Planning to visit the Dominican Republic? Here's some information on the resort village of Las Terrenas. It is extracted from the second edition of The Adventure Guide to the Dominican Republic by Harry S. Pariser. This is not the most current information: For that you must purchase Explore the Dominican Republic (the current title). This text is copyright 1998, Harry S. Pariser. All rights reserved .Contact the author for reprint or other rights.

This long stretch of the N coast offers some of the nation's finest beaches. At low tide you can walk right out to the coral reefs. Although, it lacks Sosua's glamour, it also has less noise and hassle. Although the area is becoming more and more developed, it still has the informality of a small village and remains highly recommended as a place to go and relax. Secluded Playa Bonita is situated around the headland to the W, and Portillo lies to the E. Humpbacked whales can sometimes be spotted off of the coast in season. getting there: A number of carreras run from Sànchez. Expect to wait a long time for the back of the pickup truck to fill up. Avoid the bright red pickup if you can because the obnoxious owner delights in overcharging foreigners. The 11 mi. (17 km) paved road from Sánchez offers fantastic views--passing rolling hills covered with palms and marvelous overlooks--as you rise and then descend. A new direct road to Samaná is under construction. by car: It would be difficult to find a better use for a rental car than take it on this road. Although there's no gas stations after Sánchez until Las Terrenas, some homes sell it in gallon jugs.

orientation: The layout is pretty simple. A main road stretches all the way from Sànchez to LimÑn via Portillo. As you enter Las Terrenas, a side road leads off to the L to Punta Bonita, several km away. Pickup trucks terminate at the end of the village; the road straight ahead continues to Portillo. A branched loop road heads off to the L; the bulk of the guesthouses are down here along the beach and on the way. A few others are towards Portillo. As you head towards Portillo, the beach becomes more and more beautiful and less frequented.

getting around: You can generally get everywhere on foot, and there are no safety problems at present. Motoconchos charge five pesos (40 cents) during the day and ten pesos (80 cents) at night. Locals are charged only three pesos so pestering foreigners is an obsession. These guys work so hard and so late because theyÍve bought the bikes on credit and have to make payments or face repossession.

accommodation on the main road: Attractive Palococo (tel. 240-6068, fax 240-6151) charges from around US$40 d. It has a pool and Jacuzzi. Dinners at its international restaurant are around US$12. Mami (tel. 240-6074) on the main road, also has rooms for under US$5; it can be noisy. Dinnys has plain but breezy rooms near the sea for around US$9.

beachside accommodation: A number of small hotels/guest houses including Espinal, La Selva, Habitaciones, and Louisiane are off the loop road and near the beach. Most guesthouses and hotels have backup generators; public electrical power is a recent development here. On the road to the beach, Supercolmado Frank has rooms for around US$12. Hotel Tropic Banana (tel. 240-6110, fax 240-6112; Apdo. 25, Sánchez, Samaná) has a pool and attractive rooms from around US$30 on up. In Montreal, Canada, call (819) 546-7010 or fax (819) 564-8191. With 190 rooms, Cacao Beach (tel. 240-6000) is the largest hotel and seems larger than the village. Call 565-2097 in Santo Domingo for information. Off the main road past Cacao Beach near Coco Loco, attractively designed LÍAubergine (tel. 240-6167, fax 240-6070) charges around US$16 off season and US$28 during the season. Kursten and Josefina Kramer have three rooms above their "Finchen" Restaurant (tel. 240-6116, fax 240-0670). While the rooms are low priced and very comfortable and attractive, theyÍre best suited to nightowls because the restaurant stays open late. Farther up the same road, Hotel Villa Caracol has rooms without bath starting at around US$9. Its best suites are around $36. In Germany, contact DER Resie-Center Lippstatdt GmbH, Markstrasse 3, 4780 Lippstradt; call (02941) 3185 u. 51 18; or fax (02941) 59685. Another good place to stay is the seaside Kanesh Beach (tel. 240-6187, fax 240-6070). Rates start from $25 for rooms with overhead ceiling fans. Coralitos, which has villas for rent, is next. Atmospheric Las Cayenas Hotel (fax 240-6070) which resembles an old Caribbean great house, is the brainchild of Marie-Antoinette Piguet, a Frenchwoman who visited here on vacation. ItÍs powered by solar panels. Rates (which include breakfast and taxes) are $45 s and $60 d. Farther down this same road on the way to Punta Bonita, the very expensive Plantation Club (tel. 240-6008, fax 240-6009) is the product of financing by Domincan fat cats from La Romana. to the W: There are three hotels at Punta Bonita, the German-run 19-rm. Atlantis (tel. 240-6111, fax 240-6101), the Acaya (tel. 240-6161, fax 240-6166) and the Punta Bonita (tel. 240-6082). For information and reservations at the 10-unit Apartamentos El Atlantico, contact Hotel Palacio (tel. 682-4730, fax 800-687-5535). They rent for $35 pn and sleep up to four.

on the Portillo road: Opposite El 28 on the road towards Portillo and run by a very hospitable and outgoing Swiss couple, Los Piños offers very attractive bungalow ($US 36) and room (US$20) rentals. Designed for Europeans who are used to youth hostel accommodation, their very clean but compact dorm rooms rent beds for $6 s and $9 d (two in one larger bed). Breakfasts are served on the attractive patio. Contact Marlene and Hans Fretz (tel. 240-6168, fax 240-6070). Cabañas Esmeralda is some 150 ft. from the road. Modest rooms with shower and mosquito net cost US$20/db. Bargain during the slow season or if you're staying for a few nights. Owned by a Venezuelan, El Papagayo (tel. 240-6095) is right on the road to Portillo as well; it has a very pleasant atmosphere. Rooms start from around $20-$25. It has a restaurant and snack bar. Nearby, Villa Vieja rents a furnished two-bedroom apartment with kitchen for around $25/night. Popular with Peace Corps volunteers, the lowest priced place is run by Doøa Niña off the road to Portillo; ask around for directions. An old Dominican lady, it almost seems as if she stepped over the edges of a historical photo. Her place also seems to be a historical relic as well. She charges US$2 for a full breakfast and US$4 for a room. Doña charges standard rates for soft drinks as opposed to the extortionate D$10 (80 cents) charged by most restaurants. Her favorite but rather suspect phrase is "mi es pobre." Whatever money she garners does not go back into maintenance, and stories are told about her wealth. ThereÍs an outdoor shower, and a manually flushed toilet. Be certain not to kill any tadpoles while flushing, or you might find yourself reincarnated as a frog. A large condo project (Villas las Flores) is planned for this stretch of road; it may or may have not materialized by the time of your arrival.

El Portillo accommodation: Head straight from La Terrenas and follow a potholed road for four km to find the simple but attractive El Portillo Beach Resort (tel. 240-6100, fax 240-6104) which has 171 rooms and caba˜as, pool, two tennis courts, scuba clinics, volleyball, and horseback riding. It's popular with European package tourists and has its own airstrip. It's a 30-min flight. Make arrangements with the Prieto Tours (tel. 685-0102, 688-5715) in Santo Domingo. El Limón is 10 km farther.

food: If cooking for yourself, thereÍs a small market and other vendors along the main road. Possibly the best bread in the nation if not the entire Caribbean is baked at Panaderia Francesa in front of Disco El Tiempo. The Dominican baker learned his chops from his French brother-in-law when he came for a visit. Some of the nation's finest seafood dining is in this vicinity. Posada Chez Paco is a good seafood and French cuisine restaurant . French-owned La Salsa is a thatched roof beach restaurant. main road food and dining: High priced La Gateria offers deli type food and take out items. Cafeteria des Artes is an attractive French-run place offering local food and atmosphere. "El Capitan" (tel. 552-7593) is a bar and restaurant near Sánchez. Portillo road dining: Excellent places to eat breakfast are at Los Pi˜os and at (lower budget) Do˜a Nina's. El 28 is a small Spanish restaurant on the beach near the beginning of the El Portillo road; it has fish and paella. Comedor La Escala is on the road towards Portillo. "La Canne á Sucre" serves pasta, salad, and crepes at inexpensive prices (starting at US$1.75 for crepes). Casablanca is an attractive bar which has a restaurant in season. enroute to and near the beach: La Chicha serves inexpensive creole food. Rincon de Fleur is on the water. Near La Louisiane, La Orquidea serves moderately-priced French food. serves Basque food. "La Tita" is another Italian restaurant. Specializing in Basque and French food, Restaurante Jikako is off the road to the beach. Near the beach, Dinny's features a reasonably priced restaurant. Zuni's has good seafood. The French-owned Tropic Banana features gourmet cuisine. "Finchen" Restaurant serves Dominican and German food; itÍs also a very popular watering hole. Down the road, you can also dine at Kanesh and the attractive Las Cayenas Hotel. PalococoÍs Los Canarios is the classiest place on the main road. There are a large number of local restaurants on this road as well as some low budget eating stalls where you can really revel in atmosphere.

entertainment: Out on the main road, the roar of motoconchos conflicts with that of blaring generators. The singing in the Iglesia Biblica clashes with disco coming from the pub across the street. The night market along this road has a very African feel to it. You can eat rice and beans, fried plantains, meat dishes, and overfried fish. The best disco here is Mambo. El Tiempo has murals featuring motifs such as a melting clock and the grafitti in the menÍs room is something else! A third disco is Disco Terraza Nuevo Mundo which is down the street from Codetel. Disco Terraza Antony has a "hotel" above it; itÍs more of a bar than anything else. The intimate Rock Café stays open until 4AM or so and fills up after the disco closes. Prostitution is a growing industry here. Right across from El Tiempo, Arco Iris Video shows movies nightly for 40 cents. Some 10 km towards Sánchez, La Raquera is hosted by an entertaining pistol-toting gentleman who resembles the Marlboro Man. At Chichi in the town of Sánchez itself, an old guy plays Latin classics.

services: ThereÍs no bank. You can change illegally, but you get less than you would at a bank. Hotels will only pay D$11.5 per US$. A Codetel office (fax 240-6070; open daily 8-8) is on the main road as is Las Terrenas Tourist Service (tel. 240-6088, fax 240-6070). There's also a branch of the Samanà Tourist Service here. Western Union is also on the main road. Publishers of the mimeographed free publication Las Terrenas News, Green Tours is near the Tropic Banana. Car rentals (US$60/day) are available near the beginning of the road to Portillo. Along the loop road, the Ranchito (tel. 240-6060) has horse rentals and a trip to the waterfall (advance reservations required). Caribbean Rent-a-Motor is on the main road. diving: The growing popularity of Las Terrenas has spawned an increasing number of dive shops. Divebold is in front of Coco Loco. The Stellina Dive Center (tel. 240-6000, fax 240-6020) is a German-operated dive operation in the Cacao Beach. German, Italian, Spanish, and English are spoken. In addition to two dive boats, they also have a glass-bottom boat. In Zurich, Switzerland call 01/531 18 09 or fax 01/431 02 57. Several souvenir shops are on the main road.

from Las Terrenas: Buses leave at around 5 and 7 AM (yawn!) to Santo Domingo and from 8 to Nagua. In the past, transportation to LimÑn is scarce. You must hire a motoconcho. From there you can go on to Samaná.

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This page last updated: Mon, Nov 16, 1998