The Dominican Republic is well known for its beautiful beaches, its friendly people, the delicious rum and it’s year-round t-shirt weather. But this island in the Caribbean Sea won’t give away all its secrets so easily. Hidden in the countryside, there is a variety of breathtaking and unique waterfalls ready to be discovered. We at Dominican Expert put together the 5 most remarkable “Saltos” as Dominicans say, in case you get tired of the 27° warm ocean water and you are looking for a cool experience! Our collection includes two well-known waterfalls and three true hidden gems, which hardly any tourist in the Dominican Republic know about.
1. Salto El Limón
The Salto El Limon is definitely the beauty queen among waterfalls, and after looking at the pictures you will understand exactly why! It is not the highest waterfall with its 50 meters, but the beauty of the untouched nature surrounding it gives you the illusion of being hours away from civilization. El Salto del Limon is located on the Samaná peninsula and is best reached by car or an organized excursion from nearby Las Terrenas.
Salto El Limon, Samaná.
How to get there: There are several places to stop between Las Terrenas and Santa Barbara de Samaná. You can leave the car at one of the many local roadside restaurants, such as El Pino or parada Franklin. From there it takes about 40 minutes of walking or about 30 minutes on horseback.
2. Salto Socoa
The beauty of the Salto Socoa is beyond imagination and this small waterfall, surrounded by pristine nature, will exceed your expectations. The landscape is dotted with many small natural pools, which makes it easy for you to find your favorite spot to relax with the sound of the splashing water. There is even a camp site with the opportunity to spend the night on a hillside, drifting off to sleep to the sound of the waterfall. Awesome!
Salto Socoa
How to get there: The Salto Socoa is located on the highway heading from Santo Domingo to Samaná. After passing the second toll station, you will find a sign telling you to take the next exit to the right. From here just follow the road for a few minutes until reaching the small parking lot.
3. El Salto de La Jalda
With 120 meters, the Salto la Jalda is considered the goliath of waterfalls in the Dominican Republic and indeed, the whole Caribbean! Ironically, you rarely see any tourist there and it’s even unknown to many locals. The tour will take you about 4.5 hours by foot or 2.5 hours on horseback. For those in hurry, there is also the possibility to land right in front of the waterfall with a helicopter. We personally recommend the hiking experience, but if you are short on time and you always wanted to try out a helicopter, pack your bathing suit, buckle your seatbelt and enjoy!
El Salto de La Jalda
How to get there: From Santo Domingo or Punta Cana, you will head towards Sabana de la Mar, where you will take another road to Magua. There you will see a sign directing you to Loma de Magua, which is part of the national park. We recommend a local guide for an easier experience as the waterfall is very remote and the hiking trail occasionally difficult to follow.
4. Salto Alto de Bayaguana
This one is special! Generally, waterfalls get more intense throughout the rainy season. During this time, the Salto Alto de Bayaguana has 3 streams that fall smoothly into a beautiful natural pool surrounded by lush vegetation. The whole scenery will make you question reality! This waterfall is the closest to the capital of the Dominican Republic and is therefore perfectly suitable for day trips from Santo Domingo.
Salto Alto de Bayaguana
How to get there: This beautiful waterfall is a few kilometers from Bayaguana and about 1.5 hours away from Santo Domingo. It´s just a dirt road so we recommend an SUV.
5. Salto de Aguas Blancas
At about 1,680 meters above sea level, it’s one of the highest altitude waterfalls in the Dominican Republic. The plant life is completely different and temperatures can drop dramatically at night (in winter even below 0°). Be warned! Jumping into this waterfall is only for the brave! Salto de Aguas Blancas makes a perfect stopover while exploring the Cordillera Central from Jarabacoa or Constanza.
Salto de Aguas Blancas
How to get there: The Salto de Aguas Blancas is about 20 kilometers from Constanza in the direction of Valle Nuevo and the pyramid. There are many signs on the road so it’s easy to find. However, we recommend an SUV for visiting this waterfall as it is only a dirt road with many rocks and potholes to navigate.
The Waterfalls in the Dominican Republic are the perfect getaway that can be combined with roundtrips or self-driven tours while discovering the Island (For example our Natural Beauty of the Dominican Republic round trip). There are no entry fees and most of them are easy to find while followings the signs on the road. Some Waterfalls require quite a walk to reach them so make sure to take some snacks with you. If you are interested in visiting some of the waterfalls mentioned in this blog post, ask our travel experts for your customized itinerary.
You want to explore some or even all of the top 5 waterfalls of the Dominican Republic? Ask us for your personalized itinerary and get to know the best places of the Caribbean!
Hello I will be visiting in May , and I would like to know how far of a drive are any of the waterfall with natural pools from Punta Cana? Can you provide me with any of the car rental place information in punta cana closest to Corte Sea condos ? Thank you.
Dear Dannie,
thanks for your comment. I have sent you an email with further information right now.
Best regards
Christian
is there any hiking tour to get to El Salto de la halda from Punta cana
Hi Melinda,
thanks for your comment to our waterfall blogpost. Salto de la Jalda is a great off-the-beaten track adventure from Punta Cana, but it’s not that easy to reach. Basically, there are two options:
– if you have a rental car (contact us for competetive rates with full insurance) just go to the town of Magua, approx. 1.5 hours drive from Punta Cana. From there it’s an approximately 3 hours hike one-way, depending on your fitness level. We can help with further recommendations.
– if you would like to a private transfer, we can help organizing this, incl. a guide and driver. However, this won’t be cheap as it is not a common excursion.
Last option would be to go there by helicopter, but that’s not the fun of exploring waterfalls, isn’t it. 😉
Please let us know if you need further information.
Best regards
Christian
Im visiting in May staying at the hardrock resort, how far of a drive is it from the resort to one of these waterfalls?
Dear Angeles,
thanks for your comment. Unfortunately, Punta Cana does not have that many waterfalls as it is mostly a plain area. Salto de la Jalda is one of the closest ones (but also one of the toughest), you can find some information in my last comment above.
The waterfall mentioned in the blogpost “Salto Alto de Bayaguana” is also reachable within more or less 2 to 2.5 hours from Punta Cana, buy you would need to hire a taxi driver to go there or rent a car. If you need a rental car with full insurance and 0 USD CDW, please let us know.
Best regards
Christian
Is getting to Salto Alto de Bayaguana an easy hike or do you need to go by vehicle ?
The waterfall of Bayaguana is not that easy to find. The best is, if you either take a GPS or a guide with you. If you have a SUV, you can approach the waterfall quite close, if you just have a regular car, you would have to walk a few kilometers or take a motoconcho.
Let us know if you need a car as our rental cars are fully insured with zero deductible.
I have learned huge knowledge from here. I am waiting for your updates.
Thanks For Sharing Such beautiful information with us.
thank you for the wonderful links and resources
Hey Alamgir,
thank you for the nice comments, we are always happy to read if we could help someone with our travel information from the Dominican Republic. If you need any help or assistance to plan your own vacation, we can help you as well.
Thanks and have a nice weekend!
Phil from Dominican Expert
Can we take a bus that would get us close to these waterfalls , currently we are in puerto plata.
Hi Sandra! From Puerto Plata it would be a bit difficult to get there by public transport. We recommend visiting the 27 Waterfalls close to Puerto Plata.
Good luck and have fun!
Dominican Expert Team
good afternoon, we will be arriving in Puerto Plata 2/8/2020. I’m not interested in visiting multiple stops for a long day. perhaps a 1/2 day visit to a recommended waterfall with driver/guide. is this something Dominican Expert can assist with? please feel free to email any reply if possible. Thank you, Lisa
Dear Lisa, Thanks so much for your interest in our services. We will be sending you an email with the enquired information.
Best regards,
Benita
Dominican Expert
Hello, I will be at the bahia principe luxury samana and woulkd like to know what is the closest waterfall and also how long it would take me to get there with a tour bus. Or if better to get there by car.
Thank you
Hi Sara, the closest waterfall from your hotel would be El Salto Limon waterfall, which is about 1 hour drive. You can either go with a tour bus, or by car, both would be suitable options.
Best regards,
Benita
Dominican Expert
I am stopping at bahia principi and would like to know how to get to Salto El Limon?
Hi Angie,
Thank you for your comment. 🙂 Which Bahia Principe Hotel are you staying at? There are many different ones across the island.
Best regards,
Benita Rose
Dominican Expert
Hi,
I want to visit Las Golondrinas waterfall but I cant find any good directions or maps to get there. Could you give me a detailed route to follow please. I will be hiking there if possible after arriving to the closest town.
Thanks
Hi,
Could you tell me if Salto Las Golindrinas is walking distance from Salto Arroyo Grande ?
It seems it can be also be accessed from Jamao De Norte easier than Salcedo.
Would I be able to take a motoconcho directly to the falls or is there still a hike once you arrive ?
According to the map , Salto Los Bueyes or Arroyo Grande is only a 10 minute walk from Golondrinas but the locals seem to be stumped as to knowing how to find it and Im going crazy trying to find out how to get to both on one trip.
Thanks
Hi Mark, thanks for your comment! Yes, you can visit both falls, preferably from the Moca- Jamao al Norte road (aprox. 30-40 minutes driving time, about 11km), this is quicker than from Salcedo (more or less 1.5 hrs driving time). On the way to the unpaved road which leads to the falls you should be able to find someone who takes you by motoconcho.
Good luck!
Benita
Dominican Expert Team
If we are staying in Miches Playa Esmeralda are there any easy tours for a family with three younger kids? 6, 8 and 10. They don’t do well on horses or a three hour hike. What are our best options?
Hi Debbie,
Thank you very much for visiting our page and your comment. I am happy to send you further information by mail, you will be contacted shortly.
Best regards,
Larissa
Dominican Expert
I’m arriving in Dominican Republic via Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas, which docks on Nov 4, 2022 at Puerto Plata, and stays from 7 am to 4 pm. I have always loved waterfalls but I’m 73 years old and probably not in good enough shape to take the advertised “27 Waterfalls” excursions if they involve long bouts of hiking and are considered “strenuous” by the cruise line. Is there one (or maybe two) nearby waterfalls that I could get to by private taxi from the dock that wouldn’t take more than a couple of hours total, and also wouldn’t force me to hike for more than, let’s say, 1/2 mile? I’m not planning on swimming in the waterfall, but I do have a new iPhone camera I’d love to try out.
Dear Doug,
thanks for your comment on our post. I will be sending you an email with the enquired information.
Have a wonderful cruise – Bon voyage!
Best regards,
Larissa
Dominican Expert
Similar to Doug, we will be arriving in Puerta Plata by NCL cruise May 9th, 2023 and stays in Port from 7 am to 3 pm. (We would like to be back at the ship by 2pm) We love waterfalls but are both in our 60’sand not in good enough shape to take the advertised “27 Waterfalls” excursions that are considered “strenuous” by the cruise line. Is there one (or maybe two) nearby waterfalls that we could get to by private taxi from the dock that wouldn’t take more than a couple of hours total, and also wouldn’t force us to hike for more than, let’s say, 1/2 mile to a mile?
Dear Linda,
We appreciate your comment on our post. I will be sending you the requested information by e-mail.
I hope you will enjoy your day in the Dominican Republic and have a fantastic time on your cruise!
Sunny greetings,
Larissa
Dominican Expert