Soon we'll be back in Las Terrenas

In two weeks we will be on our way back to the Dominican Republic. We'll spend a few days in Santo Domingo, the capital city and the remaining time in Las Terrenas. Most of our days in Las Terrenas will be spent looking at sites for future development projects and accessing what's already there.

I'll be writing about our adventures in Las Terrenas once we get there, but I thought I'd give some background first.

Las Terrenas is located on the Samana Peninsula in the northeast of the Dominican Republic. Far away from the centers of mass tourism, the Samana Peninsula is one of the most beautiful parts of the country. Long, white sand beaches are lined by a thick belt of palm trees, a ridge of hills inland is covered with luxuriant tropical vegetation, and there are several quaint villages and towns in the area. Las Terrenas, Las Galeras and Samaná are the tourist and economic centers of the peninsula, where there are businesses, cafés and restaurants, bakeries, car and motorbike rental companies and diving schools.

In the 19th century, Samaná was still an island, separated from the mainland by a narrow waterway. The result is a diversity of very distinctive flora and fauna that are found nowhere else in the country. Clear water and fabulous coral reefs make Samaná a paradise for divers and snorkelers. The Samana bay is a prime whale watching area.

The peninsula is currently 4-5 hours drive by car or bus from Santo Domingo by country road. A motorway is under construction that will cut the driving time to 1 1/2 hours. There is also a regular ferry connection and a small airport in Las Terrenas, approached by air from Puerto Plata and Santo Domingo. El Catey International Airport, only a 30-minute drive from Las Terrenas, just opened in November 2006. Once the road from the airport to Las Terrenas is improved, the commute will be less than 15 minutes. The improvement in access to the area is one of the reasons we are so excited about the investment potential in this market.

Las Terrenas is a very lively town with a great deal of charm. Small shops, boutiques, restaurants and cafés are setting up in town. The once sleepy fishing village is a good example of "sustainable tourism"–there are no large hotel developments, and Dominicans and tourists are respectful in their dealings with each other. There is a three-story maximum height imposed on all buildings, which will preserve the charming character of the area. Tourism is just taking its first steps forward and thus offers a wealth of opportunities for positive development.

The town is situated on a wonderful section of the coast with 18 miles of sandy beaches, some of the finest in the Caribbean. Several diving schools have set up in Las Terrenas, and cars, motorbikes and bicycles can be rented. There are a number of very good restaurants that have been opened by European immigrants, and in the evenings the sounds of Bachata and Merengue drift out of the Dominican bars.

On our last trip, we stayed at the Hotel Playa Colibri, a very pleasant small resort of apartments owned primarily by US and European investors. There's a great casual dining restaurant affiliated with the Colibri, where we enjoyed freshly caught langoustine almost every day.

This time we will stay at a newly opened hotel called the Alisei. The Alisei was under construction last August, but when we learned it was developed by the same folks who run the Colibri, we thought we'd give this one a try.

I'll write all about our trip once we get there, but in the next two weeks I'll continue to give an overview of the DR, investing in the DR, and the opportunities in Las Terrenas.