Best cities for retirement in Dominican Republic

We cover this constantly on the forums!

As we have discussed, it's individual.  It depends on what people actually want.

There is NO best city!

Las Terrenas. Living there since 2004.

Why: first of all the Dominican Republic itself. Easy access with whatever country in the world. The second largest island in the Caribbean with large cities like Santo Domingo. Here, whatever you want, you can buy. Even Ikea is here !

Then Las Terrenas. I looked for an authentic village, with amenities 15 years ago not much but i knew that it would grow. So i settled here.
Now Las Terrenas is a nice beach front village, safe, international community which created shops, restaurants, etc.

NO all-inclusive resorts but everywhere access to whatever beach. You just stop and enjoy the beach.
Good medical facilities. new international clinic and another one is coming. Dentists, doctors, etc.

Sports: gym, body surf, kiting, hiking, biking, horses, etc.

2 large supermarkets now.

An international community which is growing every day.

So, that was best for you! Excellent you found your piece of.paradise!

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I totally agree Tony.  We have a home in LT.  Lifestyle is fantastic.  Gary 🇨🇦

I love LT. Just don't like all the tolls to get there.

Las Terrenas has among the most beautiful beaches I've ever visited.

I have only been to LT one time and it was nice but the part I saw the water was very rough making the beach not enjoyable imo. Any recommendation on lodging there ? I plan on going back to see the humpback whales and hope to have a better experience.

Good day
we are planning a vacation for 2 week my wife and me on January
thinking of las terrenas trying to fine a good deal renting with private bathroom and kitchen so we can but locally and cook  and near the beach
Any idea where to look?
am looking over the internet  found some near beaches
but dont know which beaches are nice to rent by

Personally I would recommend staying on Playa Las Ballenas. I lived there for 9 months in an apartment west of Hotel Alisei called Ventanas al Mar which along with many others can be seen on the attached map and rented.

https://www.google.com/maps/@19.3254145,-69.5493869,17z

Hotel Alisei https://aliseihotelspa.com/ has apartments with all the cooking facilities you need
and is a friendly establishment with nice bar and restaurant too. It has access to Playa Las  Ballenas and if you walk westwards along the beach towards Loma Bonita you will come to a section of beach which is wide and gently sloping and more sheltered and calm most times.

There is an apartment complex called Bonita Village which has a lovely pool set back from the beach and can be rented through AIC Dominicana https://www.aic-dominican-real-estate.com/

I just love the town and all it's beaches so there are too many places to consider including quieter Playa Bonita and Playa Coson so this is just a snap shot. And there are sheltered sections of these beaches too.

Lennox, thank you very much for posting these places both look great. We stayed at a very nice hotel on beach last time but when we entered water it was too rough to enjoy. Is that the case with these or is the water nice and calm?

Classygringo,

I live in LT. I can assure you water is nice and calm here.

Or you had no luck being here after a few windy days or you chose one of the few locations where the wind blows directly to the beach.

One of these is the stretch of sand just between the the Pueblo de los Pescadores (restaurants) and Hotel Costarena.

The second one is Playa Cosón where the beach is not protected by a reef contrary to most of LT's beaches.

The main town beach heading east can be rough at times as evidenced by the erosion that regularly took place but which was accelerated by the storms of 2017. It is can be calmer near Punta Popi.

As I posted the section of beach going in the opposite direction from town at the far end of Playa Las Ballenas is normally calm and good for swimming with a level of protection by the coral reef off shore and around a corner in the coastline. It was my preferred spot when I was living on that beach. and is well served by apartments in the Loma Bonita area. It is a bit further out from town so hire yourself a quad.

When calm the beaches around the town are spectacular but are good for surfing when the waves are up with wind coming from the north east trades, so in those times the best places are on the leeward side of headlands sheltering those beaches from the prevailing wind. That is the case on Playa Bonita and Playa Coson.  A few hours on the beach especially when the water is calm at Luis's restaurant on Play Coson can be special with such wonderful golden sand and sand dollars to be found wandering along a gorgeous stretch of beach. But when the waves are up watch the surfing and enjoy the freshly cooked seafood with rum, beer, fresh coconut juice or whatever your fancy in the most rustic conditions.

Guineo Verde, we were so disappointed because we heard nothing but positive things about Las Terrenas but I will check out the areas you are saying are calm that hotel helps because otherwise I would have not clue since I will be living in another area.  We will definitely be going back just want to get it right this time because we want to enjoy calm water. I prefer living close to a beach area that still has decent shopping in regards to grocery and everything things. I have heard great things about North Coast but will take my time exploring the island once I get residency. Thanks for the tip.

lennoxnev thanks for your very detailed post I took notes and now have a better understanding of where to go but just for clarification aliseihotelspa.com/    has the more calm water protected by the reef or Bonita Village? We want to be sure to get it right and be in calm waters and have a great time. Also hoping to get some whale watching in so hopefully not too far from that. But even if it is we want to go where calm water is in Nov then whale watching in January. thanks again for your post

My favorite Town to go for to have some Nice Weeks even Month is Playa Juan Dolio or to stay on the North Coast I would choose Rio San Juan or Cabrera. Las Terenas I leave to the Hipsters and go to a Hotel for a retirement I could image some more effective even in Las Terenas exist Apartments or House for Rent full furnished also via Airbnb . To retire I feel good In Santiago could Image to stay in a Cabaña up in the mountains right close to a nice River or in the area of Luperon if I wanted a house on the beach but this is not for people who want to have other expats around Restaurants with the Food they know from home and Stores and Malls like at Home . Exept Juan Dolio a really small town with many Canadians and Italians  all other Areas I like to go you need to like Dominican Lifestyle .......

Waters are as calm in Playa Bonita as near Hotel Alisei ... all year long.

I use to go to Playa Las Ballenas, not far from that hotel, with my 5 years old daughter because she cannot swim. The crystalline water is shallow and as quiet as a lake. 

Playa Bonita is very good spot to swim too, with an incredible scenery but, in my opinion, staying there is not the better option because you would be far off the center and you would need to drive each time you would want to go out.

From the Alisei or the nearby hotels, it is just a short 10 minutes walk to the shops, restaurants, discos, pharmacy ect ...

In case you would need guidance, drop me a PM once you are here.

The section of beach across the road from Alisei is not great for swimming because of seaweed. You would have to walk 5 minutes along Playa Las Ballenas westward to find the best parts of this beach which are beyond Colibri and around the headland and very sheltered great sand shallow slope and good swimming. The best part is at the end before Loma Bonita imo and as such Bonita Village area is a good place to consider too but fully self catering. You are maybe 15 minutes walk from there to Pueblo de Pescadores and more to town and supermarket so a quad is a suitable form of transport there. Playa Bonita has a calm section on its east end sheltered behind Loma Bonita which is great for swimming. But the beach further west gets big waves when the surf is up and the surf school there takes advantage of that. It is a good 10 mimute drive to town from this part of LT.

A little off topic.
I spent 7 weeks in LT last Jan/Feb and loved everything about the town. I rented an apartment by One Love and would walk the beach 5-6 evenings a week. I especially enjoyed doing it at sunset walking westward. The constant changing direction of the shoreline with the dropping of the sun was amazing.
I found the people to be some of the friendliest and nicest people I ever meet.

legs208 wrote:

A little off topic.
I spent 7 weeks in LT last Jan/Feb and loved everything about the town. I rented an apartment by One Love and would walk the beach 5-6 evenings a week. I especially enjoyed doing it at sunset walking westward. The constant changing direction of the shoreline with the dropping of the sun was amazing.
I found the people to be some of the friendliest and nicest people I ever meet.

I don't think you are off topic at all.

Las Terrenas is indeed one of the friendliest tourist destinations in the country and one quickly gets to know many people and it is an ideal retirement location. It is friendly resort perhaps because many of the people working there have lived there for a long time and there are far less transient workers and hustlers than in all the other resorts. Yes, at weekends you have an influx of weekend visiting Dominicans from the capital in general but invariably they have property or friends ith property there and are regulars. The hotels and guest houses are smaller and the tourist traffic doesn't take over the resort and blends in well. It is focused on families and retirees too and has few bars and night spots. it is a safe resort to be in at all times of the day.

Not everbodies cup of tea but for this European it ticks all the boxes.

THE majority of Expats reside on coastal areas and, quite frankly, that is awesome. The majority, being retired, have earned the right the privilege of such great living areas. While I truly enjoy the beaches along the North Shore that I have been to, as my DOminican family keeps taking me to new and nice beaches frequented primarily by Dominicans, some of us live inland. THe one Expat from just past La Vega ( can't spell the the name - Jaccaraba?) for instance, resides in an area where the highlands are beautiful and peaceful. THere are some GREAT restaurants up in the "mountains" and there is clean river water - yes CLEAN - to relax in. Living with hearing loss makes learning spanish much harder for me but living immersed with locals here in MOCA is great. I am continually surprised by locals who speak up, in english, as I sometimes struggle to converse in spanish. Yes, the interior has it's benefits and drawbacks, like anywhere. However, the main highway to Santo Domingo or Puerto Plata (once northern construction is complete) is a great connector and easy to get to. Roads to the coast are fair to good. I recommend buying or renting a higher off the ground vehicle like a SUV or truck - if travelling more than the major roads. BUt the coastal area of Carette or Sosua are within a 90 min drive away from me - and it is that long only due the the max driving speed able to to do being about 65 kph. (As an aside, the same distance in Bosnia took 2 1/2 hours to drive due to the roads, which were not full of potholes and washouts) But the scenery is quite beautiful with some great vista see. SO, once folks settle in a specific area and town/city, the adventurous get out and see the country. Maybe you'll find an interior location! Making friends with local is not hard, and once away from the touristy regions, gringos are generally welcome. Well that's my two cents worth - enjoy wherever you are and while being honest and straightforward with the locals, beware of overly friendly advances until you truly know folks.....they respect honesty and hard work....cheers! (PS - oh yes, the Santiago International Airport is real handy here (16 km/10 miles) even though I do fly Westjet out of Puerto Plata much of the time when I do travel)

I need you help
First I hope all you guys are fine during the hurricane
am Canadian planing a short trip to Las Terrenas 
am trying to see if my wife and myself will like it to retire
we are planing to come over in January but dont know where to rent in Las terrenas
need to be beside the beach or within a walking distance to it and to the local market where we can buy locally and cook our food
pls need your help thank you

sorry man but need you help
hi just went to the hotel u mention it is expensive for us do u have another option
appreciate your help

Welcome to the forums.  I am sure others will have suggestions for you.

Am really blessed because I found nice I should say friends like you willing to help
Thank you so much