excursions / excursiones

Most of the following guided tours are available from excursion desks located at Punta Cana hotels. This list is provided as a sample of what will be available when choosing a relaxing or physically challenging activity, or a half-day or all-day excursion.

Santo Domingo City tour Since it is a four-hour drive to and from the capital, this is a full-day tour of the city, an urban center with almost three million inhabitants. Tour company programs will differ but most will concentrate on the Colonial City, with visits to the first Cathedral in the New World, the Alcazar where the Spanish conquest of the Americas was planned, the Columbus Lighthouse, a museum-tomb to Christopher Columbus, and El Conde pedestrian shopping street and the Mercado Modelo, where you can bargain for local souvenirs. Eastern towns tour This is an all-day cultural immersion tour with a visit to off-the-beaten-track towns that may include El Seibo, Hato Mayor and San Pedro de Macoris (with its early 20th century Victorian architecture), a Guloya dance performance and a visit to a leading rum factory and a sugar plantation, stopovers in Altos de Chavon in La Romana, passing through Higuey and La Otra Banda. City and town excursions may make a stop to visit the Basilica de Nuestra Senora de la Altagracia, the largest in the Caribbean, allowing time for shopping in Higuey and La Otra Banda. Altos de Chavon Several excursions will combine a visit to the artists village atop a hill in La Romana, Altos de Chavon, a freestyle rendition of a 16th century Italian hilltop town inaugurated by Frank Sinatra that is part of the Casa de Campo complex in La Romana. A visit to Altos de Chavon is usually combined with several other tours, including the eastern town tour or the Saona Island tour, which would make it a full-day excursion. Saona Island The most popular excursion taken by tourists visiting the Punta Cana area is to Saona Island.

Forming part of the110km2 National Park of the East where no hotels have been built, the island's pristine Caribbean beaches are its main draw. Transportation is a combination of bus and catamaran or speedboats. The Saona Island excursion departs from Bayahibe beach. Catalina Island Large speedboat excursions travel to Catalina Island across from La Romana. The same excursion will usually include a visit to Altos de Chavon, for shopping and taking in the panoramic views. Some may also include a boat trek up through the lush tropical forests along Cumayasa River, a treat for birdwatchers. James Bond speedboats Imagine you are James Bond racing across the turquoise- colored Punta Cana waters in a two-seater speedboat beside your beloved, to catch the bad guy. Snorkeling equipment is provided for a dip in select areas. Highly recommended for teenagers and adventurous young adults. Half-day activity. Catamaran boat rides Several companies offer catamaran boat rides into the sea off Punta Cana. Some are double-decker boats with glass bottoms for observing marine life underwater. Crystal- clear waters, time for snorkeling, open bar and Caribbean rhythms. A good way to tour Punta Cana with an ocean point view of all the resorts lined up along the coastline. Sunset cruises are available. Many of these trips are billed as "party boats" for the open bar and non-stop music on board. Half-day activity. Dolphin Island Park. Located in Bavaro. Floating platform for swimming with dolphins and sea lions in the open sea. Tourists are bused to a lovely quiet section of Bavaro beach and then taken by boat to the platform for a short swim and photo session with the dolphins. Half-day activity. Animal Adventure Park. 809 221-7275. Focused on small children, with encounters with sea lions, sharks, stingrays, a tiger, parrots, and turtles on their stretch of Cabeza de Toro beach. Half-day activity. Seaquarium. Snorkel with sharks and stingrays. Meet sea lions. Scuba or submarine ocean floor exploration. Located in Cabeza de Toro. Halfday activity. Marinarium. Half-day excursion. Tel. 809 747- 2180. Time for snorkeling, encounters with nurse sharks and stingrays, and swimming in a shallow beach. Glass-bottom catamaran trip. Excursions set off from the company's Cabeza de Toro facility. Half-day activity.