DR Vacation Getaways can help advise you in selecting the location and type of accommodation to create the vacation experience you desire. The all-inclusive fee will vary with the type of accommodation you select, but your access to restaurants and facilities will be the same with your Gold level reservation. The Gold level is designated to staff by the gold bracelet you will wear.

Each LHVC locations offer an experience of a lifetime, but we want to make sure we meet your expectations. Please help us help you by answering a few questions.

Owner’s insight:

The wonderful thing about vacationing in DR, at the LHVC resorts is you always have great food and drinks, and a variety of accommodations to meet your budget. We’ve got you covered! Whether your ideal vacation is relaxing by the pool, reading on the beach or partying hard all night and sleeping all day.

The villa experience is so personal for couples to have privacy to reconnect or take your whole family to experience the tropical paradise together. We took our children and their families to Puerto Plata a couple of years ago and it was wonderful! This year when our Granddaughter was told she could go anywhere in the world, for her high school graduation, her choice was to return to LHVC in Puerto Plata!

The staff are so warm and friendly. Once, when we just arrived and were walking around the resort, we heard the pool staff call, out our daughter’s name, and came running up to greet their friend. They remembered her from our vacation two years earlier! When they say, “Welcome home family!” they mean it.

Owner’s insight:

The beaches at Punta Cana are comparable to the best beaches anywhere. They have beautiful white sand and are located on the eastern most tip of the Dominican Republic. The beaches at Puerto Plata are more natural. Puerto Plata is located on the Northern coast which is also referenced to as the Amber coast, for the color of the sand. From Puerto Plata you can take a short drive on Highway 5, passed Sosua to Cabarete or follow it all the way down the coast to the Samana Peninsula.

You can rent a private vehicle and guide to get out and see the countryside or whatever you desire. We have taken tours of the city, went up the mountain on the cable car, driven to Ricon Beach, or Sosua for the day.

Cabarete beaches go on for miles, bookending the main part of Cabarete where you will find plenty of activity. You can choose from a wide variety of restaurants, boutiques, shops and clubs in the heart of town, or you can choose a peaceful intimate walk on the natural, undeveloped beaches.

Watersports of any kind are available at all locations and can be booked through the link to the LHVC excursion center. Cabarete is one of the top locations in the world for kitesurfing. The night life at Puerto Plata on the resort is plentiful, Cabarete and Punta Cana resorts will keep you entertained, but you can venture out to other night spots close by for more variety.

The waterfalls of Damajagua are part of a national park situated only half an hour from Puerto Plata and consists of the winding river Damajagua, making its way down the mountain forming 27 awesome waterfalls with natural slides and amazing cliffs. This is one of our favorite “Do not miss”, excursions! It takes about half an hour on foot walking on beautiful trails through the tropical rainforest to get to the waterfalls. You swim across the first pool and start making your way up the rocks. Then you will be swimming through narrow gorges of crystal-clear mountain spring water, jumping and sliding into the pools of water formed in between the limestone cliffs. It’s just an amazing experience!

Fitness is important to us. All the resorts have daily activities and classes, like water aerobics, yoga, Zumba and many more. Workout facility is available on-site, to help you balance the all-inclusive food and drink you will enjoy. We like to walk in the morning before breakfast then take a stretching or yoga class to be recharged for the day. I attended a yoga class at Cabarete and it was amazing. The work out equipment and facility are on the top level overlooking the ocean that was just completed in 2019. The view is gorgeous overlooking the ocean that is scattered with kite surfers. The Yoga instructors, Bhakti and Seba have studied various, unique, traditional and contemporary styles of Yoga from many Yoga Teachers, Spiritual Gurus and Yoga Teachers Training Schools mainly from India. They both have distinguished credentials, and even teach yoga instructor courses. Please visit their website http://www.sthirachittayoga.com/. If you are interested in more information.

Owner’s insight:

All the accommodations are very nice, but as mentioned above, the all-inclusive fee will vary with the type of accommodation you select. Your Gold bracelet will allow you to enjoy access to member level restaurants and facilities. I think, if you are watching your budget, you could save some on the All-inclusive fee by choosing the less expensive accommodations and still be happy. We have many friends who are also owners at the highest LHVC membership, but choose to stay in the less expensive accommodation. They can extend their vacation for more days, due to the lower all-inclusive fee and still enjoy the best the resort has to offer.

Personally, our most enjoyable vacations have been in the villas. To experience your vacation from the minute you get to the resort, until the minute you leave, without worries is priceless! I was overwhelmed and brought to tears when I first experienced having a beautiful breakfast served to us on our patio by our private pool! You can have food or snacks delivered to your villa throughout the day, your beverages are provided, so you can just relax. We bring a couple of cheap rafts, chill in our private pool and enjoy. The villas usually have books, other guest have left, so you have reading as a backup on a rainy day. The villa experience provides a home away from home to enhance the relationship for a couple or entire family.

Owner’s insight:

You are able to be as busy or as relaxed as you want, worry free. We like to pace the excursions throughout our stay to mix it up. All the resorts have excellent pool staff who make it fun to meet and compete in games with other guest. The nightly entertainment at all resorts is great! The entertainment staff works very hard to make sure you have a good time. Puerto Plata’s Thursday and Sunday Night parties will blow your mind. Entry into Ocean World OCEAN WORLD DAY PASS is free for our guest and includes shows, snorkeling in a huge tank with equipment provided, and a bird sanctuary encounter. For an additional fee you can swim with sharks, and have encounters with dolphins, sting rays and sea lions. Ocean World is located close enough to the Puerto Plata resort that you can use the resort transportation. The Puerto Plata resort is large, and has the most variety of activities. We have a great time without leaving the resort, and have made long lasting friends at all locations. The golf cart, when you stay in the villas is really useful. The other Puerto Plata accommodations are more centrally located, and on-site shuttle is available for transportation. Kosher dinners are available for US$150.00 per person per night, and is only available in Puerto Plata.

Wedding planning is available in Puerto Plata. The wedding coordinator works for the resort, but they can communicate directly with guests to make the arrangements. weddings@lhvcresorts.com Many of our friends have used and were thrilled with the results.

Owner’s insight:

The resort excursion center can help you decide on which activity to choose. I would recommend checking this out before or at the beginning of your vacation since not every excursion is offered daily.

We have tried almost all the activities, and have had a blast. Most will take a large chunk of your day due to travel, but they are well worth it. We bring our own snorkeling equipment, but necessary equipment is supplied on excursions.

Humpback Whale watching is from January to mid -March. Each year the seas around Las Terranas, in Samana peninsula are visited by over three thousand humpback whales, who mate in the winter and spring. This is also the same location in Samana peninsula where you can go to Haitises National Park. If you are lucky you might see the whales on your way to the national park, or even off the coast of Cabarete, as happened in 2020.

Puerto Plata, Sosua and Cabarete are not very far away from each other, all are located on Highway 5. Sosua is located between Puerto Plata and Cabarete and is the spot for scuba diving, snorkeling, or power snorkeling. Power snorkeling is snorkeling done with the aid of powered propeller device that carries you through the water up to 5 times faster than swimming alone just like James Bond. The best snorkeling is Punta Rusia (Paradise Island).

Owner’s insight:

We would recommend the Tropical for handicap access. While some villas have ramps or one to two steps, they are not to the A.D.A. standards. I have seen other guest in wheelchairs and know some villa has an elevator. Cabarete Imperial and Presidential Suites do have elevators. Let us know your needs and we will contact you with more specific information.