sightseeing in/near Punta Cana

Most people here advise against driving unless you have experience of driving in similar conditions. Driving at night is not recommended no matter what.

Saman? is much further away than the map suggests, due to poor road connections. You have to drive 3 hours towards the capital and then take the Samana highway. Total journey time is over 5 hours. It is worth it though, but a day trip is not an option. The more rugged route across the Bay is also time consuming because the Punta Cana-Miches/El Seibo-Hato Mayor-Sabana de la Mar roads are in poor condition, and you'd have to leave your car in Sabana de la Mar and use public transport/hire another vehicle in Saman?.

Isla Saona is much more doable, it's just over one hour's drive to Bayahibe from Punta Cana. If you go a little further you can also visit Altos de Chavon near La Romana.

Less touristy but quite pretty is the fishing village of Boca de Yuma (past Higuey) or Miches to the north, but the road is in poor condition. The scenery on the route is exceptional though.

If you know nothing about the area, it is ill advised to rent a car. Hire a tour guide to take you around.
Samana is really to far away to even think about going there.

Wud is right.

Hire a guide or book an excursion at the resort. If you rent a car it takes away from your enjoyment because of the stress and logistics involved finding your tour destinations. Let someone else do the worrying for you, take time to enjoy the wonders and views of your passage.

Regards,
PJT

Seriously, there isn't much to see outside the resorts in Punta Cana...

You could hire a car and just explore locally. The driving isn't so bad as long as you take it slow, keep your eyes open all around you and expect the unexpected...

Some accurate, to scale maps here to help you get around...
Punta Cana Map | punta cana tv

Macao beach is worth a visit. Huge, beautiful wide bay, surf to the left, calm water to the far right. There's a rustic, inexpensive seafood shack at the far right of the bay - cold beers, fresh fried fish... on Map 2.

You could take a drive into Cap Cana (10 mins south of the airport) see Map 8. Wander around the deserted, luxury marina or take a walk on stunning Juanillo beach. Or drive up to the restaurant Faith Farallon which sits 265ft above sea level on a cliff - nice place to have a drink and take in the views. Everything is signposted in Cap Cana and it's perfectly safe to drive there.
At the security gate just tell them you're going to the marina and they'll let you through (good idea to have some ID on you just incase).

Another beautiful beach to visit is the one at Puntacana Resort & Club - Playa Blanca (Map 7). At the security gate tell them you're going to Playa Blanca and they'll give you a plastic sign for your car (again have some ID on you). The Segway tours run from there so you could give them a go. They'll take you all around the grounds and you'll get to swim at one of the beaches and in the crystal clear freshwater lagoons (fed by underground springs). Also worth a visit is the Ecological Foundation inside the same grounds - where you can buy organic, forest honey.

btw: not much in the way of road signs in Punta Cana. And, like everyone has said, plan every journey so you won't be on the road after 7pm when it gets dark.

Have fun!

great description Yumi,
i totally agree, Punta Cana has a good number of things/spots to explore off the AI Monster Resorts.
the nearer area cabn be done by rental car easily, in general i agree to above recommendations and hire a guide for such, no hassles and all the day's time can be used for your own enjoyment.
good opprtunities to come around the near and far area from Punta Cana without overnighters are offered by
Punta Cana Mike's Dominican Adventure - Home
and also by
Punta Cana Excursions Catamaran Buggy National Parks Childrens Foundation by Mike's Marina
both run in small groups and are also available as "private hire", like a private charter, just you and your partner/family/friends on the sweep, no others, no crowded booze ride etc.
have fun
Mike

windeguy said:

Punta Cana really is for those people that go to the resort and stay there. As Cobraboy said, there isn't much near those resorts. Perhaps next time you can try another part of the island where you can actually get out and see some interesting sights.

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You have to have some backbone and venture out. We eat at the property and thats about it. A good homebase for exploring other areas. We were in Macao back before any tourists layed eyes on it, and before the new building up on the cliffs. Best beach in the DR, just my opinion.

bluebayou said:

You have to have some backbone and venture out. We eat at the property and thats about it. A good homebase for exploring other areas. We were in Macao back before any tourists layed eyes on it, and before the new building up on the cliffs. Best beach in the DR, just my opinion.

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I like Macao too. The best beach in the D.R. was Juanillo not the same anymore though

oooh yeah,
Macao with the access to the cliff open been great,
we parked the bikes and cars up there and walked down the cliffs to the 2 small beaches there, no more accessible today, sorrily.
and Juanillo Beach been the all time best and most beautiful Beach some could find throuout the Caribbean, no more really accessible today's.
back in the day for the farest spots on Juanillo Beach we had to take the Motocross Bikes to reach there, b/c there was at the final end no road/sandy track or such to pass with a car, not even with the 4x4 trucks.
but those great places are gone, Juanillo Beach ''been bought'' by those foreign investor's money, fenced in, public closed out, a fancy empty beach club for the ones who want to spend 5-10 bucks US for a bottle of 10 cents drinking water while watching a empty beach.
the good ole days will not come back anymore.
cheers
Mike

Please -- do not rent a car unless you really know the area. I completely agree with most above. Most go to Punta Cana to stay on the beautiful beach and enjoy the caribbean. You could hire a driver to show you around locally - you need to know these roads (though they have been improved recently). And, Samana is much too far away for a drive.

La Mariposa said:

The best beach in the D.R. was Juanillo not the same anymore though

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Yeah, that was our best-kept secret, along with Los Aragones. But those days are over, reminiscing of Henley's "The Boys of Summer."