Punta Cana: Sugar cane plantation and cacao factory
 

I will be going to Punta Cana mid-November and would like to visit: 1) a sugar cane plantation, 2) a cacao factory, 3) a cigar factory.
My family and I intended to rent a taxi for a day (to visit Higuey too), but I would like to have an idea where to head to and see if they are interesting things to do, out of the beaten path.
Can I have the names of the plantation and factories and the towns they are in?
Thank you all for any tips!

I don't know if you're interested in a backroad self-tour, but here are my notes from a few years ago, when I visited a friend who's a local:

"We drove to a mountain lodge from Casa de Campo. It was a 2.5 hour drive, over narrow, dirt roads, through sugar cane fields and tiny mountain 'towns'. 


The sugar is harvested by hand, using machetes, and then hauled by oxen teams to the train. It was really cool to see them at work.

 The oxen were so shiny and well-kept.
The people in the towns were friendly, and I was struck by this consistently welcoming attitude of every single Dominican I met.
My friend knew the roadside places to stop on our day-trip, to get the best honey, oranges, crab meat. And we stopped to see cocoa beans and coffee beans drying in the sun at tiny little farms.


We saw people going about their day on little horses, donkeys and mules. Kids walking to and from their schoolhouses, dressed in uniforms and carrying their backpacks.
Really a pleasant rural scene. I did feel a bit over-privileged, as we passed by all these people, in our air-conditioned vehicle. But not once did I see anyone react unpleasantly to us. Instead, they smiled and waved at us. 


Our destination eco-hotel was really unique. Built a few years ago by a Dominican, out of all local wood, stone and other materials. Sparkling clean (as was every place I saw in the DR) with a waterfall pool. My room had a balcony overlooking open country.


We took a private guided motorboat tour from the hotel, through the mangroves, into the bay of Los Haitises National Park. We examined two caves with ancient carvings, and walked through a 'humid forest'. It was a three-hour tour like none I've ever taken.
Fortunately, we had clear beautiful weather for this. 

Again, I was surprised at the hotel value. Our bill came to $83 apiece, which included one night's private lodging, three meals (with lots of rum and wine!), AND the private tour through the park."

The eco-lodge where we stayed, on the north coast:

Hotel Paraiso Cano Hondo

It is in the Los Haitises National Park. Really an amazing place to stay.