If someone you know has traveled to the Dominican Republic and you ask them where they went, the majority of the time their answer will be “Punta Cana”. While Punta Cana is great if you are wanting to stay at a popular resort, it is typically packed with tourists and the beaches can be extremely crowded. The real hidden gem of the Dominican Republic is the lesser-known town of Las Terrenas. I want to share with you my experience of spending a week in Las Terrenas and show you why it is the best place to stay in the Dominican Republic.
The Villas
For our wedding we rented out a beachfront villa for the week that had 13 bedrooms and slept 26 of our closest friends and family members. The villa, Villa del Mar, was breathtakingly beautiful and the cost included full time chefs and a cleaning staff. I felt like the experience of staying in our villa was worth a lot more than what we paid for it.
Website: Villa del Mar
Your money can go a long way in Las Terrenas. If you don’t have a big enough group to rent out Villa del Mar, there are smaller villas around Las Terrenas that are just as nice. We also had guests stay at an all inclusive hotel that was a 5 minute walk down the beach from our villa called Sublime Samana.
Website: Sublime Samana
I highly recommend staying in a villa or at an all inclusive hotel in Las Terrenas if you are planning a trip to the Dominican Republic. Your money will go a lot further here than it would in a touristy city like Punta Cana, and you don’t have to deal with crowds of people.
The Beaches
The best thing about staying in Las Terrenas is how secluded it is. We pretty much had the beaches all to ourselves. A short walk from our villa was Playa Coson, a gorgeous beach with white sand and turquoise water.
El Salto del Limón
Another benefit of staying in Las Terrenas is being so close to the Salto del Limon waterfall in Samana. This was a very short drive from our villa. To get to the waterfall you take a hike through the jungle, which can also be done on horseback. Seeing this in person was one of my favorite memories from my time in the Dominican Republic.
I am so thankful we chose to go to Las Terrenas for our Dominican vacation. Have you ever been to the DR? Would you consider making the trip out to Las Terrenas? Let me know in the comments!
Cheyanne Herrera 