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| Las Terrenas |
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 © 2006 - Lynne Osterman Once a pretty fishing village with only Dominican families Las Terrenas was a relatively quiet rustic place until a couple of Europeans moved in around the 1980's. Word got around and before long the village was invaded by Germans, Italians, French and Swiss travellers who loved the beaches, tranquillity and natural wonders of this special place. Soon restaurants, small bed and breakfast accommodations, café bars and bistros were set up attracting tourists from all walks of life. Las Terrenas has hotels, small lodgings, luxury beach fronted bed and breakfasts and hotels to suit every taste and budget from the very basic to the sublime. (Please see The Real DR Hotel directory for listings). Every thing is found around the centre of town which now boasts supermarkets, a bank, internet cafes, boutiques, and a wide variety of restaurants. All of this is fronted by glorious beach after beach. A couple of the most famous beaches and attractions are Playa Bonita and Coson. Both are located on the western side of Las Terrenas with Playa Bonita being the first beach (about 5km). Stunningly beautiful the water can sometimes be a little rough but excellent fun for boogie boarding. A little further on to the west is Playa Coson is well worth the effort as it is practically deserted most of the year round and has an amazing 6km stretch of white sands, edged with coconut palms leading up to wooded cliffs. The water here is shallow allowing you to walk and walk in the clearest crystal shallows you will ever find. A great place too for eating fish, you should usually be able to find a couple of local shacks near to the beaches selling the catch of the day on make shift barbecues, but also try the coconut fish (not a fish shaped like a coconut but cooked in a coconut sauce!) which is a speciality of the area. This is a great area for diving and snorkelling and for those of you wishing to learn there are dive shops to be found in and around Las Terrenas itself. For the more experienced divers there is an abundance of underwater caves, walls, reefs and sponges to be discovered not forgetting all that lost sunken treasure that must be around somewhere! (See The Real DR Pirates of The Caribbean page). Places to see and spend the day while you are touring the Peninsula de Samana are Los Haitises National Park covering 200 square km. The park is just on the outskirts of the peninsula and most people will take a boat tour from Sanchez in the southwest and tour over this amazing natural reserve. You will experience thick mangrove swamps, rainforests, tropical birds and even explore some caves with Taino petroglyphs of people and whales, which just goes to show you literally how many hundreds and hundreds of years the humpback whales have been coming to Samana - amazing as the Taino Indians were the original inhabitants of this beautiful land long before Christopher Columbus discovered “the new world” in 1492. The waterfalls of El Limon is also another favourite. Known in Spanish as the Cascada del Limon it takes about an hours hike or ride on horseback to reach the foot of the falls where a beautiful natural swimming pool invites you for a dip. There are local guides that will assist you reaching the falls but be prepared to haggle on price and always fix it before you set off. Watch your valuables as well as sometimes the falls can be fairly deserted and there is nowhere to store your goodies. The waterfall is 40ft in height and behind its cascades is a small cave. Cayo Levantado is probably one of the most popular tourist spots and is a small hilly island covered with tropical forests and heavenly white sandy beaches with small coves to explore. The island was made famous during the 1970's as it was here the first Bacardi Rum commercials were made. The only access is by boat or ferry and it is better to try and reach the island either early morning or late afternoon to avoid bus loads of tourists who go there for the day. Usually it will cost about US$20 one way. Once on the small island you are free to wander where you like, the main beach is usually packed to bursting with day trippers and tourists so you may want to have a wander to the opposite side of the island just by following the small footpath! Remember though there are beach vendors on the island selling handicrafts, food and drinks but they are extortionately priced! You might be well advised to bring some drinks of your own as well as your own handicrafts too!! |
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