Your Trip to the Dominican Republic is Incomplete without a stop at Playa Fronton.

June 27, 2024 by Monique Williams Leave a Comment

We all have this one photo of one destination saved in our “favorites folder”. We stumbled upon this photo after hours of endless scrolling on Instagram and Pinterest. This photo has made it to our vision boards, group chats and our dreams. For me, this photo was of Playa Fronton.

Playa Fronton

The Journey to Playa Fronton.

It was a Friday morning, grogginess still plastered on my face from all of the traveling that occurred a day prior. The taste of Presidentes and tostones still on my tongue from a late night rendezvous.

Peep the Mamajuana.

Awoken by the smell of bush tea being made, I quickly checked the time on my phone and hopped out of bed. Since we wanted to be at Playa Fronton a bit early, we had to get moving. Bush tea guzzled, car packed, it was time to hit the road.

Bush tea for the soul.

Playa Fronton is located in Las Galeras, which is on the most eastern point of the Samana Peninsula. Because we were staying in the beach town of Las Terrenas, which is on the most western side of the Samana Peninsula, we had a 1 hour and 50 minute drive ahead of us.

The beauty of the Samana Peninsula left me stuttering throughout this drive. Towering coconut trees, young children roaming the streets with their best friends, papi cooking up something on the side of the road. It was a sense of peacefulness you can only get from an island. A peacefulness that has been missing from my life. Entertained by conversations and the many towns we passed along the way, 2 hours of driving seemed like nothing. I mean, not like I was driving or anything.

Our first stop was at La Playita in Las Galeras. The thing about Playa Fronton is that it is only accessible by a 20 minute boat ride or a 2 hour hike. My eyes darted haphazardly as I searched for the dive center. It was a fight between finding where I needed to be, the diving center and where I wanted to be, the gorgeous blue waters in the distance.

La Playita.

After staring at the ocean intensely, a local couple started to appear in the corner of my eye. It was Robin and Raquel of Playita Scuba Diving. After a brief conversation in spanglish outlining where we will be going, we grabbed our stuff and headed to this small fiberglass boat.

Heading to the boat!

A quintessential Dominican man was leaned up against the fiberglass boat. A true island man with mannerisms of a capybara. Vicente greeted us with the biggest smile I have ever seen, helped us into the little blue boat and we begun our final leg to my dream destination.

Vicente and the little blue boat.

Playa Fronton.

20 minutes on the water instantly cured me. At that moment, it did not matter how early I got up. It did not matter that I embarked on a two hour drive just to feel what I felt in that moment. It was all worth it. The journey was all worth it. As the Late Anthony Bourdain once said, “The journey is part of the experience — an expression of the seriousness of one’s intent…” And boy, was I serious.

Insane views.

It’s one thing to watch countless content about one of your dream destinations. Experiencing it is another. The untouched beauty was unlike anything I have ever seen. A 300 foot rock wall made of black granite towered over the coconut-tree-lined, white sandy beach. Turquoise waters kissed the shore ever so lightly, somewhat reminiscing a happy couple. We found a spot under a coconut tree, laid out our stuff and begun basking in the Caribbean sun.

Playa Fronton, Samana.

A local man, fishing spear in hand, went on the hunt for lunch along the coral reef. As he brought back his catch of the day, I realized that he was about to cook it right on the beach. I said to myself, “what would Anthony Bourdain do?” 2,300 Dominican pesos later, the family who lives on the beach broke bread with us. Although there was a bit of a language barrier, good food is understood by all. That was the best meal I had the entire trip.

Fish being cleaned after being caught.

Vicente joined in on the goodness and shortly after it was time to head back to base.

Back at La Playita, Raquel and Robin met up with us again and we sat under one of those shaded tables and exchanged stories about our lives. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

One last dip at La Playita before leaving.

How to Experience Playa Fronton.

If you’d like to have this experience, head down to Playita Scuba Diving and book with Raquel and Robin. I can not recommend them enough. You will enjoy every minute of it. Thank you Raquel and Robin for an amazing day. Click here to check out their website to learn more!