Q: How close is the nearest beach? Can we walk there? A: About a five minute drive. It would be possible to walk, but it is very hilly - you are better off driving.
Q: What is your favourite beach?
A: We really like Playa Bonita, about 30 minutes away on the other side of town. There are a number of hotels and restaurants there so you can make it a day trip. If you really want an out of the way place, Las Galeras/el Rincon, at the tip of the peninsula, is a nice day trip, especially now the road has been repaved (except for the last half hour which is still a dirt track)
Q: What water sports are there in las Terrenas?
A: There is great kite surfing and sailing because of the wind. There are not great waves for surfing. There is a little bit of coral for diving, which can be done locally in LT or you can go to Las Galeras, 1.5 hours away for a better dive.
Q: What is the closest airport?
A: the very closest is the airstrip at el Portillo, 5 minutes away. There are domestic small-plane flights to various places in DR but no longer Santo Domingo (although you can charter a flight relatively inexpensively). After that, el Catey (also known as Samana, code AZS, though Samana town has an airport too) is 1/2 an hour from the house. There are 2 JetBlue flights a week from New York and charter flights from Canada and Europe. There is no rental car company at el Catey.
The main airport and the one we recommend is Santo Domingo/Las Americas (SDQ) which has frequent flights from everywhere and many car rental companies. it is a 2 hour drive door to door.
Q: How far is it to las Terrenas?
A: 15 minutes by car.
Q: Do we need a car?
A: Yes. Although the nearest beach is close, it is a very, very hilly walk, and you will need a car to get anywhere. once in town you can flag down motorbikes for very cheap rides, and there are plenty of taxis (not cheap) you can call.
Q: What kind of shopping is there?
A: Supermercado Lindo is the goto place for food, but there are plenty of others, including some local places in the local village near the house where you can get necessities like water and fruit.
Q: What is the restaurant scene like?
A: Mixed. We have found a couple of very good places and a bunch of ok places - usually the location and atmosphere make up for the less spectacular food.
Q: Do you have air conditioning?
A: No. We've never needed it. The bedrooms have fans and mosquito screens.
Q: How much does it cost to have a cook?
A: This depends on what you are looking for as it varies by number of people and how many meals. We've always just hired someone for one night, which typically costs $100-150 for a largeish group plus the cost of the food itself. The cost goes down if you want more than 1 meal a day. Typically the cook will do dinner and then leave a prepared breakfast, or something like that.
we will send you our house guide with much more information shortly before your trip.