Things to do in Las Terrenas: beaches, boat days, waterfalls and whales

Beaches and where to stay

The town's beaches run along the coast on either side of the centre. Playa Las Ballenas is home to beachfront hotels such as Hotel Alisei, and Cap Caraïbes' catamaran days start from there. West of town, Playa Cosón is a long, quieter stretch with hotels and villas including Cosón Bay and Sublime Samaná. For groups, Casa Rosabaya has 12 ocean-view bedrooms for up to 26, and Villa del Mar sleeps 28 with a chef and driver included.

The most photographed beaches, such as Playa Jackson and Playa Ermitaño, are reached by boat, which is why boat days are the town's signature activity.

Boat days, fishing and diving

Cap Caraïbes runs shared or private catamaran days to Playa Jackson and Playa Ermitaño with reef snorkeling, a BBQ lunch and drinks; its all-inclusive Playa Jackson day costs RD$5,500 per person, and the crew speaks English, French and Spanish. Fishing Las Terrenas, a family-run company with more than 10 years in business, offers private beach days to Playa Ermitaño from US$300, inshore and deep-sea fishing for marlin, mahi-mahi, wahoo and tuna from US$250 per group of four, and free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

Divers can join The Dive Academy, which runs the peninsula's only dedicated dive catamaran and offers full-day two-dive trips to Cabo Cabrón, plus Discover Scuba, Open Water and Advanced courses.

Punta Cana · Photo: Leonardo Rossatti / Pexels

El Limón, Los Haitises and other day trips

The El Limón waterfall, which Pedro Taxi Las Terrenas describes as 52 m high, is the classic half-day trip. Pedro Taxi's private tours start from US$85 and cover El Limón, zipline, ATV, Cayo Levantado, whale watching and a roughly 6-hour private boat tour of Los Haitises National Park with its mangroves, rock islets and Taíno caves.

Samaná Excursions lists a full day to Los Haitises and Cayo Levantado from US$60 per person, and Nano Vega Tours lists tours from US$75. For the park itself, see our Los Haitises tour comparison.

Whale watching (January to March)

From mid-January to the end of March, humpback whales gather in Samaná Bay. Whale Samaná, operating since 1983, lists the season as January 15 to March 31 with tours at US$65 per adult and US$35 per child, and Arena Tours and Whales of Samaná run trips from Las Terrenas with hotel transport. Book a few days ahead in peak weeks.