The bucket-list things to do — and who runs each one.
Here’s the bucket list for your day ashore: the most extraordinary thing to do at each stop, who runs it, and how to book it direct — so you can weigh it against your ship’s excursion and pick what suits you.
In port at Santo Domingo, the bucket-list move is Zona Colonial: Private Expert Walking Tour of the New World's First City. Below: 5 bucket-list things to do on a Santo Domingo port day — worth weighing against whatever your ship offers.
Walk the cobblestoned streets of the UNESCO-listed Zona Colonial with a private expert guide — the oldest European settlement in the Americas, where every façade tells a 500-year story. Intimate, unhurried, and unmissable.
Book itSanto Domingo: Colonial Zone Walking Tour with Tastings$20 per person
Descend into a limestone karst cathedral holding three iridescent lakes and a hidden fourth cenote — reached by wooden raft. Los Tres Ojos is one of the Caribbean's most surreal natural wonders, best savoured privately at dawn.
Book itPrivate Full-Day at Los Haitises National Park$1,088 per person
Run by The Three Eyes National Park · 4.70 from 15,000 reviews
The monumental Columbus Lighthouse houses what the Dominican Republic claims are the explorer's remains — and projects a cross of light visible from the sea. Pair it with the Colonial Zone for the full New World genesis story in one extraordinary half-day.
Book itHalf Day Excursion Colonial Zone Lighthouse to Colón and Tres Ojos from Santo Domingo$90 per person
Run by Columbus Lighthouse · 4.30 from 7,000 reviews
A crescent of calm, reef-sheltered water just 30 km east of the port — Boca Chica's shallow turquoise lagoon is the beach the locals have claimed for generations. Reserve a premium beach club section for a genuinely unhurried Caribbean afternoon.
Book itSanto Domingo Top 3 Eyes Light House Boca Chica Beach and Lunch$75 per person
The Dominican Republic produces some of the world's most celebrated cigars and premium aged rum — this expert-led tasting experience visits a working cigar atelier and a distillery or spirits cellar, pairing both into one sophisticated, sensory afternoon.
We have not yet verified a bookable operator and price for
this one, so we are not quoting either.
Plunge into the sensory theatre of Santo Domingo's legendary Mercado Modelo — the Dominican Republic's most celebrated artisan and food market — then sit down to a private chef-guided Dominican lunch in a Colonial Zone restaurant beloved by locals.
Book itFull-Day Adventure Tour of Culture through Santo Domingo$125 per person
Run by Merca Santo Domingo · 4.50 from 5,300 reviews
Your day in Santo DomingoNothing picked yet — tick what you fancy
$0for two, booked direct
Now plan the rest of it
You know what to do on the day. Here is the trip it belongs to —
each one opens as a whole plan, not a list: where to fly in, every port, what it runs.