If golf is an essential part of your vacation, consider booking at one of five hotels that own their golf courses in the area and that offer golf packages. These are the Punta Cana Resort & Club, Meliá Caribe Tropical & Paradisus, Catalonia Bávaro, Barceló Bávaro and Ocean Blue. Other hotels can assist you with arrangements for a round of golf at several of the courses.

Bávaro, La Altagracia (Barceló Bávaro Resorts)
Tel: (809) 686- 5797, Ext. 1859
Fax: (809) 686-5711
Year Opened: 1991
Number of holes: 18 holes par 72
Course description: 18 hole course alternating holes surrounded by vegetation or by bordering lakes.

El Cortecito, La Altagracia (Sol Meliá Caribe Tropical)
Tel: (809) 221-1290, Ext. 2000
Fax: (809) 686-5427
Year opened: 2000
Number of holes: 18 holes par 72
Course description: Serene lakes and swaying coconut trees surround this challenging golf course in the Palma Real residential community.

Punta Cana, La Altagracia
Tel: (809) 959-2262
Fax: (809) 959- 4650
Year opened: 2000
Number of holes: 18 holes par 72
Course description: Pete B. Dye’s challenge features 14 holes with views of the Caribbean Sea, and four playing along the briny itself.

Cabeza de Toro, La Altagracia (Catalonia Bávaro Resort)
Tel: (809) 412-0000
Fax: (809) 412-2001
Year opened: 2000
Number of holes: 9 holes (par 3, 4, 5) + 9 holes executive course (par 3)
Course description: Five lakes and many shade trees define this short but challenging course. Designed for the experienced and novice golfer alike.

Arena Gorda, Bávaro
Tel: (809) 689-4653
Fax: (809) 552-1269.
Year opened: 2005.
Number of holes: 9 holes par 36
Course description: Challenging golf course designed by six-time Spanish champion, Pepe Gancedo. The setting is in harmony with nature’s flora and fauna.

Cap Cana, La Altagracia
Tel: (809) 688 5587
Fax: (809) 567- 7256
Year opened: 2006.
Course description: First Jack Nicklaus golf course built in the Dominican Republic. This course combines great ocean and bluff-side golf holes with beautiful views of the Caribbean Sea.

   A dozen of companies offer safari-type adventures into the countryside, taking tourists on jeeps, four-wheel motorbikes, buggy convertibles, monster trucks, and many other adventure vehicles. You may fancy observing a tropical wilderness, visiting a countryside home, examining tropical crops, going for a dip at a fantastically

deserted beach or for a swim in a cool river that may even permit some tubing. A Dominican countryside lunch, which gets great reviews from tourists, is usually included. Horseback riding is also popular in Punta Cana, and the option of riding on a deserted white-sanded beach, which makes for great photographs, is also available.

   A treasure house of tropical flora and fauna that helps you understand the environs. Trails meander through tropical forest settings where visitors can see unusual plants and rare and endangered animals. Living exhibitions display the wide web of Caribbean biodiversity, showcasing bird and insect life, the native iguana and Dominican farm animals. The Indian Eyes Park culminates in a cooling dip in one of the eleven lagoons after winding through deep green tunnels of over 500 species of exotic plants. Located 10 minutes east of the Punta Cana International Airport. Advance reservations required for guided tours and visits to the science facilities.

   A co-managed project developed by the La Altagracia Tourism Cluster and the Ministry of Environment, the 15-square kilometer Bávaro lagoon is a brand new attraction slated for opening in 2007. Opportunities for kayaking, canoeing, and hiking with bird observation towers throughout this protected lagoon that is surrounded by mangroves and wetlands.

   Hotels will offer a selection of arts and crafts in their gift shops. Artisans visit most hotels one or two evenings a week selling their wares. Beach plazas sell similar items.