A valid passport is required for the USA, Canada, Britain, Austrailia and all other EU nations.
For information about acquiring/renewing a US passport, please see http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports.html

Visas are not required for travel from USA, Canada, Britain, Australia and all other EU nations. If arriving from a different nation than those listed, please check with your local embassy for more info.

The national currency of the Dominican Republic is the Dominican Peso (DOP) and although the exchange rates tend to fluctuate they generally hover around:

$1 USD = 50 RD$*
€1 EURO = 55 RD$*

*subject to change

For exact exchange rates and more currencies please visit: http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter

Throughout the country the USD is generally accepted, though it is recommended to have some pesos handy for tips and other purchases.

A valid passport is required for the USA, Canada, Britain, Austrailia and all other EU nations.
For information about acquiring/renewing a US passport, please see http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports.html

The national currency of the Dominican Republic is the Dominican Peso (DOP) and although the exchange rates tend to fluctuate they generally hover around:

$1 USD = 50 RD$*
€1 EURO = 55 RD$*

*subject to change

For exact exchange rates and more currencies please visit: http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter

Throughout the country the USD is generally accepted, though it is recommended to have some pesos handy for tips and other purchases.

The Dominican Tree House Village is nestled in a naturally protected valley and is surrounded by a very loyal and tight-knit community of locals that help preserve the peace and tranquility of El Valle (The Valley). Many describe it as a paradise and it truly is a safe haven.

Unlike other resorts in other parts of the Dominican Republic that discourage you from interacting with anyone outside the resort, we strongly encourage you to go out into the community and meet and interact with the locals and get to know them. They are an invaluable part of the experience and genuine, authentic cultural exchange is something in very short supply these days so please take advantage of the opportunity!

The Tree House staff consists of some of the friendliest and most genuine members of the community. They truly are world class. We stand by them 100% and you can count on them treating you like family.

It gets quite dark at night and there are many elevated areas within the project you could potentially fall from if you’re not careful. We strongly recommend you bring a headlamp for traveling between areas within the project at night.

Like in many Latin-American countries, the Dominican Republic is a long ways away from gender equality – men typically work and women usually stay at home to take care of the kids.

Although I can’t guarantee you won’t get a little extra attention from local males, the Dominicans in this area are very used to seeing tourists come and go and they are generally very respectful and polite. We regularly receive a lot female travelers, many of them traveling solo, and I haven’t seen this impede or negatively affect their experience in any way. You very well may find that the guys here are more well-mannered than a lot of the men back at home!

Life continues on like normal. You shouldn’t have to worry about receiving any unwanted attention. ?

No, honestly.

We’ve got a large collection of bottles of bug spray that people have left with us, surprised by the lack of bugs and mosquitos that they were expecting to find here. We are in the jungle so I definitely can’t guarantee you won’t see the occasional beetle, lizard, or snail, but there really are virtually no mosquitos and there are a few things that contribute to this and the general lack of bugs:

• We have a large population of fruit bats that eat mosquitos and moths and keep insect levels low
• There is no standing water at the project
• All of the rooms and the main areas are elevated high above the jungle floor
• We regularly fumigate with an organic spray

All of our beds have a mosquito net over the beds to keep out bugs and moths at night, this is more for peace of mind more than anything else.

Many people are surprised that iguanas are the largest “wild” animals you’ll find on the island. Aside from domesticated farm animals, most animals and creatures on the island are quite small and mild. It’s mostly just birds, butterflies, frogs, toads, lizards, turtles, and snails. There’s nothing poisonous or venomous to worry about on the entire island. Snakes and spiders are very rarely seen at the project.

Samaná International Airport (AZS) is the closest airport, though flights are quite limited and only come through select cities. You should expect to pay no more than $85 for the 60 min taxi ride to the treehouse.

Santo Domingo International (SDQ) is probably your next best option. Taxi service from Santo Domingo to the treehouse can be arranged for you and costs $150 dollars for up to 4 people. It is a 2.5 hour taxi ride from Santo Domingo.

If neither of the above airports works for you or your dates, it might be worth considering a flight into Punta Cana International (PUJ), a 4.5 hour drive away.

Driving in a foreign country can often times be a stressful and overwhelming experience for those not accustomed to the somewhat chaotic conditions that can be found here. We usually recommend going with a Taxi service unless guests are feeling adventurous and have some knowledge of Spanish.

If you’re up for it, renting a car can give you a little more freedom to move around and see more of the country. We advise such travelers to only use reputable companies when renting and to make sure to find out whether insurance is included in the price that has been quoted to you.

The Treehouse parking lot is free of charge for all our guests and is located at the entrance of the property.

Traveling via bus is the cheapest option, but is only for experienced travelers who have a decent command of the Spanish language. For those flying into Santo Domingo, this would mean taking a taxi from Santo Domingo International (SDQ) to the Caribe tours bus station, purchasing a bus ticket to Samaná and taking the 3-hour bus ride, then catching a taxi from the Caribe tours bus station in Samaná to the Treehouse Village.

The rooms are anywhere from 10-40 feet off the ground. They are incredibly sturdy and well built. Some are on stilts, and a few are in trees. You have incredible views of the jungle foliage.

The room has privacy curtains, a comfortable bed with a mosquito net around it, a locking chest for your valuables, and towels for bathing that are not to be taken off-property.

If you plan on having food in your room, bring a sealing container to keep it in.

All treehouses have a private bathroom attached, with the exception of our one Classic Treehouse.

Our VIP Suites are located high up the valley with breathtaking views! Staircase access for these rooms are a bit of a hike so make sure you’re up for the journey!

Our bathrooms at the Dominican Treehouse Village are simple and clean.  Each Tree House, with the exception of our one Classic Treehouse, has a private bathroom with a cold water shower, sink, and toilet.

We also have community bathrooms and showers around the property that have hot water for guests to use.

The VIPs rooms have hot water outdoor showers.

Yes. There are several 110v electrical outlet in each room. Please refrain from bringing or using large appliances as you may overload the circuit.

Yes. The rooms have a locking chest to store your valuables, however since you are traveling to a foreign country and will be engaging in a variety of outdoor physical activities, we do not recommend bringing any extra valuables beyond what you need for your trip. We discourage bringing any expensive jewelry or non-essentials, basically anything that cannot be easily replaced.

We do not have internet available for guests to use on the property, but there is a small Wi-Fi cafe just outside the property, about a 5-minute walk away. You can connect to this for a one-time fee of $10USD and use it to check messages and check-in with family, though it’ll probably be a little slow for anything requiring a lot of data. Netflix will probably have to wait until you get back home ?

In town, there is cell phone coverage (extra charges may apply – call your carrier to get an international plan before traveling to save money).

At the Tree House Village, there are a couple of pockets of coverage depending on the weather. Cell phone coverage is not reliable at the Tree House Village.

On excursions, cell phone coverage is hit and miss.

In case there is any emergencies your family could contact you via the reservations team. They will forward the message to the front desk.

A hearty Breakfast and Dinner are served buffet-style at the restaurant each night with a variety of options to satisfy different tastes. Everything is fresh and hand-prepared.

Lunch is usually served either at our partner restaurant at the beach or while out on one of our all-day excursions.

If you have special dietary needs, we can cater to most alternative diets. Please indicate your specifications at time of booking. Our kitchen staff requires a minimum notification of two weeks prior to the arrival date.

All-inclusive packages include all meals, water, juice, soda, and bottomless Rum drinks served at our bar. Beer, Wine, and Imported alcohols are not included with any package but can be purchased at an additional cost.

All taxes and resort fees are included.

Alcohol consumed off-property is not included.
Flights are not included
Airport transfer is not included except with purchase of one of our Jungle Packages.
There is no mandatory charge for gratuity.

There are many activities you can do while in the area. Some are included and some have extra charges depending on your package. Some nearby activities include:

⁃ Zip-line (on property)
⁃ Swimming pool
⁃ Bike ride through jungle and beach
⁃ Horse ride to waterfall (Cascada Limon)
⁃ Whale watching (mid Jan – mid Mar)
⁃ Off-road Playa Rincon Tour
⁃ Snorkeling + Boat Trip Playa Fronton
⁃ Shopping in town (20 min away)
⁃ Scuba diving
⁃ Bird watching
⁃ Night games
⁃ Relaxing around the fire pit
⁃ Stargazing at night

Bring sandals or shoes that you can get wet. Flip flops are fine, but if you want to do bike rides and walks, etc we recommended sandals that cover your toes.

Make sure to bring:
– Original passport
– Spending money
– Beach towel
– Headlamp
– Travel Insurance strongly recommended (and purchasable online)
– Waterproof jacket/rain poncho
– T-shirts
– Shorts
– Swimsuit
– Sunscreen
– Toiletries
– Personal medication
– Light sweater (November – May)

Optional:
– Your favorite snacks and comfort foods (and a sealable container!)
– Close-toed sandals
– Sun hat
– Camera
– Day pack
– Sunglasses
– Binoculars
– Baby wipes
– Insect Repellant
– Goodies for the kids at the village (staff always appreciates a treat or two also )

While at the Tree House, tours/excursions, bar drinks, and onsite room upgrades can be paid for with cash or credit card. You’ll only need cash for tips, items bought at Michael’s store, and your taxi if it isn’t already included in your package. We cannot take tips using credit card.

Credit Cards are very rarely accepted in this area so you’ll most likely need cash for any purchases you make while not at the Tree House Village.

If your primary currency is USD, your dollars will be accepted pretty much anywhere you go. We take both USD and Dominican Pesos (RD) at the Tree House Village, but we are unable to give cash back from a card and we are unable to exchange currency for you.

If you think you’ll be spending a lot of cash while outside the resort it may be worth converting your USD to Pesos ahead of time at the prevailing rate. Doing this will allow your cash to go roughly 15% further than it would otherwise, but in order to reap this benefit you’ll need to make sure you exchange your money at the prevailing, commission-free rate.

Again, this is roughly 50 Pesos to the Dollar. If you fail to exchange money ahead of time most places will usually treat your dollar as if it were 45 Pesos to the Dollar.

PLEASE NOTE: Dominican Pesos are not the same as Mexican Pesos. If you show up with a bunch of Mexican Pesos there won’t be much we can do other than offer our sympathy and a free shot of tequila ?

The Tree House Resort collects credit card payments at the restaurant for anything needed at the resort including excursions.  We do not supply “cash back”.  For the extra random expenses while out touring the city, getting ice cream for the family or buying souvenirs, we suggest bringing a couple hundred USD worth of DOMINICAN Pesos.  If you don’t bring quite that much and need more, there are bank ATM’s in Samana.  We can order taxi service for you to get out into Samana – it is about $20 USD each way.

We do not have any mandatory charges for tipping or gratuity, and we do not expect anyone to tip unless they have received exemplary service.

For those wishing to give, here is a very loose guide as to how much of a tip would be appropriate in different circumstances:

– For services that take no more than a few minutes such as taking bags to your room or other small gestures, a small $1-2 tip is appropriate.

– For anything requiring a longer span of attention and service, such as your taxi or guides on the Zip Line, a $5-10 tip would be appropriate.

– For anything that requires extensive attention and service such as guiding for all-day excursions, a $10-20 tip is appropriate.

Once again, these are just guidelines, please give what you feel is appropriate.

Our staff works hard and is considerate of every guests’ experience. If you would like to tip our staff, there is a tip box at the bar that gets shared between all of our workers and you can leave a tip there for everyone at the end of your stay if you wish.

The rooms are anywhere from 10-40 feet off the ground. They are incredibly sturdy and well built. Some are on stilts, and a few are in trees. You have incredible views of the jungle foliage.

The room has privacy curtains, a comfortable bed with a mosquito net around it, a locking chest for your valuables, and towels for bathing that are not to be taken off-property.

If you plan on having food in your room, bring a sealing container to keep it in.

All treehouses have a private bathroom attached, with the exception of our one Classic Treehouse.

Our VIP Suites are located high up the valley with breathtaking views! Staircase access for these rooms are a bit of a hike so make sure you’re up for the journey!

Our bathrooms at the Dominican Treehouse Village are simple and clean.  Each Tree House, with the exception of our one Classic Treehouse, has a private bathroom with a cold water shower, sink, and toilet.

We also have community bathrooms and showers around the property that have hot water for guests to use.

The VIPs rooms have hot water outdoor showers.

Yes. There are several 110v electrical outlet in each room. Please refrain from bringing or using large appliances as you may overload the circuit.

Yes. The rooms have a locking chest to store your valuables, however since you are traveling to a foreign country and will be engaging in a variety of outdoor physical activities, we do not recommend bringing any extra valuables beyond what you need for your trip. We discourage bringing any expensive jewelry or non-essentials, basically anything that cannot be easily replaced.

We do not have internet available for guests to use on the property, but there is a small Wi-Fi cafe just outside the property, about a 5-minute walk away. You can connect to this for a one-time fee of $10USD and use it to check messages and check-in with family, though it’ll probably be a little slow for anything requiring a lot of data. Netflix will probably have to wait until you get back home ?

In town, there is cell phone coverage (extra charges may apply – call your carrier to get an international plan before traveling to save money).

At the Tree House Village, there are a couple of pockets of coverage depending on the weather. Cell phone coverage is not reliable at the Tree House Village.

On excursions, cell phone coverage is hit and miss.

In case there is any emergencies your family could contact you via the reservations team. They will forward the message to the front desk.

A hearty Breakfast and Dinner are served buffet-style at the restaurant each night with a variety of options to satisfy different tastes. Everything is fresh and hand-prepared.

Lunch is usually served either at our partner restaurant at the beach or while out on one of our all-day excursions.

If you have special dietary needs, we can cater to most alternative diets. Please indicate your specifications at time of booking. Our kitchen staff requires a minimum notification of two weeks prior to the arrival date.

All-inclusive packages include all meals, water, juice, soda, and bottomless Rum drinks served at our bar. Beer, Wine, and Imported alcohols are not included with any package but can be purchased at an additional cost.

All taxes and resort fees are included.

Alcohol consumed off-property is not included.
Flights are not included
Airport transfer is not included except with purchase of one of our Jungle Packages.
There is no mandatory charge for gratuity.

There are many activities you can do while in the area. Some are included and some have extra charges depending on your package. Some nearby activities include:

⁃ Zip-line (on property)
⁃ Swimming pool
⁃ Bike ride through jungle and beach
⁃ Horse ride to waterfall (Cascada Limon)
⁃ Whale watching (mid Jan – mid Mar)
⁃ Off-road Playa Rincon Tour
⁃ Snorkeling + Boat Trip Playa Fronton
⁃ Shopping in town (20 min away)
⁃ Scuba diving
⁃ Bird watching
⁃ Night games
⁃ Relaxing around the fire pit
⁃ Stargazing at night

Bring sandals or shoes that you can get wet. Flip flops are fine, but if you want to do bike rides and walks, etc we recommended sandals that cover your toes.

Make sure to bring:
– Original passport
– Spending money
– Beach towel
– Headlamp
– Travel Insurance strongly recommended (and purchasable online)
– Waterproof jacket/rain poncho
– T-shirts
– Shorts
– Swimsuit
– Sunscreen
– Toiletries
– Personal medication
– Light sweater (November – May)

Optional:
– Your favorite snacks and comfort foods (and a sealable container!)
– Close-toed sandals
– Sun hat
– Camera
– Day pack
– Sunglasses
– Binoculars
– Baby wipes
– Insect Repellant
– Goodies for the kids at the village (staff always appreciates a treat or two also )

While at the Tree House, tours/excursions, bar drinks, and onsite room upgrades can be paid for with cash or credit card. You’ll only need cash for tips, items bought at Michael’s store, and your taxi if it isn’t already included in your package. We cannot take tips using credit card.

Credit Cards are very rarely accepted in this area so you’ll most likely need cash for any purchases you make while not at the Tree House Village.

If your primary currency is USD, your dollars will be accepted pretty much anywhere you go. We take both USD and Dominican Pesos (RD) at the Tree House Village, but we are unable to give cash back from a card and we are unable to exchange currency for you.

If you think you’ll be spending a lot of cash while outside the resort it may be worth converting your USD to Pesos ahead of time at the prevailing rate. Doing this will allow your cash to go roughly 15% further than it would otherwise, but in order to reap this benefit you’ll need to make sure you exchange your money at the prevailing, commission-free rate.

Again, this is roughly 50 Pesos to the Dollar. If you fail to exchange money ahead of time most places will usually treat your dollar as if it were 45 Pesos to the Dollar.

PLEASE NOTE: Dominican Pesos are not the same as Mexican Pesos. If you show up with a bunch of Mexican Pesos there won’t be much we can do other than offer our sympathy and a free shot of tequila ?

The Tree House Resort collects credit card payments at the restaurant for anything needed at the resort including excursions.  We do not supply “cash back”.  For the extra random expenses while out touring the city, getting ice cream for the family or buying souvenirs, we suggest bringing a couple hundred USD worth of DOMINICAN Pesos.  If you don’t bring quite that much and need more, there are bank ATM’s in Samana.  We can order taxi service for you to get out into Samana – it is about $20 USD each way.

We do not have any mandatory charges for tipping or gratuity, and we do not expect anyone to tip unless they have received exemplary service.

For those wishing to give, here is a very loose guide as to how much of a tip would be appropriate in different circumstances:

– For services that take no more than a few minutes such as taking bags to your room or other small gestures, a small $1-2 tip is appropriate.

– For anything requiring a longer span of attention and service, such as your taxi or guides on the Zip Line, a $5-10 tip would be appropriate.

– For anything that requires extensive attention and service such as guiding for all-day excursions, a $10-20 tip is appropriate.

Once again, these are just guidelines, please give what you feel is appropriate.

Our staff works hard and is considerate of every guests’ experience. If you would like to tip our staff, there is a tip box at the bar that gets shared between all of our workers and you can leave a tip there for everyone at the end of your stay if you wish.