Santo Domingo City Tour From Punta Cana

Description

Experience the history, natural beauty, colonial architecture, and rich traditions of Santo Domingo on this full-day sightseeing tour from Punta Cana. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1992, Santo Domingo is a city of many firsts in the New World with the first cathedral, paved road, university, hospital, stone home, tavern, etc.

After being picked up at your hotel in Punta Cana the total driving time till the capital will be around 3 hours including an intermediate stop in a souvenir/grocery store in La Romana for 25-30 minutes. The first stop in the capital will be at the Three Eyes National Park with underground caverns and lagoons with gorgeous blue waters used by the Taino Indians (the Dominican Republic’s original inhabitants). There are many steps (around 60) down into the open-air caverns so you have to be in good physical conditions.

From here we’ll make a quick photo stop at the Columbus Lighthouse, built-in 1992 on the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s landing in the New World, which houses the purported remains of Christopher Columbus. We’re then off to the oldest streets of the Western Hemisphere in Santo Domingo’s Colonial Zone, a 16 square block neighborhood declared a UNESCO World Heritage in 1992. The colonial zone is bordered by the Ozama River and housing buildings from the XV century and vividly displaying 500 years of history.

Our first peek at the Colonial Zone comes at the Columbus Palace (Alcazar de Colon). Completed in 1514, it was the home of Christopher Columbus’s son, Diego. This is a beautiful museum with lots of original old furniture and art which was purchased from Spain. From the Palace, we walk through the historic Plaza de Espana and onto Calle Las Damas (the first paved street of the New World). Lunch is then served at one of the typical Dominican restaurants in Santo Domingo buffet-style.

After lunch, the ultimate destination inside the Colonial Zone is one of the most important sites in the Dominican Republic: the First Cathedral of the New World (Santa Maria la Menor). You will have some free time for shopping and you’ll visit a spacious gift shop selling nearly every Dominican keepsake imaginable. After leaving the Colonial Zone you’ll pass by some of the modern areas of the capital and the National Palace where the Dominican President and the highest level government officials have their offices. Then back on our way to Punta Cana.