A warm welcome awaits you at the Puerto Plata airport upon arrival. Outside the terminal, a driver with a name sign will meet you and drive you to your hotel in Puerto Plata. You are free to relax and recover from your arrival for the remainder of the day. 

Transfers to Puerto Plata from Santo Domingo and Punta Cana are optional and can be requested at any time.

After breakfast, your guide will pick you up at the hotel reception at 9:00. You will leave Puerto Plata via the highway and start the round trip actively and adrenaline-filled with a canyoning excursion. The destination is the 27 waterfalls of Damajagua. Upon arrival at the waterfall park, you will first receive an introduction to canyoning by a local guide and a helmet and life jacket. After that, there is a 45-minute hike uphill through a tropical jungle. In the green and lush vegetation, you will encounter exotic birds on the way. After the ascent, it gets wet and adventurous. You will follow the path of waterfalls that pour into natural pools, use the natural water slides, or jump from rocky ledges from lofty heights into the cool water. You will cross rapids that lead to the next waterfall in between the passages. Experience thrills, water fun, and a deep connection with nature!

Water shoes are required for the hike and can be rented or bought onsite for about $2 or $14, depending on the participant.

Visit the park's visitor center afterward for a delicious Dominican buffet lunch. Regaining your strength, you will embark on a buggy tour across the breathtaking worlds of the region's rivers and mountains. Following a briefing, you will either take a seat as a passenger or as the driver of a 4x4 buggy. During the rally, you will drive through small villages, past pastures and plantations, uphill, downhill, and riverbeds with rushing currents. Along the way, you might get struck by mudslides, but you can change and take a shower at the visitor center when the ride is over. Your driver will drop you off at the hotel early in the afternoon.

After breakfast, the drive continues along an impressive serpentine panoramic route to Santiago. Let your eyes wander and enjoy the spectacular views of palm-covered hills and green valleys. Once in Santiago, visit Los Pepines, one of the most emblematic neighborhoods right in the historic center of the city. In 2016, the local government decided to paint the most deteriorated areas and beautify the area to revitalize the local economy. Just two years later, Los Pepines became a tourist attraction thanks to its colorful and expressive murals. On a walking tour, unravel the stories behind the murals: Who are the people depicted in the murals? What is their connection to the local culture? You will find out! Street food is, of course, not to be missed on this walk. At the end of the tour, you will stop at a local store to taste the typical empanadas, dumplings filled with cheese or meat, and fresh fruit juices—simply delicious!

Continue to Tamboril, the self-proclaimed cigar capital of the world. Here, you will visit the most prestigious cigar manufacturer in the Dominican Republic, La Aurora. You will gain comprehensive knowledge about tobacco farming, processing, and cigar manufacturing at the factory. Be impressed by the skill with which the employees skillfully handcraft the coveted cigarettes. Of course, you can also taste a cigar. The descendants of the company founder donated one of the most important museums in the country, the Centro León, on the occasion of its 100th anniversary. The modern building houses a collection of contemporary Dominican art, a show on the history of the country's development, and an exhibition on the museum's founding family. After the visit, the driver will take you to your hotel.

After breakfast, you will leave Santiago and head north to the coast. Upon arrival in Cabarete, you will visit the natural monuments of the Cabarete and Goleta Lagoons. When visiting, please wear long-sleeved clothing or use insect repellent. At the entrance, you will receive a helmet and then embark on a discovery tour through the dense tropical forest with a local guide who will explain the flora, fauna, and history of the place. Among the many therapeutic plants in the diverse flora are cocoa and coffee trees. You will visit three of the 258 million-year-old caves in the forest during a 90-minute hike. First, you will reach the Taína cave. Here, a steep wooden staircase leads 25 meters into the depths. Inside the cave is a freshwater pool, where the brave can also bathe.
 
Next, you will go to the Crystal Cave, a stalactite and stalagmite cave with formations that date back millions of years. Finally, you will reach the Frog Cave with its six-meter-deep spring water pool. If you want to take a refreshing bath, you can jump from the three-meter-high platform or descend into the pool via a staircase. Afterward, the driver will take you to your hotel in Cabarete. This small town is popular with surfers and has made a name for itself worldwide as a Caribbean water sports center. Enjoy the afternoon on the beach of Cabarete and watch the hustle and bustle of kite surfers and surfers.

Optionally, in the early afternoon, you can visit the estuary of Boca de Yásica, where the Río Yásica River, flowing down from the hilly hinterland, pours into the Atlantic Ocean. The beach is covered in various types of driftwood, and the waves are rough and powerful. You can cross to the other side of the river in a small boat and enjoy freshly caught fish. At the little restaurant Wilson la Boca, enjoy seafood, a refreshing beer, or a sweet piña colada (participants will pay for these). After a few hour's stay, your driver will take you back to the hotel.

After breakfast, the journey continues along the coastal road to Rio San Juan. It is a day to honor the North Coast's diverse aquatic environment, which includes grottos, rocky outcrops, and picturesque bays. You will first visit the small bay of Laguna Gri Gri, from which a mangrove-lined channel leads to the open sea. The boat tour goes through the bay to the small beach, La Piscina Natural, where you have your first short bathing stop (a maximum of 15 minutes). Continue to the next beach and bathing stop in Playa Caleton. On the way, you will explore a small grotto by boat and pass a rock decorated with sculptures.

Back on land, continue through the town of Cabrera to Laguna Dudú. Pozo de los Caballos, the horse well, and Laguna Dudú, the two cenotes that make up Laguna Dudú Park, are connected by an underground tunnel. Laguna Dudu is a deep blue, 22-meter-deep body of water surrounded by lush greenery. You can take a refreshing dip in the two freshwater pools. If you are looking for a thrill in addition to refreshment, you can glide over the lagoon at a dizzy height on the zip line and drop into the water from a height of about 15 meters—a feast for all adventure seekers. You are free to have lunch on your own at the on-site restaurant. The driver will return you to the hotel early in the afternoon.

From Cabarete, you will head back west along the coast. The first destination is the small town of Sosúa, where you will visit one of the most bizarre museums in the world. Castillo Mundo King is a fantasy castle founded and built by German engineer and artist Rolf Schulz. On five floors, a wealth of paintings and sculptures by Haitian and Dominican artists is on display here, including even three spaceships. Proceed to Puerto Plata, renowned for its charming wooden houses built in the Victorian style surrounding the central park and the 800-meter-tall Mount Isabel de Torres. You will reach the top of the ladder after a cable car ride of about 10 minutes, during which you will enjoy spectacular views of the city, the sea, and the beaches in the distance. Upon reaching the top, you first see the iconic landmark of the area—a scaled-down replica of Rio de Janeiro's Statue of Christ. With your guide, take a walk through the beautifully idyllic botanical gardens. After that, the driver will pick you up, take you into the city, and let you have lunch alone at a hip restaurant.

Next, visit the Fortaleza San Felipe fortification, among the oldest fortifications from the colonial era still standing. Built-in 1577, the massive, imposing complex was intended to make attacks from the water more difficult. Then continue to Punta Rucia, where you will arrive in the early evening. The small fishing village is located on a breathtaking sea bay at the tip of a small headland, where the water shimmers in the most beautiful shades of blue and turquoise in the sunshine.

Today, you will take an excursion to the sandbank Cayo Arena, also called Paradise Island, which only emerges from the sea during the day and disappears again into the sea at high tide. It is a jewel of the Dominican Republic and a highlight of your stay in Punta Rucia. Directly from the beach, you will take a boat to Cayo Arena in about 25 minutes after breakfast at 08:00. Here, you can enjoy the tranquility in paradisiacal surroundings, take a refreshing swim, or watch the shoals of tropical fish in the shallow turquoise waters while snorkeling. Not far from the sandbank, there is a coral reef with colorful schools of fish—a natural spectacle you should not miss. You will spend a few hours there and then return to the hotel around noon. Another highlight is in store for you on the way back; this time, the route follows the mangroves near the shore.

After breakfast, enjoy your last sight of the beach before going to Puerto Plata airport to catch your flight back home.

Speak with your trip planner to arrange a beach extension to relax on the beaches in Las Terrenas, Cabarete, or Puerto Plata. If you book the beach extension with us, your transfer is also included if you would like to prolong your stay on the island and cherish the memories of the trip.