I plan to stay in Bayahide next weekend.

Can anyone share any information/experiences? I've read all LRM trip reports of the last two years, but I'm hoping someone might have an update.

Bayahibe is a very small beach town 15-20 minutes east of La Romana (10-15 minutes east of LRM airport). There is guagua service (vans that locals take) every 30 minutes on the hour and half-hour for 35p, with the last van at 7p. After that, it’s taxi (see taxi section of my post). The town is about 5 blks by 3 blks, with everything really on a 3-blk stretch of a main dirt road, and some places on the beach. The place is completely safe as it’s a small town.


Bayahibe Hotels

There are three or four all-inclusive resorts: Casa del Mar (or Casa Marina?), and in Dominicus the Coral Canoa (Hilton), Iberostar something, and Dominicus something (Palace?). I avoided these, as they don’t allow a girl to visit unless you pay her entry, which implicitly includes all meals, activities, etc. so it’s about US$100 extra for a guest or a double room! In addition, these places are removed from the main town (Casa del Mar by a 10-15 minute walk, the places in Dominicus by a 10 minute taxi/shuttle ride) and I prefer to be centrally located vs. secluded. Last, the resorts do have much nicer beaches – in fact, the main Bayahibe beach is a little to “local” and not so attractive – but I’m not really a beach person and I was on a boat each day. But, if you want that catered beach experience (like Rio or Cartegena(?)) – drink service at your chair, all amenities right there, maybe even a pool – you’ll need to go the resort route.

I found two great hotel options right in town. I used the Hotel Bayahibe, it was the first place I found and it was nice enough for me as I was alone (nice enough to bring a girl back to). The Villa Iguana is brand new and really nice (still a B&B type place), a better option if you are traveling as a couple, or like something nicer, and it is a block and a half removed from the main street.

Hotel Bayahibe
833-0159, cell 224-5804
hotelbayahibe@hotmail.com (no website)
1,000p with A/C, 750p w/o A/C – may change in seasons?
Rooms have nice tile floor, good furniture and small refrigerator; beds a touch better than a Rio apartment (but not great pillows); most rooms have a small balcony and good multiple setting A/C; two internet computers in lobby with I’d guess 50k connections. I was in room 207.

Villa Iguana
757-1059, 833-0203
www.villaiguana.de
mail@villaiguana.de
US$29 - price is fixed in dollars but may change in seasons
The couple that owns the Scuba Fun dive shop runs this hotel. It is new and very nice, the best non-resort option for accomodations. The website has photos and information.


Bayahibe Restaurants

The food is not the greatest in this little town. There are seafood options, but I didn’t think anyone did a great job of making dishes. I found many places that would make me a smoothie, as there are a lot of fresh fruits, although naturally I had to coach them on how to make it the way I liked it... but that’s the same in most all places. Also, the same and other places will do fresh juices.

Issa Mar

This place is on the main beach, next to Leidy restaurant, and just west of the internet/telephone place located at the point. I ate twice at Issa Mar and once at Leidy – they were pretty comparable but a number of people told me Issa Mar was better. I remember that I twice had Calamari entrée (Creole, pan-grilled, fried or garlic) with side (fries, plantains or rice) and fresh juice or soda for about 300p. Fish would have been 50-100p more, with two types of fish.

Jardin (or something like that)

I never ate here, but I heard it was the best food in town, and in a nice garden setting. It is slightly more expensive, but a better option for steak and chicken and not as good as Issa Mar for fish – I was told.


Bayahibe Bars

I only spent one night out in Bayahibe (you need to go to La Romana) as Friday night is the only real night with some action.

Big Sur Bar

There is a party here every Friday night, and it actually compares favorably with what you find in LRM. Of course, it’s not like El Deseo, but if you realize that you can pick up a girl in any bar/disco in LRM, the same is true for this Friday night party. I paid no cover, and the party doesn’t start until midnight.


Bayahibe dive shops/operators

I had done some research before traveling, but I basically found the same two shops I have read of, and stumbled across one additional shop. You may also be able to dive without a shop, without a guide, but I didn’t pursue that. Note, all dive shops charged in US$, so if you are paying in pesos or with a CC (which is of course in pesos) you’ll be hit by the dive shops exchange rate which is awful (Daniel was using 47p/US$ when the market rate was 42p/US$ - so bring US$ to pay! All shops pretty much visit the same dive sites, and do the same tours/plans to the nearby islands (for divers, snorkellers, and tourists).

Casa Daniel
833-0010, 833-0050
www.casa-daniel.de
casa-daniel@gmx.net

US$32 (more or less) per tank, about US$50 add-on for tour dive plans/tours (Catalinita or Catalina Islands).

This was my favorite shop. They had the friendliest staff, and the dive masters were very good, I especially like Elan. I dove with Daniel Friday (Catalinita tour – deeper dive at shark point site, followed by lunch on Saona Island, followed by shallow dive at Peñon site in the national park) and Sunday (St. Georges wreck dive). My only complaint was that on Sunday they packed the boat with too many divers, which made it uncomfortable – not a problem for me, as I’m an avid boater, but not what a vacationer would like to have.

Scuba Fun Dive Center
833-0003, 771-4822
www.scubafun.info
scubafun_de@yahoo.de

US$32 per tank, US$35 add-on for Catalina plan/tour, US$50 add-on for Catalinita plan/tour.

I dove with Scuba Fun on Saturday. It didn’t go great, but it was passable. We did the Catalina Island tour, first doing deeper dive at The Wall. After a stop on the island, we did a shallow dive at The Aquarium. Both sites are nice, but our guide had never been to the latter, and he got lost. Worse, he couldn’t speak good Spanish, and the boat captain only spoke Spanish! It was only me and another diver, the guide and the captain, and luckily the captain allowed us to burn our 1000lbs back at the main reef – but the dive shop should never have given us this dive master!

Scuba Caribe

This shop is located on the beach within the Casa del Mar (Casa Marina?) resort property on the east side of Bayahibe. I visited and spoke with them – but you will have difficulties access the resort property if you are not a guest. You may be able to phone them (I’ve seen web pages with their info and story posts) and gain access. But all the shops visit the same dive sites more or less.


Bayahibe internet and phones

The best place is the ADSL internet and phone place at the point. This is between the beach and the town, just ask and all will know it. Internet is 70p per half-hour (I also used the internet in the Hotel Bayahibe for US$1/30min and US$2/hr). Calling local numbers (LRM, cellular or Santo Domingo) is only 5p/min, and to the US is only 9p/min. You can call all countries from here. This place had better rates than other options I believe.

Here's photos of my room at the Hotel Bayahibe:

I would add a few things to the above posts. There is an open bar (looks like a bamboo corral) right across the road (or is that a path?) from Casa Daniel at the far east end of Bayahibe. This place isn't always open, but whenever it is, it's got freelancers working there. The owner of the bar lives in the house directly south of Casa Daniels, so if the bar isn't open, you can tell her you are looking for some female company and she will arrange it for you. When I was there last (2003), it was 500 pesos for short time with them, but they may ask to stay with you overnight for no extra (maybe some breakfast). These are local girls (4-7 for the most part), and they are, for the most part, amateurs. If you venture out into the countryside in this area, you will see why they are willing to do anything to make a few extra pesos (talk about dirt poor).

Do NOT drink anything in this town that doesn't come from a bottle that is opened in front of you. Drink from the bottle, not from a glass. I got Cholera the last time I was in Bayahibe from drinking from a glass with ice. Although Cholera symptoms can be treated so that nobody dies from this disease, I will tell you that its not very comfortable. If you do get it while you're in a third-world country, pour a packet of salt and two packets of sugar into a bottle of water and shake until everything is dissolved. That solution will keep you from getting dehydrated (which is what kills people with this disease). Just keep drinking this solution until you get back home where you can see a decent doctor. The local kids around Bayahibe swim in the cave where the town water supply comes from and the purification system is obviously inadequate and its pretty clear why Cholera is present.

The second thing is that Casa Daniels also has rooms. They are cheap, but really small and bad (you have to go outside to get to the bathroom and shower). The windows are just louvers with no glass. Stay away from them. Unless you're a looney planet type, you won't be comfortable staying there. I recommend the Hotel Bayahibe. It's nice and guest-friendly.