Guide to the DR
Santo Domingo · --:--
República Dominicana · Example itinerary

14-Day Dominican Republic Itinerary

The grand loop — beaches, boat days, the colonial capital, the pine mountains, and the north coast.

✈ PUJ→Punta Cana3 nights→Bayahíbe & La Romana3 nights→Santo Domingo2 nights→Jarabacoa & Constanza2 nights→Puerto Plata & Cabarete4 nights→✈ POP
Build my own version → See the route

Two weeks lets you see that the Dominican Republic is really several countries at once. This grand loop strings together Punta Cana's beaches, Bayahíbe's boat days out to Isla Saona, Santo Domingo's old city, the cool pine mountains of Jarabacoa, and the north coast around Puerto Plata and Cabarete. Five stops, and just about every landscape the island has — from white sand to cloud forest.

How to read this: it's one good way to spend 14 days, not the only way. We show the shape of each day — the two highlights worth building around. The planner fills in every meal and a night out, adds a budget breakdown, and swaps it all to your pace, budget and taste. For the drives between stops, see our drive-times guide.

✈
Fly into PUJ — Private driver / transfer. Have the ride arranged before you land.
1

Punta Cana

3 nights Base: Bávaro
Full Punta Cana guide →

Frictionless: direct flights, white sand, resorts, golf and easy excursions — the safest, simplest first stop.

Day 1
  • Higüey Basilica & Dominican Countryside Tour — The pilgrimage basilica, a local school and a family home with a real campo lunch — the closest a resort day gets to the actual DR. Book ↗
  • Dominican Coffee, Cacao & Rum Tasting — How chocolate, coffee, cigars and mamajuana are actually made — a small, tasty, low-key afternoon. Book ↗
Day 2
  • Playa Bávaro — The signature palm-and-turquoise strip.
  • Marinarium Marine Park Snorkel Cruise — Snorkel with nurse sharks and rays in a protected natural pool, then float the sandbar. Book ↗
Day 3
  • Playa Macao — The wilder public beach — surfers, fewer resorts, a fried-fish shack or two.
  • Bávaro Parasailing — Up over the turquoise for the aerial view of the whole coast.

Standout tables: Noah Marina · Dolce Italia · SBG Punta Cana

🚗
Punta Cana → Bayahíbe & La Romana — Private driver / transfer, ~65 min drive..
2

Bayahíbe & La Romana

3 nights Base: Bayahíbe
Full Bayahíbe & La Romana guide →

The best boat days in the country and calm Caribbean water, with village life and luxury side by side.

Day 4
  • Isla Saona from Bayahíbe — The shortest, best-value route to Saona's natural pool and palm beaches — a catamaran-and-speedboat classic. Book ↗
  • Cueva de las Maravillas — A beautifully lit cave of Taíno pictographs between La Romana and San Pedro. Book ↗
Day 5
  • Bayahíbe Village Reef Snorkel — An easy boat-and-snorkel straight from the fishing village — no big-tour crowds. Book ↗
  • Altos de Chavón — A stone Mediterranean village and amphitheatre above the Chavón river at Casa de Campo. Book ↗
Day 6
  • Corazón de Bayahibe, Provincia La Altagracia — A stretch of protected coast and reef near Bayahíbe — easy snorkelling and calm swimming.
  • Cave Chicho — A flooded cavern near Bayahíbe for a cool freshwater cenote swim and cave dives.

Standout tables: Shish Kabab · Minitas Beach Club & Restaurant · SBG Casa de Campo

🚗
Bayahíbe & La Romana → Santo Domingo — Private driver / transfer, ~110 min drive..
3

Santo Domingo

2 nights Base: Zona Colonial
Full Santo Domingo guide →

Culture, food and nightlife in one walkable, well-policed core — the best cultural anchor for any trip.

Day 7
  • Catedral Primada de América — The first cathedral in the Americas (1540).
  • Alcázar de Colón — Diego Columbus's palace on Plaza España — the best-preserved Renaissance building in the Americas. Book ↗
Day 8
  • Museo de las Casas Reales — The colonial-era Royal Houses, now a museum of the Spanish period.
  • Fortaleza Ozama — The oldest European military fort in the Americas, with river-and-sea views from the Torre del Homenaje.

Standout tables: Turo · La Cassina · Central Gastronómica

🚗
Santo Domingo → Jarabacoa & Constanza — Private driver / transfer, ~135 min drive..
4

Jarabacoa & Constanza

2 nights Base: Jarabacoa
Full Jarabacoa & Constanza guide →

A total climate change — pine forests, rivers, waterfalls, rafting and genuinely cool nights.

Day 9
  • Yaque del Norte White-Water Rafting — The Caribbean's only real whitewater — grade II–III rapids down the mountains.
  • Salto de Jimenoa Waterfall — A dramatic 60m fall reached by a jungle catwalk over the river.
Day 10
  • Salto Baiguate Canyoning — Rappel and swim through a hidden canyon to a waterfall — the best half-day thrill here.
  • Flying Tony — Tandem paragliding over the Jarabacoa valley — the operation that put the town on the adventure map.

Standout tables: Pele Kitchen Grill · Aroma de la Montaña · El Fresco Bistro y Café

🚗
Jarabacoa & Constanza → Puerto Plata & Cabarete — Private driver / transfer, ~135 min drive..
5

Puerto Plata & Cabarete

4 nights Base: Cabarete
Full Puerto Plata & Cabarete guide →

Atlantic energy: surf, wind sports, waterfalls and real city streets. More active and authentic than the east.

Day 11
  • Puerto Plata Cable Car (Teleférico) — The Caribbean's only cable car, up Pico Isabel de Torres to a Christ statue and botanical gardens over the sea.
  • Cabarete Kitesurf or Surf Lesson — Learn on the wind-and-wave beach that put Cabarete on the world map.
Day 12
  • Playa Encuentro — The north coast's surf beach — dawn sessions and a laid-back reef break.
  • Las Cuevas de Cabarete — Limestone caves in El Choco park — swim in freshwater caverns and see Taíno petroglyphs.
Day 13
  • National Park El Choco y Las Cuevas de Cabarete — A protected park of lagoons, caves and forest behind Cabarete — cave swims, hikes and birdlife.
  • Playa secreta — A hidden little beach near Cabarete — quiet sand and clear water off the beaten path.
Day 14
  • Ocean World Marine Park — Dolphins, sea lions and a family-friendly marine park in Cofresí.
  • 27 Charcos de Damajagua — Jump and slide down 27 turquoise waterfalls — the north coast's signature adrenaline day.

Standout tables: La Kazba Cabarete · Bliss · Le Petit François

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