab driver who wanted a $120 US for a taxi to Bayahibe. We got him down to $90 US.
We were staying in the village of Bayahibe. It's a small little fishing village with dirt roads. We checked into our little hotel with no problems. Then had a quick lunch at a little Pica Pollo restaurant, that had the best fried chicken. Two pieces of chicken & a huge helping of potatoes for $2.50 each. We then strolled over to Scuba Fun. SCUBAFUN Bayahibe, Dominican Republic
The owner John was great. We discussed the dive sites as well as local eateries, bus transportation and what not. My spanish is limited, so I was thrilled to find someone who spoke english. We set up our dives for the next day.
Thurs. Jan 3rd, 2008
The morning dives were booked solid, so we went out in the afternoon. Our first dive was the St. George Wreck. Very nice, with a couple of easy swim thrus. There were some fish around the outside of the wreck, and we did see a very large barracuda. We did about 35 min. with a max depth of 100ft. After our SI we dove the Dominicus Reef. It was a pleasant surprise. A shallow dive, with a very nice, healthy reef. Huge sea fans and coral. Many schools of various small caribbean fish. We also saw a gigantic lobster and a good sized green moray eel. We had a good 45 min on this reef.
For dinner we ate at small outside restaurant called the Especial Grill. It is a few doors down from the dive shop and the food is fantastic. The owners Charly & Anita are so nice. We ate dinner there every night, except one. We got there late on Friday night & there wasn't an empty seat and they were out of food.
Fri. Jan. 4th, 2008
We had no diving scheduled and slept so late that we even missed the breakfast served in our hotel.
We decided to go to the capital, Santo Domingo. We went by bus and it was a little tricky, as it took 3 different busses to get there. Once in the historical zone, we meet a gentleman named Donald. He was licensed by the tourism board & for $25 US we had a 45 minute walking tour. It was amazing to see buildings that were constructed in the late 1400's. The history was truly amazing. We didn't leave Santo Domingo until after 6PM and by the time we got to La Romano we had missed the last bus to Bayahibe. We caught a taxi for $21 & got dropped off in the little town square of Bayahibe.
Sat. Jan. 5th, 2008
We booked an all day dive trip. We had a combination of divers & snorkelers. We went out with 8 snorkelers and a young diver. The other diver was a young girl from Canada, who was doing her 1st dives since being OW certified. It was a fun group of people from different areas of the world. Our first stop was a snorkeling site near Saona Island. The water was a little rough for snorkeling, but it was enjoyable. I have not snorkeled in years & it really made me appreciate how much I love diving. We stopped for lunch at Saona Island, left the snorkelers there and then hit our first dive site called Rubin. A nice reef, where we saw a variety of fish. Another good sized lobster, a flounder and two huge eagle rays. An amazing dive! We had a bottom time of 40 min. at 80 ft. We returned to Saona Island to pick up our snorkelers and headed off to the 2nd dive, Penon III.
A nice shallow dive where we saw a seahorse, a couple crabs, a spotted eel and a medium sized sting ray. We only got in 45 min. as the young diver went through her tank quicker than us. Not a big deal, it was fun to see her enthusiasm and excitment about diving. She has tons of potential and her skills will improve with experience. (I have dove with people with more experience, who had far less skills than this young girl.)
That night we had dinner with her & her parents and they are wonderful people.
Sun. Jan 6th, 2008
Our last day. We decide take the bus back to the Punta Cana Airport. We left Bayahibe at 9AM and took 3 different busses. We get dropped off at 11:45 in front of the airport, for less than $10 each.
This was a great little trip. My only complaint about the whole trip was the roosters. They start crowing at 3:30A and never shut up. There is a group of 5 - 7 who are just obnoxious. It was impossible to sleep.
We loved the dive shop, Scuba Fun and our DM's Oscar & Cedric were really terrific. We were able to pick the dive sites where we wanted to dive.
I plan on returning to dive again in Bayahibe. It is truly a hidden gem.
Wed. Jan. 2nd, 2008
We flew from Chicago-O'Hare into the Punta Cana Airport. We had carry-on only and we were able to zip through the airport quickly. I have the packing down to a science now, I brought all my dive gear, except fins, as carry-on. As always, there are hordes of people waiting to assist you with transportation. Your best bet is to head to a reputable tour operator (Apple, Funjet,etc..) and ask for assistance. We were directed to a cab driver who wanted a $120 US for a taxi to Bayahibe. We got him down to $90 US.
We were staying in the village of Bayahibe. It's a small little fishing village with dirt roads. We checked into our little hotel with no problems. Then had a quick lunch at a little Pica Pollo restaurant, that had the best fried chicken. Two pieces of chicken & a huge helping of potatoes for $2.50 each. We then strolled over to Scuba Fun. SCUBAFUN Bayahibe, Dominican Republic
The owner John was great. We discussed the dive sites as well as local eateries, bus transportation and what not. My spanish is limited, so I was thrilled to find someone who spoke english. We set up our dives for the next day.
Thurs. Jan 3rd, 2008
The morning dives were booked solid, so we went out in the afternoon. Our first dive was the St. George Wreck. Very nice, with a couple of easy swim thrus. There were some fish around the outside of the wreck, and we did see a very large barracuda. We did about 35 min. with a max depth of 100ft. After our SI we dove the Dominicus Reef. It was a pleasant surprise. A shallow dive, with a very nice, healthy reef. Huge sea fans and coral. Many schools of various small caribbean fish. We also saw a gigantic lobster and a good sized green moray eel. We had a good 45 min on this reef.
For dinner we ate at small outside restaurant called the Especial Grill. It is a few doors down from the dive shop and the food is fantastic. The owners Charly & Anita are so nice. We ate dinner there every night, except one. We got there late on Friday night & there wasn't an empty seat and they were out of food.
Fri. Jan. 4th, 2008
We had no diving scheduled and slept so late that we even missed the breakfast served in our hotel.
We decided to go to the capital, Santo Domingo. We went by bus and it was a little tricky, as it took 3 different busses to get there. Once in the historical zone, we meet a gentleman named Donald. He was licensed by the tourism board & for $25 US we had a 45 minute walking tour. It was amazing to see buildings that were constructed in the late 1400's. The history was truly amazing. We didn't leave Santo Domingo until after 6PM and by the time we got to La Romano we had missed the last bus to Bayahibe. We caught a taxi for $21 & got dropped off in the little town square of Bayahibe.
Sat. Jan. 5th, 2008
We booked an all day dive trip. We had a combination of divers & snorkelers. We went out with 8 snorkelers and a young diver. The other diver was a young girl from Canada, who was doing her 1st dives since being OW certified. It was a fun group of people from different areas of the world. Our first stop was a snorkeling site near Saona Island. The water was a little rough for snorkeling, but it was enjoyable. I have not snorkeled in years & it really made me appreciate how much I love diving. We stopped for lunch at Saona Island, left the snorkelers there and then hit our first dive site called Rubin. A nice reef, where we saw a variety of fish. Another good sized lobster, a flounder and two huge eagle rays. An amazing dive! We had a bottom time of 40 min. at 80 ft. We returned to Saona Island to pick up our snorkelers and headed off to the 2nd dive, Penon III.
A nice shallow dive where we saw a seahorse, a couple crabs, a spotted eel and a medium sized sting ray. We only got in 45 min. as the young diver went through her tank quicker than us. Not a big deal, it was fun to see her enthusiasm and excitment about diving. She has tons of potential and her skills will improve with experience. (I have dove with people with more experience, who had far less skills than this young girl.)
That night we had dinner with her & her parents and they are wonderful people.
Sun. Jan 6th, 2008
Our last day. We decide take the bus back to the Punta Cana Airport. We left Bayahibe at 9AM and took 3 different busses. We get dropped off at 11:45 in front of the airport, for less than $10 each.
This was a great little trip. My only complaint about the whole trip was the roosters. They start crowing at 3:30A and never shut up. There is a group of 5 - 7 who are just obnoxious. It was impossible to sleep.
We loved the dive shop, Scuba Fun and our DM's Oscar & Cedric were really terrific. We were able to pick the dive sites where we wanted to dive.
I plan on returning to dive again in Bayahibe. It is truly a hidden gem.
