Attractions activities and Guided Tours in Punta Cana
As proper for a busy touristic area, Punta Cana offers the tourists a variety of activities and tours from a variety of water activities such as paragliding, jet skiing, surfboarding, sailboats, sailing, snorkelling etc. to tours on land which includes guided safari tours to varied destinations in the forests, Rum and cigar factories, crop farm for cocoa, coffee and sugar cane, monkey farm and an action and adrenaline tours: buggy tours, horseback riding, rope park and zip lines.
More on Punta Cana:
All inclusive hotels in Punta Cana
Buggy Tours
For all the activities and tours
there is a pickup and return from the hotel and the rest
of the entertainment for the vacationers focus in the
hotel themselves so there is no need to rent a car for
those who come here.
Among the popular tours and
activities that the place has to offer, here are some of
the following:
Caribbean VIP Safari
A 9-hour
tour until 16:00
A drive in an open safari truck with
a sunshade
A Safari Truck
You will drive
through the streets of the nearby local town where the
houses are poor and the streets are rather shabby. You
will stop by the local school while poor refugee
children from Tahiti may jump around the car and beg for
charity.
You will continue towards the mountains and
enter the forest, visit the cocoa farm, taste the sweet
coating of the cocoa beans as well as the powdered cocoa
powder with sugar and get explanations about the growing
process and the production of the cocoa beans.
The Fruits of the Cocoa
Cocoa Seeds
You will visit inside private homes of the local residents to get a feel for their lifestyle. The local houses are very colorful. Each house is a different color, yellow, pink, and turquoise. The combination of the colorful houses among the crops and the trees is delightful.
A Typical House
From here you will travel to the nearest town of Higuey and visit a large church built of bare concrete: Basilica of Our Lady of Altagracia.
You will exit the town
towards the river on which you will sail with a
boat/raft, which is also a restaurant, along the river
while looking at the tropical forest landscape. The meal
includes lobsters and plenty of wine.
The waitresses
will entertain you after dinner with local typical
dances and will even make you join a fun dance.
A Boat with a Restaurant on it
Lobsters on the Grill :
On the way you will pass by sugar cane fields being cultivated by workers from the nearby poor country of Tahiti. The sugar cane collection is done using manual primitive methods with ox-drawn carts.
Collecting Sugar Cane
Later you will visit a cigars factory where they will explain the production stages and you will be able to see the workers in action preparing the cigars, starting by choosing the appropriate tobacco leaves, cutting the wrapping leaves to the wrapping and storing the cigars under controlled humid conditions before sending them for sale.
The Cigar Production:
The Dominican Republic is considered today as the number one exporter of cigars (more than Cuba!) and known for their high quality.
Nearby, you will visit a place, where in the past sugar was produced from sugar cane using a large roller press referred to as “El Tarfiche”. It crushes the sugar cane and extracts the juice from it from which the sugar is being produced. In the past, the press used to be operated by bulls.
A Deep Tour with Mike – Munchies in Macao
A day tour
from 8:30 to 15:30
On this tour you will travel in
an air-conditioned touring vehicle. The guide on this
tour is a popular guide named Mike, who is originally
from Canada and decided a few years ago that he prefers
the Caribbean weather over the Canadian one. Mike’s
explanations about the attractions and the destinations
on the tour were interesting and clear, spiced up also
with stories from his personal life in the Dominican
Republic. The visit begins in an elementary school in a
poor neighbourhood in the nearby town. This is an
authentic visit, very un-commercialized, which gives you
the opportunity to see from close the local children
getting the support and guidance that without education
they could have been turned to crime or poor life. The
tour participants are being asked to buy writing and
teaching aids to give as a gift to the teachers who will
give them to the children. You will enter one of the
classrooms and give the children the opportunity to ask
questions from each of the tour participants about their
lifestyle, family and their country. Later you can ask
the children questions. The children are very cute and
it is fun seeing them with their uniform. This is really
a popular and interesting tour.
The School Children
Cigars, rum and chocolate (cocoa beans) are the three main products exported by the Dominican Republic. Therefore, the continuation of the tour focuses on a visit to a chocolate factory.
A Chocolate Factory:
In the cigar factory which is very popular around the world and in the rum factory where you can taste the different types. Whoever wants to buy here a bottle of rum they liked it is relatively cheaper than in the stores.
Photo: Rum Production
The tour ends at a seafood restaurant on the beach in a place called Playa Macao. Everyone chooses a different fish or seafood according to weight. The price of the meal is not included but it is not expensive and the fish are being grilled.
A Grill
While waiting for the food in the meantime you can swim in the seawater by the restaurant and walk along the beautiful sandy beach.
Playa Macao Beach:
A Tour to Monkey Land
This is a half-day tour that ends at
12:00. It is a highly recommended tour in which you will
get to see from close and feed miniature monkeys called
Squirrel Monkeys.
On this tour, you will go in a
safari jeep towards the nearby mountains.
Before
entering the monkey compound, each visitor receives a
metal plate with a selection of sliced fruits and
vegetables on it to feed the monkeys. The monkeys in the
monkey farm roam around freely in a large fenced
compound. The monkeys are used to being with people, and
when the visitors enter the monkeys get closer to them
and even stand on their hands, shoulders and head. Get
your cameras ready! This is a special adventure. The
monkeys are simply charming.
Feeding the Monkeys
In another part of the tour you will be visiting a botanical garden, a cocoa farm and have a tour of a typical local house.
Sailing and Snorkeling – Semi-Private – Exclusive Catamaran Excursion
A popular tour for sailing and snorkeling enthusiasts, with music, soft and alcoholic drinks are included in the price. The Catamaran is equipped with sails and an engine, It has a sundeck and wide nets over the water for sitting and lying down.
Sailing in the Boat
The boat is designed for a maximum of 26 people but this sailing limits the number of passengers to a maximum of16, so there is more space and privacy for the passengers. The cruise takes four hours during which you will start cruising calmly along the beaches while listening to good music, drinking cocktails, and beer. On the way, you will pass a number of inlets where there are swimming activities with dolphins or stingrays. (not included in this tour, but you can go on separate tours for swimming and activities with the different sea animals).
Swimming with Dolphins
Later you will stop by a reef and snorkel among the coral and the fish (the snorkeling equipment is provided by the organizers). During the guided snorkeling, the guide will point out to you sea urchins, sea cucumbers, eels and other varieties of marine animals.
Snorkeling
From there you will sail to a place by
the beach with shallow calm waters and sand at the
bottom. You can swim there and indulge in the water with
a floating bar for the boat guests.
The sail includes
pick-up and return to the hotel
Swimming in the Shallow Water with a Floating Bar:
A Tour to Saona Island
The most beautiful beaches in Punta
Cana are located on Saona Island, to which you arrive
with a day tour that combines an hour drive to the
harbor from which you will be leaving for a fun sailing
on a Catamaran, to the popular island with the white
beaches. It is also an excellent destination for
snorkeling. It is a full day tour that includes also
lunch on the island. Many companies organize sailing
tours to Saona.
It is recommended to book online at
the Viator site for a tour:
Catamaran Cruise to Saona
Island from Punta Cana
Swimming with Sharks and Sea Cats
Those who are looking for more action are invited to swim with sharks and “sea cats” (sting rays) at the “Marinarium” located on a small island close to the Bavaro coast. You get there with a tour combining a ride in a mini-bus and a short sail: Marinarium Shark and Ray Experience.
Action and Extreme Parks
Two action and extreme parks within a short driving distance from the hotels are:
Scape Park Cap Cana
A park
with full of attractions in Cap Cana, where the main
attraction is the Hoyo Azul. This is an underground
natural pool with turquoise water. Other attractions
are: Zip Line Eco Adventure – a rope park zip line
between the cliffs, Iguabonita Cave Expedition – a hike
to the caves.
The most convenient and inexpensive
way to visit the park is with a tour called:
Scape
Park Cap Cana Full-Day Admission with Transportation.
Zip line
Bavaro Adventure Park
A park
that stretches from the sea to the jungle, full of
activities and attractions that include zip line,
Segway, climbing walls, zorbing, paintball, flight
simulator and more. You can buy an unlimited day pass or
a pass for three or five attractions.
Also, it is
recommended to buy the pass at the biggest attraction
site in the world Viator:
Bavaro Adventure Park Day Pass
Another Tour Company:
Cultural Tours and Countryside Safari Adventures: Outback Adventures Tours
More on Punta Cana:
All inclusive hotels in Punta Cana
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