9 Memorable Things to Do in Punta Cana

The short answer

Punta Cana sits at the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic, where the Atlantic meets the Caribbean. The best of it is not inside the resort gate: Isla Saona, Macao Beach, Catalina Island, the Indigenous Eyes Ecological Park, horseback tours through nearby villages and the Bavaro beach strip. All of them are day trips, and all of them are easier with a private vehicle and a driver who knows the roads.

Bavaro

Bavaro is the long run of seaside resorts on the east coast, with palms along a wide beach and a coral reef that keeps the water calm for swimming. Inland you get golf, street vendors and a genuine neighbourhood that grew up around the hotels rather than for them. If resort living is not your whole holiday, this is the easiest place to step outside it — diving, riding, cycling, or just a different beach bar each evening.

Our Bavaro transfers run from Punta Cana Airport all day.

Isla Saona

Saona sits off the south-east coast and is a protected nature reserve, which is why the beaches still look the way they do. Most resorts sell a package that includes the boat. If you would rather set your own timing, we will drive you to the departure point and be there when you come back.

Tours on horseback

Riding tours are on most first-timers' lists for good reason: in one afternoon you get nearby villages, local customs, coffee and chocolate tasting, and usually a zip line. Guides are local, and the value is hard to beat if your trip is short.

Indigenous Eyes Ecological Park

A private reserve kept by the PUNTACANA Ecological Foundation and open dawn to dusk. Cultural exhibits, freshwater swimming lagoons, a petting zoo for small children and an iguana enclosure.

Macao Beach

A short run north of the resort strip and a completely different feeling — soft sand, coconut palms for shade, and far fewer people. Worth a morning if you want a beach without a wristband.

Cana Bay

Cana Bay pairs a beach club with a well-known 18-hole golf course, plus tennis and paddle courts and a nightlife scene that draws people in from across the area.

Catalina Island

Off the south-east coast near La Romana, Catalina is small, protected and undeveloped, so nothing interrupts the view. Day boats leave from the La Romana side — see our La Romana transfers if you are coming from that direction.

Semi-private tours

If a coach tour is not your thing, semi-private excursions cap the group and include the gear, so there is nothing to remember beyond sunscreen.

Getting to all of it

We monitor your inbound flight, meet you inside the arrivals hall with a tablet showing your name, and drive you straight to your address. Waiting time is free for two hours after landing. For excursion days, a private vehicle with a driver is simply the sane way to move a family and its bags around the east coast.

Start with Punta Cana airport transfers.

Questions

Do I need a car to see Punta Cana?

Not a rental. Most visitors use a private vehicle with a driver for excursion days, which avoids parking, navigation and the local traffic entirely.

Which beach is quietest?

Macao Beach is the usual answer near the resort strip, and Isla Saona is quieter again because it is a protected reserve reached by boat.

Can you take us to an excursion departure point?

Yes. We run point-to-point trips and full-day chauffeur service anywhere on the east coast — tell us the pickup time and the meeting place when you book.