GypsySpirit Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures at this beach even though it was beautiful. We spent some hours kayaking at this beach in transparent kayaks.
I was so concerned with not getting my phone wet that I didn’t remove it from bag at all. Not even after to take a pic of us! Once we were done and headed to one of the bars/restaurants, it poured and we got hungry so we never went back on the sand. At the time we did this activity we still had about 2 1/2 weeks of our stay and we had been frequenting an Italian panaderia nearby, before arriving at the beach. So I thought we’d definitely be back to this beach.
It had more people than the other beaches in the surrounding areas. It was more lively. This is because there were resorts in this area. However, it wasn’t crowded as another area I was in where there were really large resorts with bodies everywhere in the water and on the sand on those cookie cutter blue chairs you see at all resorts.
In fact, we had an airbnb apartment booked around this area as the last place we would stay. We would have gotten to enjoy this beach for almost two weeks. I ended up canceling it to stay at an ecolodge closer to El Limon so that we would have access to a gym. As the last place we would stay I made sure it offered free cancellation since I booked it before we even arrived to Las Terrenas. It’s ok to do some non-refundable reservations if it’s not a long stay but for a long stay like ours (1 month) you want to choose some options with free cancellation. You never know if you’re going to hate the place or an emergency comes up (God forbid) or like us, you just change your mind and want something different.
This experience was nice but it could’ve been better. The host didn’t tell us that the best time to go is in the morning when the waters are calmer and there is actual reef life to see. We chose the afternoon and saw one fish the entire time. We saw lots of sea urchins. The guide who came with us was the one to tell us about the morning being better.
It also wasn’t clear in the description (at least at the time I booked it) that we wouldn’t have a guide. It was us renting the kayaks and going by ourselves. I almost just sent my kids (18 and 15 yo) by themselves because I would be in a second kayak by myself. The guide ended up offering to come with us. Only after a little debate among our family. I didn’t like that. By the way these are more like canoes than kayaks.
It should be clear what to expect from the experience. We’ve only done kayaking once in Sausalito, California where we lived for 5 years (I know. We should be kayak experts just from living there). We’re not experienced enough to do it the first time in waters we’re not familiar with.
All in all, it was an ok experience. There was a party going on on the shore with a DJ in front of one of the resorts and it was fun to hear the music and see the people having fun for a bit. So for a bit there, we were watching the land more than the water.
It was just disappointing not to see what we came to see through the transparent kayaks. The reef life. I’m not complaining. Just recounting my experience.
Maybe you’ll have better luck if you try it in the morning. It’s still something fun to do with friends or family. If there are two of you, or even pairs of two in your group, you’ll need to know what you’re doing because it doesn’t include a guide. If you’re like us and show up with a total odd number of people then you might get the guide to go with you, and of course tip him for his time and effort.
I will say that our guide was funny and made the best of it. He’s the one person we saw most at later times throughout our stay in the town. It was nice to see a friendly face and say hello.
If you’re in the area and interested, here’s the link:
