Hello everyone! I?m planning a trip to Las Terrenas for the last week of May/first few days of June and am counting down the days. My husband and I are a Dominican/American couple and we lived for several years in Santiago and have most recently been in Texas for the past two years. We?re visiting family and friends for a few weeks in Santiago and Barahona before we make our treck to the Samana Penninsula. We will be brining with us six other friends and family members for our stay in Las Terrenas and while all of them are Dominican, none of them have ever been to this part of the island!
The Samana area is very near and dear to our hears as we honeymooned at the resort on Cayo Levantado in 2007. Since then we?ve been back several times and usually stayed in Las Galeras at Casa Dorado (which I HIGHLY recommend!!). This time because of the size of our group we booked Villa Celine on Playa Estillero which is close to Limon and about 15 minutes east of Las Terrenas (or so I've heard).
I?ve been planning and anxiously awaiting this trip since January. While I?m familiar with the area we?ve never really been to Las Terrenas (only driven through) so I?m hoping the expertise of the forum can fill in some of my gaps!
1) Food/Nightlife: We will likely be preparing most of our own meals during our week stay. I?m assuming there?s a supermarket in LT where we can stock up on food for the week. And I?m sure there are colmados in Limon if we forget anything. Aside from cooking, I know we?ll want to go out to eat at least once. Any recommendations for good/inexpensive restaurants in Limon or LT? Any local beaches have good restaurants for lunch? We also will want to eat somewhere nice (just the two of us) as my husband and I will be celebrating our 4th anniversary on this trip. Also, any good bars or places for dancing at night? Bachata and meringue are our favorites!
2) Cascada Limon: We went by horseback to see this on our honeymoon and loved it. We want to take the family but are not sure how comfortable everyone will be one the horses (from what I remember it was kind of scary!). Most of our group are in our late 20s-early 30s but my mother in law is early 50s. How hard is getting to this on foot, I've seen mixed reviews? Do you have to go with a tour company or is there a safe way to go alone?
3) Beaches: This is what I?m most excited about, and one of the things I miss the most about living in the DR! We plan to take a day trip to Rincon as this has always been our favorite (any tips for avoiding crowds at Rincon? The last few times we?ve been there have been TONS of people). We also want to try out El Valle (and the waterfall close to it) and El Portillo (we?ll have snorkel stuff with us). I?ve heard Coson is nice, how far of a drive is it from LT? There are also some nice little beaches I?ve heard close to Playa Estillero. We?ll have a vehicle with 4x4 so we?re up for exploring, any other hidden gems we should know about?
Sorry for the novel, I'd love any advice, anecdotes, recommendations, etc...
The Samana area is very near and dear to our hears as we honeymooned at the resort on Cayo Levantado in 2007. Since then we?ve been back several times and usually stayed in Las Galeras at Casa Dorado (which I HIGHLY recommend!!). This time because of the size of our group we booked Villa Celine on Playa Estillero which is close to Limon and about 15 minutes east of Las Terrenas (or so I've heard).
I?ve been planning and anxiously awaiting this trip since January. While I?m familiar with the area we?ve never really been to Las Terrenas (only driven through) so I?m hoping the expertise of the forum can fill in some of my gaps!
1) Food/Nightlife: We will likely be preparing most of our own meals during our week stay. I?m assuming there?s a supermarket in LT where we can stock up on food for the week. And I?m sure there are colmados in Limon if we forget anything. Aside from cooking, I know we?ll want to go out to eat at least once. Any recommendations for good/inexpensive restaurants in Limon or LT? Any local beaches have good restaurants for lunch? We also will want to eat somewhere nice (just the two of us) as my husband and I will be celebrating our 4th anniversary on this trip. Also, any good bars or places for dancing at night? Bachata and meringue are our favorites!
2) Cascada Limon: We went by horseback to see this on our honeymoon and loved it. We want to take the family but are not sure how comfortable everyone will be one the horses (from what I remember it was kind of scary!). Most of our group are in our late 20s-early 30s but my mother in law is early 50s. How hard is getting to this on foot, I've seen mixed reviews? Do you have to go with a tour company or is there a safe way to go alone?
3) Beaches: This is what I?m most excited about, and one of the things I miss the most about living in the DR! We plan to take a day trip to Rincon as this has always been our favorite (any tips for avoiding crowds at Rincon? The last few times we?ve been there have been TONS of people). We also want to try out El Valle (and the waterfall close to it) and El Portillo (we?ll have snorkel stuff with us). I?ve heard Coson is nice, how far of a drive is it from LT? There are also some nice little beaches I?ve heard close to Playa Estillero. We?ll have a vehicle with 4x4 so we?re up for exploring, any other hidden gems we should know about?
Sorry for the novel, I'd love any advice, anecdotes, recommendations, etc...
)became very touristical. But most of the tours end on the right side, when you turn to the left, where the small river is ending into the sea, you?ll also find small bars and deckchairs, many locals at the weekends, but nearly no tourists. Or stay somewhere in the middle and the beach is yours.