Tour Options in Santo Domingo

When planning a city tour or investigating one farther afield, do make certain that you're aware of how much time is involved. For example, local tour companies sell city visitors excursions to La Catalina. They typically leave at 6:30 AM and return some 12 hours later! It can take you three hours just to get to where the boat disembarks, because you will usually have a long stop at least one area all-inclusive resort. You arrive back in the city, exhausted, at nearly 7 PM, and you will pay about $130. Forget about it!

New is the Audio Guide, a self-guided walking tour of the Zona Colonial. For US$30 you get information about 25 historical sights, admission to three museums and a nonalcoholic beverage at Hard Rock Cafe, and you get to walk at your own pace. The company targets cruise-ship passengers with its booth at the cruise pier, but anyone with a major credit card can rent the audio tour.

DomRep Tours, a European-owned travel agency, specializes in individual tours and eco-adventures—even to Jarabacoa and Barahona. With an office in the Zona Colonial, the company even offers city-breaks of two or three nights, including airport transfers, hotels, tours, and lunch. Guided private tours of the historical sights in the Zone are available as well as tours to the nearby beaches and sights, including some multiday trips.

EcodoTours, as the name implies, specializes in eco-adventures but also brings groups into the capital for city tours and will pick up individual travelers at their hotels. One excellent option this company offers is a "Santo Domingo Night Tour." Included is a drink, two disco admissions, and time at a casino for $49, a good deal since taxis to all these places can easily cost $40.

An agent for American Express, the well-established Prieto Tours gives tours of the city and surrounding area in English. For the latter, these large bus tours usually include guests from the all-inclusive resorts outside of the city. The company offers a good three-hour tour of the Zona Colonial for about US$25. If you have the stamina a six-hour tour takes in the Zone, El Faro, the Aquarium, and "modern" Santo Domingo, including lunch, museum entrances, and an hour of shopping time for your US$50.

A relatively new company, specializing in educational, adventure and incentive programs for groups, is Tours, Trips, Treks & Travel, founded by a veteran Iguana Mamas trip leader. Although based in Cabarete, the company will come into Santo Domingo and is especially good at helping to organize cultural excursions.

Private tour guides are another option, and you'll have to pay approximately $125 a day for a guide (more if the guide uses a private driver). Your hotel concierge will know the good English-speaking guides, though you may pay more than if you organized the tour yourself. Dré Broeders is a multilingual, licensed tour guide with 16 years of experience in the D.R. and can give a customized tour for two people or a group. His late-model car is clean and well-maintained, and he is very reliable. He will also pick up passengers from any of the area airports and bring them to any destination on the southeast coast. Although he lives in Juan Dolio, he's an expert on the Colonial Zone and runs a great tour.

Kate Wallace, a recognized birding authority who leads tours in various parts of the country, will lead private bird-watching tours in the Jardin Botanico Nacional Dr. Rafael M. Moscoso.

Information

Audio Guide (Don Diego Cruise Terminal, Av. del Porto, Zona Colonial. 809/221-2221 for CTN television network). DomRep Tours (Plaza Paseo del Conde, Calle El Conde 360, Zona Colonial. 809/686-0278; 829/367-7421 cell. www.domreptours.com). Dré Broeders (809/526-3533; 809/399-5766 cell. drebroeders@hotmail.com or peralta162@gmail.com).

EcodoTours (809/815-1074. www.ecodotours.com). Kate Wallace (809/686-0882. katetody@gmail.com). Prieto Tours (Av. Francia 125, Gazcue. 809/685-0102. www.prietotours.com). Tours, Trips, Treks & Travel (Cabarete. 809/867-8884 in Cabarete. www.4Tdomrep.com).