Punta Cana is where you land. The good days start an hour out.
Which Saona boat actually stops at the natural pool. What a buggy run down to Macao costs. Whether Santo Domingo is worth the drive from the resort strip. Reviews of the tours you can book across the Dominican Republic.
Saona by boat, Macao by buggy, the reef, the Colonial Zone.
Saona by catamaran, the Bávaro reef, or a party boat with a sandbar stop.
Most Dominican boat days leave from the east coast and split three ways: the long run out to Saona, a few hours of reef and open bar off Bávaro, or the loud one. Here is what each costs to board.
Punta Cana for the sand, then the stretch of coast you came for.
The resort strip on the eastern tip, the cruise port and kite beaches on the north coast, the old town in the capital, the whale bay at Samaná, and the harbours the Saona boats leave from.
Monkeyland, zip lines and the water-cave runs lead the Dominican list.
Every Dominican tour we review →What most visitors to the Dominican Republic end up booking, beyond the four above, and what earns each one its place.
1
Adventure Bundle: Monkeyland, Ziplines & Buggies Punta Cana
Spend about 9.5 hours combining a 12-line zip course, a buggy ride through Anamuya terrain, a river swim, Dominican lunch, and a guided Monkeyland visit. Guides such as Sammy, Angel, and PJ have led parts of the day. Expect hotel pickup, some waiting between activities, and plenty of chances to get muddy.
Read our review →
2
Punta Cana Zipline Adventure with Buggies and Horseback Riding
from $100
3
Monkeyland and Plantation Safari Tour from Punta Cana
from $80
4
Half-Day Adventure 4×4 ATV, Water Cave and Dominican Culture
from $64
5
4×4 Dominican Adventure with Chocolate and Coffee Tasting
from $59
6
Saona Island Day Trip From Punta Cana with Lunch and Open Bar
from $82
7
Half-Day Buggy Tour to Water Cave and Macao Beach
from $54
8
Punta Cana Family Wild Buggy Eco Adventure
from $48
Buggies down the cane-field tracks to Macao, mud included.
The back roads behind Bávaro are red clay that turns to soup after rain. Buggy and ATV runs bounce through them to a freshwater cave and Macao beach, with a stop for coffee, cacao and mamajuana on the way back.
Drive times from the Punta Cana resort strip.
Punta Cana sits on the far eastern tip, so most of the famous days out begin with a long ride. Roughly how long the minibus takes from Bávaro, before traffic.
Macao Beach
Bayahibe
Altos de Chavón
Santo Domingo
Los Haitises
Samaná
Puerto PlataThe oldest streets in the Americas, 27 waterfalls and a bay of karst islands.
Every Caribbean island sells a beach day. Not one of the others has the first cathedral in the New World, a river canyon you come down by jumping, or mangroves hiding Taíno cave drawings.
Santo Domingo’s Colonial Zone
The grid of streets between the Ozama river and the old city wall was laid out in 1502, and it still holds the firsts: the oldest cathedral in the Americas, the first paved street, the palace Columbus’s son built for himself. Walk it in the morning, before the heat settles into the coral stone, and save the afternoon for the Alcázar.
- 1Los Tres Ojos, Boca Chica & More★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 219 reviews
- 2Historical Tour with a visit to the Columbus Lighthouse and Tres Ojos Park★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 157 reviews
- 3Colonial Zone Bike Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 127 reviews
Damajagua’s 27 Waterfalls
Inland from Puerto Plata, the Damajagua river has cut a staircase of limestone pools and chutes through the forest. You climb up with a guide, helmet and life jacket on, then come back down by jumping and sliding. How many falls you get depends on age, water level and nerve, and the guides decide on the day.
- 1Damajagua The 7 waterfalls excursion – Amber Cove & Taino bay★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 502 reviews
- 2Damajagua Waterfalls Adrenalin Adventure Amber Cove-Taino Bay★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 381 reviews
- 3Damajagua Waterfalls for Cruise Ship Passengers★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 366 reviews
Los Haitises, by boat
On the south shore of Samaná Bay the land breaks into hundreds of forested limestone knolls, some standing straight out of the water. Boats thread the mangroves to caves where the Taíno left drawings on the walls, then idle past rock islets crowded with frigatebirds and pelicans.
- 13-in-1 Adventure Haitises Park Waterfall Montaña★★★★★★★★★★ 4.6 · 426 reviews
- 2Punta Cana 3in1 Adventure: Los Haitises Park, Waterfall & Montaña★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 303 reviews
- 3Los Haitises National Park & Cayo Levantado Island★★★★★★★★★★ 4.2 · 214 reviews
Buggy money, Saona money, private-catamaran money.
Every priced tour on the site, in three bands. Plenty of the best Dominican days cost less than a resort dinner.
Buggy and ATV runs, city walks, tastings and the shorter boat hops off Bávaro.
The full-day standards: Saona with lunch, Damajagua, Santo Domingo by coach, Monkeyland.
Private guides, small-group Saona boats, parasail combos and whole-day adventure parks.
Samaná whales, Coco Bongo and the cruise-day falls run to a fixed calendar.
Most of a Dominican holiday can be fixed up at the tour desk the night before. These three run on a season, a seat plan or a ship’s timetable, and the good slots are gone before you arrive.
- Whale Watching and Cayo Levantado Full Day TourHumpbacks gather in Samaná Bay to breed from about mid-January to late March. Outside that window there is no trip to book.
- Coco Bongo Nightclub Experience with TransferTickets are sold by seating zone, and the zones nearest the stage are always the first to go.
- TAINO BAY 7 Damajagua Waterfalls + Locale FoodThe cruise-day versions are timed around the ship. Book the one built for your port hours, not a hotel pickup.
A Punta Cana downpour is the cue for caves, cacao and rum.
From May to November the rain tends to come as one heavy afternoon burst, then clears. Do the boat in the morning and keep the afternoon for things with a roof: a swimming cave, a cacao and coffee tasting, a rum cellar, a cigar roller at work.
By coast and city
By kind of day: boat, buggy, waterfall or table
Fresh reviews, from Punta Cana to Puerto Plata.
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Bavaro Adventure Park Private Catamaran Tour with Transport
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Private Half Day Tour in Dominican Republic with Local Guide
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