Day Trip to Santo Domingo from Punta Cana





Description
During the tour we will do in Santo Domingo, we will visit the main monuments and historical places of our country, so that you can know our origins, culture, and lifestyle. Our tour in Santa Domingo begins in the national park three eyes, then we stop at the lighthouse to colon, where the remains of Admiral Christopher Columbus rest. Then we will continue our tour of the new city of Santo Domingo and we will travel the main streets and most important avenues, pass through the commercial area, Chinatown, and stop to take a photo in the presidential palace. After all the above we stop near the colonial area, where we will enjoy a typical lunch, here we recharge the batteries , then start the tour throughout this ancient city, where we will visit the first cathedral of America, streets las damas, square Spain
Tour Options
Itinerary
During the visit to Santo Domingo, we will make a stop at Los Tres Ojos National Park, where we will make a tour of about 45 minutes, and we will visit the three Taino caves and the fourth lake. The Los Tres Ojos National Park played an important role in the life, culture and lifestyle of the Tainos. It is important to note that these caves played an important role in life, culture, and in the Taino religion. We will always do this guided tour, with a native of the area, who will give us every detail of what was visited there.
In our visit to the Colon lighthouse from outside the building we will observe the different countries that supported the initiative to create this monument. This visit is to the external part of the monument where we will take photos in this place with the mobile pope.
In this place we will stop to take a photo of the Presidential House, which is a replica of the United States Capitol. This visit is to the outside of the Palace where we will also take a photo with the presidential guard.
This is one of the most favorite places when visiting Santo Domingo where you can appreciate the warm and gentle breeze of the Caribbean and lose your sight in the Caribbean. In this place they will visit a small part of the Malecón, they will also use hammocks that we have here in this beautiful place. !That experience! ride the hammocks here on the boardwalk, remember your childhood, is priceless.
Here in the Colonial Zone we will visit the following places: 1. Mugado Restaurant, to enjoy a delicious lunch. 2. We will visit Calles las Damas 3. Colon Park 4. Alcazar de Colon 5. First Cathedral of America 6. Plaza España 7. The pantheon of the Homeland 8. Souvenir Shop
AgLa Calle Las Damas was the first street in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and America. Located in the Colonial City, it owes its name to the fact that at the beginning of the colony the ladies walked along that street, which is currently decorated with colonial tiles. This street has as attractions: Fortaleza Ozama, La Real Audiencia, Don Rodrigo de Bastidas' house (today the "Trampolín" children's museum), colonial houses (some with colonial shields) and at the end the Plaza España. Las Damas Street, was the first street created in the Colonial Zone, which was made during the government of Nicolás de Ovando, in this street it went from the Ozama Fortress or Torre del Homenaje, to the vicinity of the Alcázar, which were started around 1511. During colonial times, this street was called Calle de la Fortaleza, because the Ozama Fortress was located there. Here we will take a guided tour, learning about the culture and origin of this famous street.
AgEl Parque Colón is one of the parks or historical squares of the Colonial City of Santo Domingo, which served as the main party center of the society of the colonial era. Currently the Parque Colón is used as the main center for cultural activities and is also part of the Santo Domingo World Heritage Site. This was the main entertainment center for the inhabitants of the time, since it gave life and splendor to the town of La Isabela, and its surroundings. The name of Plaza Mayor was given in honor of the Major Commander of the order of Nicolás de Ovando, who arrived in Santo Domingo in 1502. It owed its name even more, since this was in charge of moving the city to the western part of the Ozama River. We will also make our tour in this beautiful place and we will see hundreds of pigeons that adorn this area.
The Alcázar de Colón or Viceregal Palace of Don Diego Colón is a palace located in the Plaza de España in the Colonial City of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, which was built on a site near the cliffs that look towards the Ozama River, granted to Diego Colón, first-born son of the discoverer of America, Christopher Columbus, by King Ferdinand the Catholic, to build a home for himself and his descendants on the island of Hispaniola, which he arrived in 1509 as governor and where today The Alcazar de Colón Museum works. The Alcázar de Colón was built between 1511 and 1514, following the influences of the existing one in Mancera de Abajo, in Salamanca, Spain, of which ruins are still preserved. The name of the architect who carried out the building is unknown. Mostly Mudejar Gothic style. Here we will take a tour with an audio in your language, which explains step by step all the antiques in there.
Located in front of the Alcazar de Colón, this monumental square, also known as Plaza de la Hispanidad, is characterized by housing the statue of the founder of the city, Nicolás de Ovando, in the western part of the river. Also, in front of the historic royal houses you can see the sundial dated 1753. In this beautiful place we will take beautiful photos, as well as take a tour.
Agre The building was one of the last buildings built by the Spanish on Dominican soil. The date of the beginning of its construction is not known with certainty but some historians suppose that it was between the years 1714 and 1755 and it is attributed to Jerónimo Quezada y Garçon. It originally served as a church of the Jesuit order. Here the Jesuit priests gave mass with their backs to the congregation so that everyone, including the priests, would face the figure of Jesus Christ and the altar. The National Pantheon has around 36 empty spaces to house future heroes. There is also an empty space without a plaque, dedicated to the unknown soldier. There is a permanent Honor Guard, made up of members of the Presidential Guard, in full dress, without moving a single muscle. One of them makes a solemn walk around the central aisle, which runs from the main entrance to just in front of the main altar.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
The tour includes pick-up throughout the geography of Punta Cana, Bavaro, Uvero Alto, Arena Gorda, Bayahibe.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(752)
The trip is very long, and the van was old and uncomfortable. The driver was very kind. The guide made minimal effort, only providing general information at each stop, which is far below the standard one expects from a professional guide. The lunch was truly lamentable. The place was ugly, and the food was very, very bad. We did not go to the boardwalk that was included in the trip description.
5 excellent and good excellent service.
The trip is very good in the car, it is comfortable; the Cristóbal Colón esplanade is not worth it, they have it very neglected, and the food was not good. They should include at least one whole piece of chicken for the customer, not just bones... there was no light or water to wash hands, so it was too hot at mealtime. The only two redeemable places are the three eyes and the cathedral; from there, I believe this excursion is not worth it.
On this excursion, you can discover the iconic places of Santo Domingo and enjoy the history and natural landscape of the Three Eyes National Park.
The trip was very long to Santo Domingo, and on top of that, we changed buses and guides. The first stop was to shop! Incredible. Upon arriving at the cave, we changed guides again, who hardly told us anything. The bus guide, who took us on the city tour, also did not tell us much and drank a beer at the first stop. To enter the cathedral, he assigned us to another guide and stayed outside. The truth is that the excursion is very improvable.
You will spend a lot of time getting to your destination. In the end, the place we visited were not particularly great. Lunch was just adequate. The highlight of the trip was the Tres Ojos (The Eyes) national park but we didn’t stop long enough to be able to take the ride or do anything else but walk down some steps to see the lake. If you don’t speak Spanish, the guide provides details in English. However, I felt like we got the condensed version (unless Spanish is a language that takes twice as long for the same content).
Absolutely dissatisfied , we went in June Our guide was David and he spoke English and Spanish but we didn’t enjoy the Malecón. Never saw hammocks nor spent anytime there. We had lunch at small low budget little restaurant across the street from el malecón and the food was NOT good! It was not Dominican Food . It was buffet style and very limited menu. On the list, bullet points from 3 to 8 we walked !!! In 90 degrees walking all over the city. It was hot and took away from the pleasant attractions we should had enjoyed and last, on our drive back to Punta Cana, the driver was speeding in a huge coach bus which had everyone very nervous. The bus was old. It smelled old and had no seatbelts. The restaurant should be upgraded to a better choice of give people free time to eat on their own. Very unpleasant experience
This tour is worth the time. Be prepared to spend the whole day doing this tour. It's nice that transportation and lunch is included. Our tour guide was friendly and knowledgeable. The bus driver was also very friendly and funny. The lunch was delicious, it was great having authentic Dominican food. Santo Domingo has a lot of history and it was nice learning about it. Definitely recommend the tour.
I would not recommend this trip from Punta Cana to Santo Domingo. The entire experience was disappointing from start to finish. First, the pickup was already a mess. We waited over 20 minutes late for transportation, and nobody even contacted us to explain the delay. We had to contact them ourselves just to find out what was happening. The food was absolutely disgusting, and the tour itself felt like a complete waste of time. To make matters worse, the table next to us found a hair in their food, and when they complained, the waiter responded by saying, “It’s a buffet, what do you expect?” That level of service was completely unacceptable. Instead of taking us to interesting or authentic places, they brought us to four different gift shops, clearly trying to make commission money from tourists. It felt more like a shopping scam than an actual tour. On top of that, we didn’t even get to see many of the nice places they advertised when we booked the trip. The experience did not match what was promised at all. To make things worse, after providing such a poor experience, they were still asking for tips at the end. I regret booking this tour and would strongly suggest choosing a different company if you actually want to enjoy your visit to Santo Domingo. I’m not even going to spend more time explaining everything that happened. I just wanted to share my bad experience so other people know what to expect before booking this trip.
Be prepared for the heat and LOTS of walking. Every stop was beautiful and very informative. Tres Ojos was our favorite part!



