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No advice, just a question (and something that might be worth considering) about the city of Samaná: with the fabulous newly renovated malecón, and other construction (a cruise ship dock and highway widening, I think??), it seems like there must be big plans for the place. It's a very small town and I wonder what the thinking is on how / how well it's likely to absorb the increased tourist traffic? Personally, I really like how it is now, though I'm sure any future added jobs will fill a need. I wonder how the changes will be managed,

Las Terranas lots of new construction happening

@DRVisitor

And infrastructure has not kept pace! LT has major issues with electricity, water supply, and traffic.

@Steverino7777

I don't know much about the areas in Samana outside of Las Terrenas. I have heard from folks in Samana town and Las Galleras that they have to come to Las Terrenas for shopping. There are colmados and small grocery stores elsewhere, but for weekly shopping, they drive to LT.

During high season, the streets in LT and the store aisles get pretty busy.

If you have any specific questions about LT, let me know!

@ddmcghee

What are the new developments doing? Using existing? expanding?

@DRVisitor

Using existing! So more homes, apartments, and hotels with the same electricity, water supply, and roads.

Never good as here they are always behind the actuaL demand.

The new Marriott hotel here has had its opening delayed several times. I know for sure that the first delay (of the March 2025 opening) was because a planned update to the sewage system on Playa Ballenas was never done. The city provided pipes for them to connect the hotel's sewage to, but those pipes went nowhere! All that sewage would have been in the ground, leaching into the street, the beach, and the ocean.

They were supposed to open in July, then September, and their website is now showing November. Hopefully, they get the 💩 sorted by then!

@ddmcghee

Are there affordable 1 bedroom / studio apts for rent seasonally? We currently rent a 4 bedroom villa in Buena Vista Norte for $1000 /mth.

I am not looking for ocean front or ocean view for that matter. Just affordable, clean safe accommodations for 7 months each year. I am thinking about $500 / mth

@wondering9

Do you live in Samana?

@Steverino not yet -- still bouncing around -- but strongly considering it. Walked the "bridge to nowhere" in the rain on Tuesday and let an overly persuasive street dog talk me out of my french fries on the malecón. The place has definitely got personality. And you can cross the street (most places) without risking your life🤣

@wondering9

It sounds very different from Las Terrenas. More laid back, quieter, off the beaten path so to speak. And then there is the road heading east and then north up the end of the penninsula to Las Geleras. That region looks interesting to me. I assume there are beaches and small communities along that road. Have been up there/

@Steverino7777

I'm not sure what apartments are currently renting for. I have a friend with an apartment that is very reasonable. We used one of her apartments for a recent clothing swap, and it looked nice. I'll PM you a link to a listing. She built a property that has a colmado and a small cafe on the ground floor, then two apartments above.

@ddmcghee

I would appreciate it.....

@Steverino7777

Hi - we lived for a year in Cabarete before moving to the City of Samana (NOT Las Terrenas). It is rustic and not as developed as Las Terrenas, but the jungle Peninsula has a "last frontier" charm.  You have to put up with the usual electricity and water issues prevalent in much of the DR, but the friendly people and natural beauty make up for those issues.

We were considering Las Terrenas,  but after an up close look for the last 3 years, we are quite glad we avoided it. LT has many attractive condo  complexes and adequate shopping. But, downtown is a nightmare,  When you scratch the surface and examine the infrastructure,  given the overdevelopment, it is a disaster waiting to happen. Prices there are through the roof

We have reasonable real estate rental and sales prices in Eastern Samana  and no major crises in infrastructure looming.   IM me if you nee more info.

@wondering9

We live here and you make a point about the "one road" issue. But, we don't have the throngs of people like Cabarete (terrible one road issues) or Las Terrenas.

The cruise ships are in one day and gone.  They affect us very little.

@snowinpalm actually I was not asking about current conditions but about the upgrades and expansions and what they might portend for the future. People don't sink that much money and effort into projects unless they expect them to change something, and I wonder how well that change will be managed.

Not sure what a one-road issue is. Does that relate to traffic? Evacuation routes? Something else?

@snowinpalm

I sent you a PM

Samana has no personality and it is ugly to me and not personal at all. I could not live there. Las Terrenas has so many places to go to. New constructions is worrisome but that was to be expected. I am from New York City and the traffic at Las Terrenas seems not to be an issue from my perspective. A motor bike is all you need. You do not really need a car to get around. You can also pay $1.00 and get a motorcycle transportation. There are many beautiful beach and the restaurants facing the beach are still small / local that give you the feeling of being in the island.

@berthold24

Thank you for this helpful information.  I will spend 5 nights on the penninsula in November including 2 nights in Las Terrenas as I explore my options. I have been there before but that was 5 years ago. There is a building boom all over the country these days and I understand the noise / crowding that is a part of the D.R.

I look forward to exploring the city and numerous beaches more closely then......

@wondering9

One road = only way through the city. Causes bottlenecks and slow traffic.