TELEPHONE SERVICES
There is no Codetel Office in Bayahibe; the closest is in La Romana. If you have to make a phone call and don't have access to one of the few private phones at your hotel desk, from your cabana owner, or even at the police station, offer a small fee to anyone until you find one for usage. You'll need to but a codetel card from one of the colmados which can be rather expensive. A 145-pesos/$8.45 card will net about 22 minutes whether speaking to the States or another phone in the village. If they're accessible, I highly suggest purchasing phone cards before you leave home which allows you to call International destinations while abroad. They're much cheaper, but make sure to purchase ones which don't have a connection fee. The already shakey Dominican phone system is being pushed further to the limits with the rapid emergence of fax, internet and cell phones. Don't be suprised if the phone repeatedly goes dead.
CREDIT CARDS
I advise calling your card company and letting them know you'll be traveling in the Dominican Republic. Its considered a high-risk country and this last time when using a new, upgraded card, it was immediately shut-off after the first substantial swipe. I was able to get it reactivated after calling the collect number, but not without a grueling process of reproving who/where I was and recounting most recent usage. Credit cards are widely accepted in larger cities. In Bayahibe, they're only consistantly accepted at Casa Daniel's Dive Shops and Guesthouse. Both hotels are definitely hit-and-miss.
SHOPPING
If you'd like some of the music you've been engulfed in during your stay, TOMACITA COLMADO, where the main road t's into the coastal road, is the only place selling authentic cassettes for RD40. (Local vendor's tapes are poor quality boot-leg!) All other colmado related purchases, including foods, drinks, film, suntan oils, Off-bug spray - shop the less expensive Supercolmado in the village center. They also exchange currencies into pesos, but don't use this as a main source. In addition to cheap bottles of high-quality rums, consider the Crema de Oror - one of the finest Rum Creams I've ever absorbed! Locals' clothing is sold out of the pink/yellow house behind Hotel Bayahibe. For souvenir-type purchases, Casa Daniel has two Dive/Gift shops and at their Guesthouse with jewelry, native crafts, Cuban/Dominican cigars, postcards and t-shirts of both high/low quality. Locals have market stalls set up across from the lagoon and along the back of Bayahibe beach with well over-priced goods you'd expect unless you're willing to play the bargaining game.