Las Terrenas was actually the place I wanted to visit in the Dominican Republic. After spending the weekend in Punta Cana I had to figure out how to get there. There are no direct buses to Las Terrenas. If you want to travel directly to Las Terrenas from Punta Cana, private shuttles are an option. Private shuttles cost USD 300- 500— so yeah there’s no way I was taking one 🤣. If I’m taking the bus, I had to take one to Santo Domingo, then take another bus to Las Terrenas. Long distance bus fares cost about 400-500 Pesos each way, so taking two buses to Las Terrenas would cost less than 1000 Pesos (about USD 13)— definitely way cheaper. Since I was going to make a stop in Santo Domingo, I figured I might as well spend 2 nights in the capital city and check it out.

To get to Santo Domingo, you can either take the Expreso Bavaro or the APTPRA bus. Their bus terminals are close to each other, along Avenida Estados Unidos (though Expreso Bavaro also has a terminal in Veron). I went with APTPRA because i wanted to spend more time at the beach and the last bus leaving that day was an APTPRA bus. Their terminal is called Terminal Bavaro- Friusa. It shows up on Google Maps. A single journey ticket to Santo Domingo only costs 450 Pesos (about USD 7.50) and the trip only takes about 2 1/2 hours. The last stop of the APTPRA bus is at the Terminal APTPRA Maximo in Santo Domingo, but you can get off the bus anywhere along the way.

Santo Domingo isn’t really a safe city. Crime rate is high— mostly petty theft, but violent crimes also occur. A lot of locals have told me about this. But like all major cities, there are safe areas. I’d say the safest area is the historic center— the Zona Colonial. I stayed within the walls of the historic center and I felt perfectly safe, even when I was walking alone late at night. There are lots of police roaming around even after midnight. Lots of hotels are located here so I guess the government makes sure that everyone is kept safe. An added bonus if you stay here? Most of the attractions in the city are here. You could easily see these attractions on foot. To me, the highlights were the Panteon Nacional and Parque Colon.

But to be honest, the Zona Colonial seems to be a bubble. Immediately outside the city walls, the contrast is staggering. Since I could get off the bus anywhere in the city, I chose to get off close to the Zona Colonial— about a 10 minute walk to the hostel. Honestly I wouldn’t recommend this. The bus driver even asked me several times if I was sure I’d want to get off there. I had to pass through dark streets, a dark alley, and the locals were all staring at me. I just walked as fast as i could 🤣. I was relieved when I reached the street just outside the walls. Finally a street that was well lit!

As I’ve mentioned, if you’re staying in the Zona Colonial you’re already staying in the city’s main tourist attraction. Aside from this, another attraction in Santo Domingo is the so called “Tres Ojos“. These are three limestone caverns which contain lakes— aka the “three eyes” (there’s another hidden lake though, so there’s actually 4). So yeah, it’s kinda like a cenote. I’ve seen my fair share of cenotes so this didn’t really interest me. Add the fact that everyone I knew who went were complaining about the heat in the caverns— i decided to give this one a pass. However, I do know how to get there and it’s easy. If you’re staying at the Zona Colonial, it’s only 10 minutes away if you take an Uber. An Uber only costs about 150-200 pesos. If there’s four of you, this ride costs less than 50 pesos per person. That’s even cheaper than taking public transportation. If you’re really on a tight budget and you’re going there on your own, you can take a public bus for 50 pesos from Zona Colonial. Use Google Maps. Surprisingly, at least in Santo Domingo, it would tell you exactly which bus to take. It’s gonna take more than an hour though. If you’re in a rush, consider spending a little bit more for an Uber. Entrance costs 200 Pesos for foreigners and 100 Pesos for locals. If you want to visit the “fourth eye”, you need to take a small boat to get there. You need to pay an additional 50 Pesos (25 Pesos for locals) for the boat ride. If you’ve never seen something like this before I’d say it’s worth a visit since it’s practically within the capital city. It’s actually pretty amazing that something like this is so close to the city center. If you’re planning to visit, try to head there before it opens at 8:30 AM. I heard it gets real crowded in the middle of the day.

Santo Domingo may not be on top of most people’s list, but I’d say it’s worth spending a night or two in the city to get a glimpse of local culture.