Feb 10, 2024
Ziplining is awesome! Don't be scared! - It was my boyfriends & my 1st time zip lining. I was very nervous & had a hard time keeping my hand & arm in the correct position, but at each section the guys (employees) would help. One bent the leather (which isn't easy) and it helped a ton, another said to stop flexing my biceps & shoulders. That was it! They're so helpful and make you feel comfortable even if you're crazy nervous. Instructions were clear and concise (not to mention funny!). You felt safe at every point & they work you from shorter lines to longer to get adjusted. Highly recommended! Just remember to RELAX and it'll be the most exciting day!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sep 3, 2022
Great tour! - Franklin was an amazing tour guide that taught us a lot of the history of Punta Cana. Edicson was an excellent driver and bartender. 😁 I would definitely recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mar 12, 2020
Fun excursion! - We enjoyed the trip and the stops along the way. It was a bit of a drive from Juan Dolio, but the tour guide was informative and kept us entertained between stops.
Review provided by Viator
Jun 20, 2023
Very very basic, but it can be fun nevertheless - So, let's start with the sobering parts of this tour and then move on to why we enjoyed it nevertheless:
- you'll be visiting places that are not basic, but straightforward precarious. Don't expect anything tidy or well done.
- At the start of the tour you have to sign a waiver the frees the company from any claims, even when you suffer damages because of their negligence. Kind of worrying, especially when signing this aboard a safari "bus" without real security belts. Independently from if this waiver is legal or not, either don't go on the tour or sign with false name and room number (and have a good health insurance just in case)!
- At pretty much any stop they will try to sell you something
- The "school children" that will be visited are not at a school, but you'll stop at a shack/"house" of a family clan where people will receive the gifts they asked you to buy previously. Cannot describe this shortly here but the whole scenario was absolutely fishy and something was very very wrong about the whole situation and place. Really no idea why on earth they put this into the tour, nothing good can come out of this.
Positive:
- Juan Antonio was a great guide although he always tries to sell stuff. You can learn a lot and he happily answers all questions.
- Although all sites visited were really really precarious, we enjoyed the ride through the lush landscapes and seeing how the different plants are grown and combine in a non-industrial growing site (well, except for the sugar cane of course). This tour can be really interesting if you are interested in the agriculture products and flora aspects and our guide was very very knowledgeable in that sense. We tried freshly cut sugar cane, insanely tasty mango that grew literally everywhere, we ate cocoa beans (a revelation!), smelled the purest cinnamon, tried different honeys etc etc.
We picked Cashew fruit & nuts and learned a lot about different leafs, barks, woods etc etc. If you are into this (like us), you'll be rewarded.
- The waterfalls were truly beautiful and we arrived at a time where literally no other people were there. Well worth the visit.
Tips:
- Bring mosquito repellent and put it on before leaving the "bus", otherwise you'll get a hell of a time at the "plantation"
- start the tour with the lowest expectations possible
- you'll need sunscreen (especially on the safari bus rides where you sit on the sunny side for longer rides) and shoes that can get muddy
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jan 6, 2023
Just go straight straight to the waterfalls! All the rest are just stops where they encourage you to spend money! - The ‘Safari Bayaguana LRM’ tour sold by Coming 2 (in the lobby of the Bahia Principe Bougainville) at $85 a person is a tourist trap! We bought local rum in a local shop at a ‘local’ price (the guide assured us it was local price) and found out that it is even cheaper in the hotel gift shop!! So much for the local price … In the same shop we were encouraged to buy candy or pencils ‘for the children’. Of course we were free to do this, but during our travels we always try to do something extra for the local children, so we (together with a few other couples) bought several bags of lollipops. At the end of the tour we stopped at some houses were we immediately got the feeling that something wasn’t right. The children seem to be used to getting lollipops and our guide disappeared at one moment behind the houses … it all seemed to be a set-up what left us with a bad feeling at the end. Instead of paying for the whole tour, take a taxi or Uber to the waterfall since this was the only genuine experience we had during this tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dec 3, 2023
Organized scam - The description does not correspond to what we were offered. Not visiting sugar cane fields, just dropping off at the entrance of an old shed and its guard, they cut two canes for us to taste... fortunately the old guard picked up two coconuts for us, which we We appreciated it, the stop at Bayaguana was quick. Visit to a small workshop where a man prepared a cigar in front of us... we returned to a shopping street where the guide strongly encouraged us to buy sweets to give to children on our return... then a little trip to the church inaccessible due to cleaning. Without really telling us that it was a sanctuary... Then visit a community to drink coffee and have us buy brown or transparent liquid vanilla, coffee beans or ground and chocolate and honey, cinnamon in stick or powder (small doses for €10..)… we were made to taste an ersatz “Nutella” with local honey… we saw a cocoa tree, but no coffee or coconut fields or explanation of vanilla…
We arrived at the solo waterfall, 30 minutes there…
To then arrive at our frugal meal not very well presented... for dessert a little pineapple, papaya and banana, among the animals in the farmyard who were looking to beg for food... on the way back we stopped in front of a box where children came out and snatched the sweets and pencils that our traveling companions had bought…
At 4 p.m. the guide, the photographer and his sidekick left us with the driver to let us travel the last hour of the road. Previously the photographer wanted to sell us his “photo report” for €40 and the guide asked for a tip for the four of them. It did not have the expected success...
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mar 10, 2023
Pass on thos one - Road travel excessive. Did not go to a cigar factory, one man sitting in a chair in a random lot rolling cigars. Plantation was nice, interesting. We were the only English speaking people. Therefore, a lot of information did not make it to us. But, the narrator was fun. The driver had no idea where he was going. I don't regret the day but would not recommend it to others.
Review provided by Viator
Mar 6, 2020
Poor guide - This was not our first "countryside adventure" in the Dominican Republic but it was the poorest. The tour was full and the guide had to deal with at least 4 different languages. It was difficult to learn anything when only one line per language was given in explanation. The guide did answer questions, but otherwise sat and played on his cellphone or interacted with the two youngest women. He left a lot of the interaction at the sites for the driver to do. He did not seem very interested in the tour itself, giving us minimal information. It was quite a disappointment.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dec 3, 2024
Drivers are public dangers - The tour is not great but we're going to spend on it
Our driver to drive more than 80 in front of schools
He overtook cars when there were oncoming vehicles and finally on the other lanes we did slalom to get there faster
Disrespectful staff towards customers
WE MUST ABSOLUTELY AVOID THESE PEOPLE
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Apr 25, 2022
Give it a pass - No show by company, tour description clearly indicated Sheraton Santo Domingo as pick up point, tour company decided the night before to propose pickup point at Boca Chica(45-60min transit). I reached out by phone and email but they didn't pick up, no show for 7am pickup. Refunded through reach out with Viator who were most empathetic. Very unprofessional experience
Review provided by Viator