Playa Rincón and Las Galeras

Playa Rincón runs for about three kilometres along the north side of the Samaná peninsula, backed by a wall of coconut palms with a green mountain ridge behind and, at the western end, a cold freshwater river that comes out of the forest and runs across the sand into the sea, so you can swim in the sea and then rinse in the river a few metres away. It is regularly named among the finest beaches in the Caribbean and is still largely undeveloped, with a handful of shacks selling grilled fish at the eastern end and nothing at all along the rest. Las Galeras, the village at the end of the road, is the base for it.

What you actually see

• The three-kilometre beach - pale sand backed by dense coconut palms.
• The freshwater river - cold water crossing the sand at the west end.
• The fish shacks - grilled catch at the eastern end.
• Las Galeras - the small village at the end of the peninsula road.

When to go

December to April is drier and calmer, and overlaps with the whale season in Samaná Bay. The boat from Las Galeras is the easy way in; the land track is rough. Weekends bring Dominican families to the eastern end, leaving the rest empty.

Honest expectations

The land route is a rough track that needs four-wheel drive and is often worse than described; most visitors take the boat, which is cancelled in swell. There are no facilities beyond the fish shacks at one end, no lifeguard and limited shade. Currents at the far end can be strong.

Nearby

Playa Frontón and Playa Madama are along the same coast; Samaná town is an hour west.