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We arrived to Las Americas International Airport in Santo Domingo with a 2 1/2 hour drive ahead of us. We had to cross the beautiful mountain range as we crossed the entire island to the opposite coast. It wasn’t a beautiful drive at first leaving the capital but it turned into one the closer we got to our destination. Suddenly, I was reminded of the drive to Muir Beach and Stinson Beach in Marin County, California. Driving on beautiful mountains with astonishing views of the ocean.
We arrived. It was Friday night and it was noisy with music and ATVs and motoconchos (scooters) all over the place. And I mean, ALL OVER THE PLACE. The way they drive and how many there are you wonder how they don’t crash every 2 minutes. We stopped at the market for water and mosquito repellent. I have not been to a market like that in the US but I have in Ambergris Caye, Belize, in Panama, in Costa Rica and in Mexico. Not to mention they have these type of markets in certain parts of Puerto Rico. Maybe not the touristic San Juan but in other areas for locals.
We were so tired we couldn’t wait to go to sleep. We had so much luggage with us. 7 suitcases to be exact- for 3 people! This is because we’re moving at the same time we’re vacationing. Two of those suitcases are JUST for Jovan’s gaming desktop. I know, insane. But until I get him a gaming laptop that’s what he has to use. As my oldest, Tristan, would say, “first world problems.” We stayed in Hotel Villas Las Palmas Del Mar just steps from the beach which I booked through Booking.com
What a dream.
Exactly what I needed. So easy to get to town as we were right there in the middle of it all but felt far away enough when you were submerged in the water in Las Terrenas beach. I would’ve saved a ton of money staying in one place for 1 month. Because of my two chitlins (you’ll get used to me calling my kids that) I decided to try different places in case we didn’t like where we ended up staying. This being the 5th country I travel to I know that what you read in the descriptions and might see in a video could look totally different to you once you’re there.
It is a really safe town with a huge mix of locals and foreigners. Both Dominicans and foreigners vacation here. This is reflected in the variety of restaurants and food choices there are. You can take your pick from Dominican, French, Italian, or Spanish cuisine. It’s a small town but so cute and quaint. Very laid back and the people are pleasant. Everyone smiles and says hello.
There are different things to do. Different types of places to stay. You can choose a resort or a hotel or an AirBnb.
We stayed in this little group of villas steps from the beach. They always had someone at the reception desk and an attendant at night. They were all super kind and helpful. Some of the staff was Argentinian, Italian, Haitian and Dominican. The place was called Las Palmas. I heard from another host Las Palmas have been there for a really long time. I really liked staying there. They assured us we could come to them if we needed anything at all even if we weren’t staying there. Turns out my daughter ended up leaving earlier than my son and I and she needed to book a taxi. The one recommended by the other place we stayed at was more expensive than the one who picked us up at airport to arrive to Las Palmas. So Las Palmas staff arranged a pick up for my daughter even though we were no longer staying there. They keep their word and are there for you if you need anything.
We then stayed at a casita owned by a French family who has lived here for 23 years. They built their house on a loma (hill) and they had other casitas they rented around their house. We signed up for the wife’s meals- breakfast and dinner and they were as creative as they were delicious. She cooked French and Italian meals. This was a nice change from the Dominican food we happily overdosed on during the first week.
The third and last place we stayed at was an ecolodge further away from town called Clave Verde. Having spent two weeks in the middle of the town we welcomed a break and some quiet. I chose this place so Jovan would have a gym to work out in. He had missed out on working out the first two weeks and that’s his zen. It makes him happy.
There were few days out of the 30 days we were there that we didn’t go to the beach. I’m the type that can spend hours and hours in the water. I become a fish.
Las Terrenas is the kind of town that if you can’t hop on the bus because it’s too full the car behind it will give you a ride to your destination. In our case a man driving home from work picked me and Jovan up. My sister said “a stranger’s car again!?) But it’s that kind of place where people sleep with their door unlocked and walk around in the street at 3am with not a worry in the world. Was told this by several locals. Everyone assured me you don’t have to worry about anything. Things do happen from time to time. “No place is perfect,” one said. This particular man who gave us a ride said they could offer him “villas y castillas” (spanish saying equivalent to “a world of riches”) in crime-ridden Santo Domingo, the capital, and he wouldn’t ever leave Las Terrenas to live there. Another taxi driver who took us from one place to the other said “the only way I leave here is by being dragged out.”
We discovered the local buses which are minivans or some are the larger vans running every 20 minutes all around the area. I don’t know how far they went to either side. It costs us 50 to 75 dominican pesos per ride to go about 15 to 25 minutes from our ecolodge into town. Once I discovered that I mixed it up between the bus and the motoconchos which tend to charge the tourists anywhere from 100 to 400 pesos. Higher for my last ride from a restaurant in town to Clave Verde.
As I told one of the drivers “It’s nice we still have places like this in the world.“
