Santo Domingo City: A Full Day Tour Exploring History, Culture, and Breathtaking Landscapes

Santo Domingo is an enchanting destination, brimming with historical sites, cultural richness, and stunning scenery. Stroll around the earliest capital of the ‘New’ World; Santo Domingo is noted as the inaugural American city.

The city tour unveils a metropolis steeped in history and culture- an ideal excursion for the entire family.

Duration: 10 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Santo Domingo Excursion - Santo Domingo is a magical city, full of history, culture and amazing landscapes. Walk through the oldest capital of the “New” World; Santo Domingo is the first city founded in America.

This sightseeing tour shows you a city full of history and culture. A great activity for the whole family.

At the beginning of the day we will pick you up at your hotel, on the way to Santo Domingo you will have a tour guide who will explain incredible details about the history of the Dominican Republic. Upon arrival in Santo Domingo you will visit the incredible cenotes of the Los Tres Ojos National Park, you will also make a beautiful tour of the most important monuments: the 1st Cathedral in America, the Palacio de Colón and the National Pantheon, you will also be on a romantic street, the first in America, “The Ladies”. Enjoy a picturesque panoramic view of the famous colonial street and residential areas, Avenida Malecón and the gigantic Faro de Colón.

What's Included
  • Lunch included
  • Air-conditioned vehicle
  • All fees and taxes included
What's Not Included
  • Alcoholic Beverages
Location
Santo Domingo Excursion
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
3.8
(64 Ratings)
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1 star
Eileen
Nov 16, 2023
Recommended - Excellent experience to get to know a little about the city and the history that is kept within its streets. Especially the attention and guidance of Miguelón, greetings from Ecuador!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Faraway02670571014
Jul 9, 2023
History can be fun lol - The tour guide was easy to understand as he spoke very clear English, very knowledgeable and pleasant. The tour is very informative, my group was fun and this made the experience more memorable. I wish I had gone to the shops they stopped before buying at the hotel cause it was way cheaper and I ended up buying this I never planned to because the price was great. The buffet lunch was okay. But I would definitely recommend this tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Simona_w
Feb 23, 2024
Nice tour! - The one day trip to Danto Domingo from Punta Cana was very nice! The communication was great! We were informed a day before about the pick up location and the pick up time! The driver was on time-everything went smooth! The minibus was very comfortable, with AC! The tour to Los tres Ojos was a great experience; we had plenty time to see the park! The city tour was a little bit rushed… I wish we had time to see more! The lunch was good! The guide gave us a few general information…. If we would’ve visit more, he probably would’ve explain more; the group was half Spanish half English and the guide did a great job explaining everything in both languages! Yes, we did stop at specific souvenir stores but nobody made any pressure on us to buy! I walked around in the center a little bit more while others preferred to shop and we all regrouped at the meeting point! I do recommend the tour! It was a long distance from punta cana to Santo Domingo indeed but we can’t complain about this; we knew it’s a long ride!!! I only gave 4 stars instead of 5 because I wish the tour will include a little more time to another attraction in the city- a walk on malecon or other activity…. We only visited the cathedral, which is very beautiful, but all the other places were only a pass by!!!
Review provided by Viator
Mark_b
Oct 13, 2023
Lots of history. - Trip was worth the money. Lots of history. Wish we could have picked our own shops to visit. Tour guide led us to his friend’s shops.
Review provided by Viator
100alissah
Jul 22, 2023
Good experience and a way off the resort. - It was informative and the food was really good at the buffet for lunch. There were many stops however not enough time given otherwise. There is a walking tour included so be prepared to walk and be hot.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Erickisraell2016
Aug 23, 2023
Visit that I could not have done - The trip from Punta Cana to Sto Domingo is a bit long, 2:30 hrs. The most beautiful thing is the cenote The very X food They take you to many places and harass you to buy gifts
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kelsey_l
Feb 15, 2024
Hassle Not Worth the Sights - First, we were told to be in our lobby at 7am (which means we had to skip breakfast at the hotel, since it didn’t open until 7). Turns out, the driver was 30 minutes late. Second, our drive was supposed to be two hours, except they made several stops to pick up and drop off OTHER excursions, and it took FOUR HOURS of us sitting in a van to get to the destination. They also squeezed 15 of us into a small 10 person van. Driver was absolutely reckless, and he even rolled backwards into another car and a cop had to break up the situation. The sights itself were fine, but we didn’t get fed until 1:30pm. 7am to 1:30pm with NO FOOD. Also, you get maybe two bathrooms breaks if you’re lucky. They won’t stop while driving, and no options on the tour. Finally the drive home took yet again 4 hours. They picked us up first, dropped us off last. Absolutely ridiculous. Save yourself the time and money, and just google search some images of the history.
Review provided by Viator
278trishv
Aug 4, 2023
Boring - Terrible tour guide! Waste of money! The lie to you to get your to buy the tickets and then provide a poor experience and poor customer service. I do not recommend. Save your money and don’t waste a whole day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dorisx2021
Jul 21, 2023
Misleading Tour - I booked the English-speaking full day tour to Santo Domingo. I was barely spoken to at all in English, except for some patronizing comments such as "we're going to the souvenir shop now. They take US and credit cards." I'm not joking. I was picked up around 9:40am and dropped off around 5:30pm. The driver was great, but after being picked up we didn't get to our first stop until shortly after 12pm and headed back to our pickup location at 3:50pm. So the time in Santo Domingo was under 4 hours. The first stop was The Three Eyes National Park. Again the guide was speaking in Spanish but gave no English translation about the location. Later he told us we couldn't do the additional cost boat ride to get to one of the lakes. I was under the impression that we would be getting out of the van to visit Columbus Lighthouse. We did not. The only English translation provided was "Columbus is buried here." We stopped at the Presidential Palace for a photo op outside the gate only. Again no English translations of any history besides "this is like the US Capitol building and White House." When we got to the colonial city we had a small buffet lunch and then were brought to a souvenir shop and a chocolate shop. Later on we were brought to a third souvenir shop, and without exaggeration we spent almost all of our time in the colonial city either at the buffet or shopping. We did go to the first cathedral in the New World, and were provided an audio guide. This was nice, but three of us were left behind inside I'm assuming as a signal for us to hurry up. After we left the cathedral we were hurried to that third shop that I mentioned before. So the cathedral was rushed to make time for more shopping. After that we were brought to a mausoleum. I wish I could tell you history about the mausoleum but, again, the only English translation I got was "important people like diplomats and teachers are buried here." Then we walked over to where the fortress wall overlooked a construction site and were shortly after loaded into the van to go back to our resorts/ hotels. This tour is absolutely not for you if you are an English-only speaking individual, if you want to learn about the history or culture of the area, or if you expect to go into historical sites. It was overpriced for what it was and the tour description is misleading. Do not waste your time or money.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dxuereb100
Jul 19, 2023
Misleading Tour - I booked the English-speaking full day tour to Santo Domingo. I was barely spoken to at all in English, except for some patronizing comments such as "we're going to the souvenir shop now. They take US and credit cards." I'm not joking. I was picked up around 9:40am and dropped off around 5:30pm. The driver was great, but after being picked up we didn't get to our first stop until shortly after 12pm and headed back to our pickup location at 3:50pm. So the time in Santo Domingo was under 4 hours. The first stop was The Three Eyes National Park. Again the guide was speaking in Spanish but gave no English translation about the location. Later he told us we couldn't do the additional cost boat ride to get to one of the lakes. I was under the impression that we would be getting out of the van to visit Columbus Lighthouse. We did not. The only English translation provided was "Columbus is buried here." We stopped at the Presidential Palace for a photo op outside the gate only. Again no English translations of any history besides "this is like the US Capitol building and White House." When we got to the colonial city we had a small buffet lunch and then were brought to a souvenir shop and a chocolate shop. Later on we were brought to a third souvenir shop, and without exaggeration we spent almost all of our time in the colonial city either at the buffet or shopping. We did go to the first cathedral in the New World, and were provided an audio guide. This was nice, but three of us were left behind inside I'm assuming as a signal for us to hurry up. After we left the cathedral we were hurried to that third shop that I mentioned before. So the cathedral was rushed to make time for more shopping. After that we were brought to a mausoleum. I wish I could tell you history about the mausoleum but, again, the only English translation I got was "important people like diplomats and teachers are buried here." Then we walked over to where the fortress wall overlooked a construction site and were shortly after loaded into the van to go back to our resorts/ hotels. This tour is absolutely not for you if you are an English-only speaking individual, if you want to learn about the history or culture of the area, or if you expect to go into historical sites. It was overpriced for what it was and the tour description is misleading. Do not waste your time or money. Fyi, this tour was operated by Vacation on RD.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
September 2024
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