The Arboleda is situated about 7 minutes from the nearest beaches in a small villa-only community of vacation and year-round homes. 

We recommend two methods to reach Las Terrenas: 

1) Las Terrenas is a 2 hour drive from Santo Domingo on brand new roads with some amazing vistas. You can rent cars at Santo Domingo International Airport (SDQ). Four-wheel drive or other car with high clearance is recommended to navigate the hilly roads up to the villa. A taxi to or from SDQ costs approximately $200 USD.

2) The house is about 30 minutes from El Catey airport.  There are limited international flights to this airport including direct flights twice per week from JFK on Jet Blue. You may arrange for a taxi at this airport. 

Villa Arboleda is part of the prestigious Ocean Breeze project, a gated community of luxury homes within Parque Las Terrenas. Ocean Breeze is known as one of the best and most professional projects in Las Terrenas. Located approximately one mile from the nearest beach, the house is a 10 minute drive from the beach town of Las Terrenas. 

The house is self-catered (you are responsible for your food.) If you wish to hire a chef for any or all meals, our local manager can help you book a once you have confirmed your reservation of the house. The cost of the chef is not included in the rental of the house. 

We will send you full details on the house, the town, shopping and how to get there prior to your arrival. Our manager will arrange check in and help you settle in.

Amenities

Five bedrooms - Two master bedrooms with private balconies and king-size beds; One queen-size bed with private balcony; one bedroom with two twin beds with private balcony; one room with two twin beds. 

If you are interested in renting additional houses on the project, e.g. because you have a big group, please click on this link. Ocean Breeze also has lots for sale and can help you build your own dream house.

Kitchen - Fully equipped with dishwasher, gas stove and oven, and microwave oven.

Dining - Outdoor covered dining room with sliding doors to the kitchen and cross-breeze ventilation and fan

Outdoor Space - Stunning views - Infinity pool - Poolside patio - Shaded outdoor lounge for relaxation, morning coffee or evening cocktails - Roof-top solarium for sun-bathing, morning yoga or enjoying cool evening breezes - Gardens surrounding the house Internet - Wifi is available

Housekeeping - Housekeeping daily is included except for weekends. If you wish to have weekend housekeeping, please make arrangements with our local manager. 

Las Terrenas is a picturesque town on the North East coast of the DR, on the Samana Peninsula.

LT is a special place, and not just because of its stunning beauty. Yes, there are 17 kilometers of mostly unpopulated beaches. But it is also set apart because of its unique cultural mix.

LT is made up of 2,000 foreign-born permanent residents out of a total of 15,000 in the town. Mostly French, with a large minority of Italians, at the time of writing; there are 11 Americans, three Brits and an Irish woman as well. This gives LT a particularly European flair, very different from the 'all inclusive' resorts aimed at people coming on package holidays to the North Coast resorts. This is obvious in the style of high-end cuisine available at Las Terrenas: the emphasis is on restaurants that combine European cooking with Dominican flavour.

But, most importantly, the fact that the majority of foreigners are permanent residents mean that they are invested in the community in a completely different way from other areas of the Dominican Republic. It also means that they have imposed certain standards on the services available. While the lights go out most days in the capital for a few hours, blackouts are rare in LT.

Broadband internet connections are easily available (though not particularly cheap). After the hurricane in September 2004, the whole town got together to clean up the beach over the weekend, and in thanks the foreign residents put on a charity concert to raise money to re-house Dominicans who had lost their homes.

Things to do: Our favourite answer is - nothing - and that's the way we like it. A towel, sunscreen and a good book and we're set. But for the more actively inclined, there are plenty of things to do:

• Whale Watching - on the south side of the peninsula is the Bay of Samana. Something like 90% of the humpback whales in the Atlantic are conceived in that bay, with January and February prime times for whale watching scuba diving.

• Wind Sports - Cabarete up the coast is the capital of the western hemisphere for windsurfing and kite surfing, and there are some outfits that cater to LT as well (while the wind is not as strong as it is up the coast, this is good news for beginners).

• Island Horse Treks - are a great way to see the area, especially to the Limon waterfall.

• Hiking - further south is the Las Haitises national park, great for nature walks.

• Food & Entertainment - restaurants serving nearly every major cuisine.

Weather: A strong hurricane hit LT in September 2004. This is noteworthy precisely because it was noteworthy - although hurricanes are frequent in the Caribbean, they are very rare on the Samana peninsula: they usually pass by the southern and western part of the island.

Samana has one of the highest rainfalls in the DR. However, most of this tends to happen at night - it is not uncommon to have a torrential downpour during the night followed by a bright morning, where everything looks green, refreshed and 'washed'. You'll find plentiful sunshine - part of what you will want in a house is lots of shade, in fact.

The Dominican Republic: Things happen on island time here. Having said that, the DR is a functioning democracy governed by the rule of law. Things do work, and you do have recourse in the event that things go wrong. As tourism brings in significant income to the country, a well paid Tourist Police force is there to help protect visitors.

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.