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Rustic Samana & Las Terrenas
Board your transportation for a sightseeing tour of Samana city. Your first stop will be at La Chorcha, an old building built in England to house the freed North American congregation in the 1860s. Next, you'll head to a small exhibition featuring the skeletal remains of a humpback whale. You will learn some of the mysteries and habits of the whale, which makes an annual pilgrimage very near to the shores of Samana. Leaving Samana town behind, and on your way to Las Terrenas village, you will make a brief stop at a typical, rustic cigar factory where you can watch as the famous cigars are hand-rolled. You will also have a photo stop featuring the north coast of Samana. Once at Las Terrenas, well-known for its sand-floor and beach side café's and bars, you will receive a brief orientation. You will then enjoy a rum-tasting featuring the famous Dominican rums. You will learn a bit about the rum production process before delighting in the results of the process. You will then have free-time to relax, take a dip in the sea or stroll the sand streets and visit the small shops before returning to the port.
Note: Many of the shops at Las Terrenas are closed on Sundays. We recommend you wear comfortable walking shoes. Wear your swimsuit and bring a towel. Bring cash to purchase drinks or souvenirs at Las Terrenas.
Average:
(5 Reviews) 5
Rating Snapshot (5 reviews)
5 stars
0
4 stars
2
3 stars
0
2 stars
2
1 star
1
1 of 5(20%)customers would recommend this to a friend.
Customer Reviews for Rustic Samana & Las Terrenas
Review 1 for Rustic Samana & Las Terrenas
Overall:
Historical:
2
out of
5
Cultural:
3
out of
5
Entertaining:
2
out of
5
Cultural/Educational:
2
out of
5
OceanGirl59
Location:Warwick, RI
Party size:2
I traveled with:Family
Cruise Date Month:April
Cruise Date Year:2013
Favorite activities:Relaxing
Favorite port:St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
I want to go here next:Caribbean
Date:April 24, 2013
Should have gone to the beach!
Having never been to Samana before, we thought it would be good to take a tour to see some of the country. The tour we took was rather boring. The first stop was a tiny whale museum, basically one room with some pictures and bones. The second stop was a cigar rolling demo, not too bad, mildy entertaining. The next stop was in the fishing village where we had lunch on our own. Not a lot of shopping around the area and actually kind of scary to go too far from the group. We should have gone to the beach instead.
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Review 2 for Rustic Samana & Las Terrenas
Overall:
Historical:
3
out of
5
Cultural:
1
out of
5
Entertaining:
1
out of
5
Cultural/Educational:
2
out of
5
Fishingron
Location:Montreal
Party size:1
I traveled with:Family
Cruise Date Month:April
Cruise Date Year:2013
Favorite activities:Educational
Date:April 12, 2013
Boring
Besides seeing the whale bones, everything else was boring. If you are a smoker you will get to try a cigar. However most of our excursions were non-smokers. At the cigar hut they have you sit on benches and try to make you buy their local crafts. Country is very poor. Children are begging for a Dollar to have their picture taken with you.
Stops are frequent in order to take pictures of your cruise ship.
5 hours are too long and definitely not worth the money.
Stops are frequent in order to take pictures of your cruise ship.
5 hours are too long and definitely not worth the money.
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Review 3 for Rustic Samana & Las Terrenas
Overall:
Historical:
4
out of
5
Cultural/Educational:
5
out of
5
Merlin
Cruise Date Month:February
I want to go here next:Hawaii
Date:March 3, 2012
Insightful
A vey good tour of a poor area. The old church was a beautiful building for its location. The whale museum was small; its landscaping was beautiful. We were taken to a community market where we were given rum punch and fresh fruit. You could purchase cigars, chocolate, and jewelry made by locals. Las Terrenas was gorgeous. We were given 45 minutes to explore on our own. Our guide Uby was very good.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Review 4 for Rustic Samana & Las Terrenas
Overall:
Historical:
4
out of
5
Cultural:
3
out of
5
Cultural/Educational:
4
out of
5
CruisinMaterial
Location:Merrimack Valley, MA
Party size:1
I traveled with:Friends
Cruise Date Month:January
Favorite activities:Adventure
Favorite port:Barcelona, Spain - as a debark (Gem)
I want to go here next:Caribbean
Date:January 25, 2012
Rustic is the word for this...
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From the ship we boarded an open air tender boat headed to Samana. The ship had anchored far from the Samana tender pier so the ride was long. The wind was kicking up the water and the waves were splashing into the tender boat soaking people, myself included. Upon arrival to the pier we were escorted into a tour bus and whisked off to two sites in Samana. The first was a very “rustic” church (emphasis on rust). The second stop was at a very small whale museum which featured a replica of a humpback whale’s skeleton mouth. After this it was off to a small stop at a flea market where cigars and Mahogany wood carvings were sold. This was on a bumpy road but the bumpiness was a very short distance, probably less than 1 mile. The rest of the ride was very smooth to Las Terrenas.
Upon arrival at Las Terrenas we were spun off on our own and given a rendezvous time. The guide brought us to a restaurant which was suggested by the tour operator or we could venture off on our own. I had forgotten my sunglasses at home so I used this opportunity to shop for some cheap ones. That mission was accomplished at then we went to one of the beach side bars named Paco Cabana. It was beach-side and it was very homely with wicker furniture and comfy sofa pads and excellent views. The drink prices were very reasonable but the change was given in pesos. After the re-boarding the bus it was back off to Samana and the tender ride back to the ship. Overall it was a great tour. Las Tarrenas is a great place to go as there are many shops, local eateries and artists around.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Review 5 for Rustic Samana & Las Terrenas
Overall:
Historical:
1
out of
5
Cultural:
1
out of
5
Entertaining:
1
out of
5
Cultural/Educational:
1
out of
5
funtimes69
Location:New York
Party size:2
I traveled with:Family
Cruise Date Month:November
Cruise Date Year:2011
Favorite activities:Family oriented
I want to go here next:Caribbean
Date:November 17, 2011
Don't do it!
This was our first stop on our Caribbean tour and the area is definitely not ready for tours. The tendering was fine, but the actual tour...horrible. We spent 20 minutes at a "whale" museum where nothing was in English so we had absolutely no idea what we were looking at....Our guide had already given us all the information on the bus and then repeated it in the museum...almost word for word. The stop at the "cigar" factory was somewhat interesting. Our stop at the beach was just that...we were dumped on the beach and then told we can swim. The thought of riding back in our suits just wasn't appealing. It was a very long tour through very winding roads...again not that that is a problem, but when it was all said and done, a total waste of time.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.
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