I found this little gem of a beach resort through some friends who saw it being renovated. There are 3 wonderful new thatched cabanas, GriGri, Seagrape and Hummingbird, directly on a beautiful sweep of sand called Magante, where you can walk for miles.

Each cabana sleeps 4, with tiled, en-suite facilities and HOT showers. Room rates are very reasonable based on 2 sharing. Details on their website at www.losgringosdr.com .

You can lie in bed and look straight out to sea through the swaying palms. The beds are really really comfortable and as one end of the cabana is glass, the view is hard to beat. There is lots of shade on the beach and because of the double reef which protects the bay, safe swimming and snorkelling from the beach with some fabulous shells and driftwood to be found.

My friends and I had a fantastic relaxing week, pampered by Patrick who runs the place and his fabulous cooking. We hired a car for a few days to explore but were always glad to get back to the peace and quiet of our hideaway...
Of course if you want a bit of nightlife, there is Rio 10 minutes away, an all-inclusive hotel 5 minutes away and the wonderfully boistrous resort of Cabarete half an hour back towards the airport.

You have to drive carefully in Yagua on the main road to Rio and look out for the signs down to the beach and there it is - your little piece of heaven.

Local fishermen arrive during the day with freshly caught fish which Patrick will happily cook for you - can't get better than that!

I am going back next week and In August now that I have discovered Los GrinGos AND the really cheap flights from Cardiff airport. Don't worry if you haven't been on this sort of holiday before; Patrick is very happy to pick you up from Puerto Plata airport so it couldn't be easier. Trust me....you will feel very at home very quickly and if you can't relax here, you can't relax anywhere !

Patricia