Everything you need to know before sleeping among the trees…
It’s all the rage to say you slept among the trees, but what’s it really like to be in the middle of the jungle in an open-air home? While you may have some of the modern luxuries like running water/outdoor showers and outlets...there are definitely some key things you need to be prepared for.
My first tree house experience could not have been at a better location - Dominican Tree House Village in El Valle, Dominican Republic. This little (and by no means is the property “little”) community of tree houses is nestled in the mountains just a 10 minute bike ride away from El Valle Beach. The weather, the views, the people, the food...everything about this place is just spectacular and the VIP Tree house did NOT disappoint!
While DTHV has all the modern luxuries (indoor and outdoor showers, full bathrooms, running water, outlets) I still had a huge sense of “roughing it” during my stay. Because the tree houses are all spread out among natural land (like they will be in almost every case) it’s really important that you plan how you’ll get to and from it safely during your stay. For us, this meant headlamps to help our drunken-selves make it home late at night or to get up early to catch that first warm cup of coffee and the sunrise. You can score headlamps on Amazon and they’re bright, super tiny and work perfectly for excursions in the dark.
Another HUGE tip to help your stay be as amazing as possible:
Bag everything before you go in gallon (or even larger) ziplocs
Yes, we were in the Dominican so it definitely had that tropical dampness to it, but realize that really no matter what weather you’re staying in, you’re in an open air treehouse, the outside is going to get in. Having outfits sorted in bags helped me stay organized more easily during my stay and made those damp clothes way easier to tuck away and travel with back home. And the coolest part is on the way home, they totally doubled as a safe place to bring home shells, sand and other treasures I found along the way!
Less is more when you’re only working with a treehouse sized space, especially if your stay is 4+ days, you’ll need to be aware of the amount you’re bringing in. I found it super helpful to condense all my beauty/personal care products for the trip (like taking RY’s All-in-One Bar instead of soap, shampoo and conditioner) and to realize that the purpose of this trip is to ROUGH it and let that beach glow do most the work! Think of packing your outfits in layers and stick to three basics that can be rotated throughout the trip - most treehouses don’t offer dressers and closets, so you’ll be living out of your bag - again where those ziplocs come in handy!
Lastly, don’t forget a rain jacket. I promise you there’s like a 99.9% chance you’ll have rain SOMETIME on your stay and when it comes, you’ll be so glad you didn’t miss this tip! Amazon has awesome collapsible jackets that take up virtually NO space whatsoever but keep you toasty and dry!
Hopefully some of these tips will help you have the best treehouse stay!
Forever Adventuring + Ascending,
Melly B