A Full Day in the Real Dominican Republic
There's the Dominican Republic your resort shows you, and then there's the real one. This is a day spent in the second. You'll ride an open-air safari truck deep into the countryside for what amounts to a crash course in Dominican life — the farms, the food, the history, and a beach to finish. It's a full day, and it's the one you'll still be talking about back home.
The Farm Country
The truck carries you up into the eastern mountains — the Cordillera Oriental — and into working farm country. You'll stop at a traditional Dominican home to hear how people actually live out here, then walk the grounds of a sleepy plantation growing the country's headline crops: cacao, tasted raw and organic straight from the surrounding land; coffee, ground from some of the finest beans in the Cordillera Oriental; and tobacco, whose leaves are world-renowned, rivaled only by their Cuban cousins. Like something? Buy it and take the day home with you. There's also a stop at a local elementary school for a look at how public education works here.
Higüey and the Basílica
Next comes Higüey, the 500-year-old capital of the eastern La Altagracia province. Its name means "Land of the Rising Sun" in Arawak; long ago it was the seat of a powerful Taíno kingdom, before Spanish conquistadors brought that world to an end. In town you'll step inside the Basílica, the Roman Catholic cathedral that holds the 500-plus-year-old painting of the Virgen de la Altagracia, carried here by Spanish missionaries — a site Pope John Paul II's 1992 visit sealed as one of the country's most sacred. Then it's time to eat: a traditional, home-cooked buffet of rice and beans, meat, salad, plantains, sweets and coffee, in rustic country surroundings.
And Finally, Macao Beach
We save the best for last. Macao Beach is one of the most coveted stretches of coast around Punta Cana — amber sand and clear blue water that draw beachgoers and surfers alike, and long a local favorite for fresh fish and slow Sunday afternoons. You'll get about an hour to wade into the Caribbean, stretch out on the sand, or just people-watch while refreshments are served.
This is the original Punta Cana country safari, and it's built a loyal following over the years — seats on the truck go fast, so book ahead.
What's Included
- Round-trip transport
- Professional guide
- Lunch at the ranch
- Drinks (Coke, Sprite, water, rum, beer)
What to Bring
- Comfortable clothing
- Bathing suit
- Towel
- Sneakers
- Camera
- Sunscreen
- Insect repellent
- Cash
Good to know
- There's a short stop at the Basílica in Higüey. To go inside, both women and men need to be covered to the elbows and knees.
- The school visit can't be guaranteed — it depends on holidays and government rules about excursion visits to public schools.
256-bit Encryption
