I just spent a month surfing Playa Encuentro in the Dominican Republic every day. One thing I can say for sure is that you can pretty much surf here every morning during the winter, especially if you don't mind a little chop on the face. There are 5 named breaks at Encuentro, 3 of which break pretty much every day. There are also a few shifting peaks around that don't have names. I have found that "Main peak" (the longest wave which breaks into a large bay filled with urchins) and "Bobos Point" (which can be heavier and shallower than main peak in a good swell) tend to break best when the trades are on it. Coco Pipe, The Left, and Destroyer Reef only seem to get working good in a North Swell over ten seconds. Coco Pipe is by far my favorite wave when working properly: It can be heavy and barrel or it can be heavy and breaking for over 100 meters towards the inside depending on swell direction and wind. There is also a left but I will warn you that if you go left at Coco Pipe when it get's big you run a serious risk of hitting reef and/or getting absolutely worked on the paddle back out because there is no reliable channel. Bring your best duckdive skills or surf father down the beach.
Most of this video was shot at Coco Pipe although there are a few waves from Bobos Point as well. Bobos Point and Main Peak tend to get quite crowded with European surfers from mostly landlocked countries after 9am so beware. Many of them paddle out in groups of eight or more and sit all together talking on the peak, many will paddle for a wave every set and catch virtually nothing.
There are also many over priced surf camps in the area but there are also very nice affordable places if you know where to look (Hippy Gypsy for instance). If you are a competent surfer you will want to wake up early and dawn patrol as crowds at that time are basically non existent. Many of these "prime time" surfers can barely paddle and are not good at holding onto their large boards or paddling towards the whitewater when paddling back out. The channels and lack of heaviness of Main Peak and sometimes Bobos allow total kooks in the lineup even on larger days. They aim right for the open face where you are heading and many are not even aware of proper surf etiquette. That being said there are plenty of days where you can paddle out in the afternoon even in heavy winds and get a few waves. I have found the afternoons are a great time to surf Main Peak with no crowds and sometimes absolutely alone.
Now let's talk costs. You can spent over 100 USD a night to sleep at an air conditioned highrise or as little as 450 a month to rent a room across the main road from Encuentro. We stayed at the nicest room at Hippy Gypsy hostel which is a family run establishment and paid 620 for an entire month with a private bathroom and an outdoor kitchen that we only shared with the room next door. We had a ton of privacy, good fast internet and when the power went out for hours (a few times a week) there was a generator that kept our fan running, water flowing, and fast internet connected.
As for the costs of food it's quite possible for one person to live on less than 200 USD a month in food and transport especially if you like to cook. There is an amazing food truck park right by the entrance to Encuentro on the main road where you can eat good food for 6-12 dollars. The cheapest groceries are in Sosua (10 minutes west), along with the freshest produce but we also found ourselves visiting the slightly more expensive grocery store in the tourist hub of Cabarete (ten minutes east) for the nice selection of meats (and delicious whole Rotisserie Chickens for 4 dollars) and fairly priced import beers.
Transport in the Dominican Republic is quite easy. For three dollars (150 pesos) each way you can take a moto taxi (always 2-5 at the Playa Encuentro entrance next to the food trucks) or for 50 pesos one way (less than 1 dollar) you can take the Dominican version of a local bus or collectivo called a "Gua Gua". I personally don't get on bikes without a helmet so we took the Gua Gua every time. You can expect a Gua Gua every five to ten minutes on the main road and we honestly never waited more than 15. There are no designated stops and they will stop anywhere you just have to ask them. Sometimes they get quite full and ride with the sliding doors open and it is a very cool experience.
I hope this provides some value able insight. Overall I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking for consist surf and decent vibes in the water before 9 am. Personally I was quite sick of the same old surf trip to Puerto Rico and I'm quit glad that we chose to take this extremely affordable surf trip. Pura Vida bros and broettes, if you liked the video please like and subscribe. 1,000 more views and I can monetize this channel and I might actually consider making some serious content that is surf travel related. YEWwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
Негізгі бет Playa Encuentro dawn patrol Feb 2023
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