There are more things to do in Punta Cana than any one trip can hold, and most guides bury the good ones under a list of resort activities you could do anywhere. This is the local version: 25 things worth your time, organized by what kind of day you are in the mood for, with honest notes on which ones cost money, which are free, and which are worth skipping if your week is short. Prices shown are ours, per person in US dollars.
Beaches and islands
This is why most people come, and it is where Punta Cana genuinely outperforms its reputation.
- 1. Saona Island. The classic full day: catamaran out, speedboat back, a stop at the natural pool where starfish sit in waist-deep water, and lunch on a beach that looks like a screensaver. Our Saona Island Discovery runs about 8 hours at $89 per adult and $45 per child. If you do one paid excursion, do this one.
- 2. Saona the quieter way. The standard Saona day is popular for a reason, which also means company. The VIP three-beach version at $119 adult and $75 child trades some of the crowd for two additional stops. Worth the difference if you dislike busy beaches.
- 3. Catalina Island. Off the coast near La Romana, with the best wall diving in this part of the country. More on that below.
- 4. Playa Macao. A public beach, free, wilder and less manicured than the resort strip, with surf schools and food shacks. This is where locals go on a Sunday.
- 5. Playa Bavaro and Playa El Cortecito. Free public access, calm water, and El Cortecito is where the fishing boats come in. Walk the beach in either direction from your resort and you will end up somewhere more interesting than the lounger you started on.
- 6. Juanillo Beach in Cap Cana. Postcard-grade sand at the calmer, more upscale end of the coast.
- 7. Cayo Levantado and Samana. A long day, but a different Dominican Republic entirely: mountains meeting the sea, palm-covered bays, and a serious change of scenery. Our Samana Cayo Levantado trip is $129 adult and $79 child.
Adventure and parks
- 8. Scape Park at Cap Cana. Ziplines, caves, a Taino-era cenote called Hoyo Azul, and enough on-site variety to fill a full day. Scape Park is $129 adult and $69 child. Best single-location adventure park in the area.
- 9. Buggies at Playa Macao. Mud, dirt tracks, a cave stop and a beach finish. Our buggy and four-wheel tour is $59. Fair warning: you will be filthy, and that is the entire point. Wear clothes you do not care about and bring sunglasses.
- 10. Monkeyland. Squirrel monkeys land on your shoulders in a forest reserve, usually paired with a coffee and cacao plantation stop. Monkeyland is $95 adult and $60 child. The single most reliable hit with children we run.
- 11. Horseback riding along the coast. Widely available through local ranches near Macao and Uvero Alto.
- 12. Ziplining in the interior hills. Several operators run canopy circuits inland, most a 45-minute drive from the resort belt.
- 13. Indigenous Eyes Ecological Park. A network of freshwater lagoons in a protected reserve inside the Punta Cana resort area. Cheap, quiet, shaded, and almost nobody books it.
Water sports and marine life
- 14. Diving at Catalina Island. The wall drops fast and the visibility is usually excellent. Our Catalina Island diving tour is $149 and assumes you can already dive. If you are certified and only doing one dive day, make it this one.
- 15. Swimming with dolphins. A structured in-water encounter rather than a show. Swim with dolphins is $109.
- 16. SeaQuarium. Snorkeling in a marine park setting with a helmet-walk option on the sea floor, at $125. See SeaQuarium Punta Cana. Good for people who want to see reef life without being confident swimmers.
- 17. A party boat afternoon. Music, snorkel stop, and the natural pool. The Blue Marine party boat is $59 adult and $35 child, and it is the cheapest way to get out on the water here.
- 18. Snorkeling straight off the beach. Free. Bring your own mask. The reef sections near Bavaro are not spectacular, but they cost nothing and you can go at 7 a.m. before anyone else is awake.
- 19. Kitesurfing at Cabeza de Toro and Macao. The wind here is consistent and there are schools for beginners.
- 20. Deep-sea fishing. Charters run from several marinas along the coast, mahi-mahi and marlin depending on the season.
Nightlife and shows
- 21. Coco Bongo. Not a nightclub so much as a nonstop cabaret: acrobats, tribute acts, movie sequences recreated live, all while you have a drink in your hand. Coco Bongo is $75. Go once, go late, and do not book anything early the next morning.
- 22. Imagine Punta Cana. A nightclub built inside a natural cave system, which sounds like a gimmick until you are standing in it. Imagine is $60.
- 23. Los Corales and the Bavaro bar strip. Free to walk, small local bars, and where you find live merengue and bachata that has nothing to do with a resort entertainment schedule. Ask a local which night the good bands play.
Culture, history and everyday life
- 24. Santo Domingo. The oldest continuously inhabited European-founded city in the Americas, and the reason to leave the beach for one day. The Zona Colonial is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it is a real working city, not a museum. Our Santo Domingo city tour is $89 adult and $45 child. It is a long drive each way, and it is still worth it.
- 25. Higuey and the local markets. Higuey is the nearest real Dominican town, about 45 minutes inland, home to the Basilica de la Altagracia. Free to visit, no resort polish, and the closest thing to seeing how people here actually live. Go with a driver who knows the area, and bring cash in small bills.
Food worth leaving the resort for
Resort buffets are fine. They are also the reason many visitors leave without tasting Dominican food. Three things are worth a short trip out.
Comedores and roadside kitchens. Ask for la bandera: rice, red beans, stewed meat and salad, the everyday lunch of the entire country. It costs a few dollars and it is what people actually eat. Fresh fish at El Cortecito. Small beachfront places grill whatever came in that morning, and you eat it with the boats fifty meters away. Street food and drinks. Fried plantain in various forms, fresh coconut water cut open in front of you, and Presidente beer served cold enough to hurt. Most Punta Cana excursions include lunch, so plan your food exploring for the days you are not out on a tour.
Free things to do in Punta Cana that nobody sells you
An honest list has to include what you do not need to book. Walk the public beach at sunrise, when the sand is empty and the light is best. Watch the fishing boats come into El Cortecito in the morning. Eat at a roadside comedor instead of a resort buffet, where a plate of rice, beans and stewed chicken costs a few dollars and is better food. Learn four words of Spanish and use them badly with the staff who spend all week being spoken to in English. Sit through an afternoon rain shower under a palapa instead of fleeing indoors; it usually passes in 30 minutes and the air afterwards is worth waiting for.
How to fit these things to do in Punta Cana into one week
A realistic seven-day plan looks like this: two full-day excursions, one half-day, one night out, and three days doing nothing on purpose. People who book five excursions in seven days come home tired and remember none of them clearly.
If we had to pick a shape for a first visit, it would be Saona for the beach day, Scape Park or the buggies for the adventure day, one night at Coco Bongo, and Santo Domingo only if you are genuinely curious about the history rather than checking a box. Families with kids under ten should swap Santo Domingo for Monkeyland, every time.
A few practical notes. Everything we run includes hotel pickup in the Punta Cana and Bavaro area, so you are not arranging your own way to a meeting point. All bookings have free cancellation up to 24 hours before, which matters more than it sounds when a weather forecast changes mid-week. The full catalog with dates and availability is on the tours page, and getting from the airport to your hotel in the first place is covered on our transfers page. If you are not sure which of these suits your group, message us. We would rather talk you out of the wrong excursion than sell you one you do not enjoy, and you can reach us through the contact page or on WhatsApp.
