Las Terrenas

Largely unknown among North Americans, Las Terrenas was discovered in the 1970s by Europeans looking for an affordable Caribbean getaway. Today, Las Terrenas is a vibrant international community with residents from all over the globe, including French, German, Polish, Swiss, Italian, Dutch, and British expats. The eclectic population means you can find exotic food imports from Europe in the supermarkets, freshly made Swiss cheese and German sausage at the local shops, excellent international restaurants, and an active and mixed group of folks to welcome you to their well-established community. 

The Caribbean and the sands that fringe it are around every corner in Las Terrenas. You can easily use the beach as a thoroughfare to get from one part of town to another; it’s the most pleasant pedestrian route. At any time throughout the day, you can turn this way or that, and there it is again, the sea, now blue, then green. 

But Las Terrenas is no typical Caribbean beach town. Scratch the surface and you find one of the most interesting expat communities anywhere in the world. This is a majority French expat population, bolstered by Italians, Brits, Danes, and Germans.