The best day trips from Cabarete
Eight trips you can do and be back the same evening, with honest driving times and the best hour to leave.
27 Waterfalls of Damajagua — 45 minutes
Climb a river through limestone canyons, then come back down by jumping and sliding into the pools. Guides, helmets and life jackets are provided at the park. Go early: the water is clearer and the groups are smaller before ten in the morning.
Cayo Arena / Paradise Island — 2 hours
A sandbank in the middle of a coral reef off Punta Rucia. Boat out, snorkel over the reef, lunch in a village on the way back. Long drive, but the clearest water on this coast.
Playa Grande and Playa Caletón — 1 hour
Two beaches side by side near Río San Juan. Playa Grande has the surf and the cliffs, Caletón is a small calm cove with fish shacks. Take cash, there is no card machine on the sand.
Mount Isabel de Torres — 40 minutes
The only cable car in the Caribbean climbs 800 metres to botanical gardens, a Christ statue and a view over the whole bay. Go on a clear morning, the summit clouds over in the afternoon.
Samaná and the whales — 3 hours, January to March
Humpback whales come into Samaná Bay to breed between mid January and late March. It is a long day, out before dawn and back after dark, and it is the trip people talk about for years.
Santo Domingo Colonial Zone — 3.5 hours
The oldest European city in the Americas, with the first cathedral, the first paved street and a very good lunch scene. Doable in a day if you leave at six in the morning.
El Choco caves — 10 minutes
Right behind Cabarete: caves with underground lagoons you can swim in, inside a national park. Half a morning, and the closest thing to an adventure that needs no long drive.
Monkey Jungle — 50 minutes
Squirrel monkeys that land on your shoulders and seven ziplines over the canopy. Ticket money funds a dental and medical clinic for the surrounding villages, which is unusual enough to be worth mentioning.
How to plan the day
Most of these are far more pleasant with a driver than with a rental car: no navigating, no parking, no worrying about the way back after a day in the sun. Tell us which trip and how many people and you get a fixed price for the whole vehicle, waiting time included.
