Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic trip ideas

Half Day Private Tour in Dominican Republic with Local Guide

Badge of ExcellenceDominican Republic

From $230.00

per group (up to 6)

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

4 hours
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

What's Included

Vehicle with air conditioning Wifi on board
Professional tour guide
Visit to the Basilica and the San Dionisio Catholic Church
Visit to a typical Dominican house
Visit to the coffee, cocoa and tobacco plantation.
Stop at the local market for souvenirs.

Lunch
Alcoholic Beverages

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

Please arrive 10 minutes before your selected pickup start time. Your operator can coordinate the exact time and location at your Hotel, Airbnb and other locations.

What To Expect

Punta Cana

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Casa típica. "Café cacao vainilla”

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

La Ceiba

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Rancho Real Cigars

35 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Otra Banda

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Mercado Municipal

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Iglesia San Dionisio Santuario de Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Basilica Catedral Nuestra Senora de la Altagracia

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Carretera Higüey - Miches

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

WORLD MART SOUVENIRS

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Punta Cana

1 minute • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation

Infant seats available
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

5.0

90 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 90 reviews

Very informative

Joseph_S, May 2024

Very knowledgeable, great morning spent with Edwin. Showed us true DR living despite the traffic problems.

Amazing guide!

Qian_Y, Apr 2024

Edwin was our tour guide and we had an amazing time! We had our 1 year old son with us so this private tour was perfect as we could do it at our own pace. Edwin is not only an amazing guide, he's also great with the baby and even held him during some of the tour!! Highly recommend this for anyone that want a small group tour. Honestly if you are staying in an all-inclusive resort anyways, the other tours that include lunch (and is more expensive) isn't really adding much value in my opinion.

Response from Host, May 2024

Hello Qian Yu, Thank you so much for your kind words! We're thrilled to hear that you enjoyed your tour with Edwin and had an amazing time. We're delighted to know that our private service was perfect for you and your family, especially with your one-year-old son. It's fantastic to hear that Edwin was not only an excellent guide but also very attentive to your baby. We strive to provide personalized and memorable experiences, and we're glad to see that we achieved that with you! We agree with you that our tour, being private and adaptable, offers a unique and valuable experience, especially for those who prefer a more intimate and personalized setting. We greatly appreciate your recommendations and hope to have the pleasure of welcoming you again in the future. Thank you for choosing us and for sharing your experience! Wishing you a wonderful day!

Great Private Tour

Valencia_R, Mar 2024

My small group enjoyed this private tour. If you’re looking to learn more about the culture and how the locals live, this is the tour for you. Our driver was very friendly, courteous, knowledgeable, professional and timely.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Thank you for your wonderful feedback, Valencia! We're delighted to hear that you and your small group enjoyed our private tour of Punta Cana. Providing an enriching cultural experience is what we strive for, and we're thrilled that you found the tour to be informative about the local culture and way of life. It's fantastic to know that your driver was friendly, courteous, knowledgeable, professional, and punctual throughout the tour. We truly appreciate your kind words and hope to have the opportunity to welcome you and your group back for another memorable experience in the future. Thank you for choosing Top Punta Cana Transfer and City Tours

Great tour!!! Edwin was...

Melisa_H, Feb 2024

Great tour!!! Edwin was an awesome tour guide. We would highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Punta Cana.

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Thank you for choosing us.

Fantastic

David_W, Feb 2024

Wonderful tour. Learned a lot about the Dominican Republic. Edwin is a fantastic guide. Could not have been a better experience!!

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We're thrilled to hear that you had such a fantastic experience on the tour and that Edwin was able to provide you with a lot of insight about the Dominican Republic. We strive to deliver the best possible experiences, and it's fantastic to know that we hit the mark with you. We look forward to welcoming you back soon for another unforgettable adventure! Thanks again for sharing your feedback!

Memorable experience

Abigail_L, Feb 2024

Edwin our driver and tour guide was exceptional! He was very knowledgeable about historical facts and presented in a pleasurable manner. The sites visited allowed us to see a very personal side of DR, especially the visit with the family!! We would definitely recommend this tour to anyone coming to Punta Cana!! Thanks Edwin!!

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience with us! We are thrilled to hear that you enjoyed our Half Day Tour in Punta Cana and that Edwin made it an exceptional experience for you. It's fantastic to know that Edwin shared his knowledge about local history in such an enjoyable manner, and that the places you visited allowed you to see a more personal side of the Dominican Republic, especially during the family visit! We truly appreciate your recommendation and look forward to welcoming you again on your next visit to Punta Cana. Thank you for choosing us and for your support!

Book with Edwin???

Randy_B, Feb 2024

Very disappointing and misleading tour. We booked thinking we would have Edwin as our guide as he had fabulous reviews. The day before the tour our guide was switched to Tina because we wanted to keep our original booking time . Did they double book? Our tour began by Tina saying she didn’t know much…only what she was told to say. This was true of the entire trip. There was little commentary, much of the car ride she was on her phone. At the sites we were pointed to informational signs as we listened enviously to other guides talking to groups. We took the tour to learn about the culture…disappointing. The traditional “market” was an indoor roadside tourist trap selling overpriced souvenirs… not at all a “market.” The tour never stopped at the beach because of weather, it was drizzling at best. The pictures on Viator show a lunch, there was no food. We asked about it and was told it was an “option “, totally not offered the “option “ at any point. The 5 hour tour was actually 4 hours. At the church we couldn’t go in do to mass and couldn’t walk around due to “safety” albeit other tours were walking about. There was an odd confrontation between Tina and another tour operator. We gathered it was because he had a license but she did not …I won’t elaborate as it was awkward. Very disappointing experience and the whole thing was a bit shady and definitely misleading.

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Mr. Randy, thank you for taking a moment and sharing your experience with us, remember that at the end of the tour we contacted you and explained that concerning lunch, the option you selected does not include lunch (we have an option for that) concerning At the Macao beach stop, we explained that in the area we had bad weather, since we had bad weather, the police who guard the beach prohibited access to it. Regarding our Guide, Tina is a very prepared girl who speaks 3 languages. If you check our reviews she has excellent reviews, you say that in the church she had a problem with another guide and that she did not have a license, that is not true and I explained to you that the cathedral has its tour guides, which is what they are authorized to do on tour inside the church. That's why the other guide said that she did not have a license to offer the tour of the church, regarding access to the church, they do not have a fixed time to give the service (we cannot access the church while they have services) so it is not in our hands to control that. You also said that I sent Tina because we had a double reservation, that is very far from the truth. We have a team of 5 guides including Edwin who provide service. In any case, we apologize if you are not happy with our services at the moment. You are the first one who does not like our service.

Highly recommended

Heidi_A, Feb 2024

This was the best tour of our visit, but the description here is inaccurate. The actual tour is better. Edwin was so courteous and a great driver providing much interesting information along the way. He has an itinerary but is willing to change it at your request. We saw a plantation that produces cacao, coffee, and vanilla. The tour includes the home, and we were blessed to meet some of the family members who were so welcoming. We also visited a cigar factory and a basilica. The rest was a drive through Higuey with Edwin providing much cultural information. This was a very interesting tour and I highly recommend it.

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Dear Heidi, Thank you immensely for sharing your experience with us! We're thrilled to hear that you found our tour to be the highlight of your visit to the Dominican Republic. We apologize for any inaccuracies in the tour description and are grateful for your feedback. However, we're delighted that the actual tour exceeded your expectations. Edwin is indeed a gem, and we're thrilled to hear that he provided courteous service and interesting information throughout the journey. Flexibility is a core value for us, and we're glad to hear that Edwin was accommodating and willing to adjust the itinerary to meet your requests. It sounds like you had a truly immersive experience visiting the plantation and meeting the welcoming family members. Exploring the cigar factory, basilica, and driving through Higuey while receiving cultural insights from Edwin sounds like an enriching experience indeed. Thank you for highly recommending our tour! Your recommendation means the world to us and reinforces our commitment to delivering exceptional experiences to all our customers. If you ever find yourself back in the Dominican Republic or if there's anything else we can assist you with, please don't hesitate to reach out. We would be honored to welcome you again for another memorable tour experience.

Cultural tour in DR - highly recommend

zlthomson, Jan 2024

Edwin and Tina were great to see and experience a little bit of the Dominican culture outside of resort. Very friendly and knowledgeable. The tour was exactly as listed. A half day was a good amount of time. Thank you, Edwin!

Perfect day

sticf, Jan 2024

Perfect way to see another side of dominican. We lovede the experience together with our 3 year old son. Edwin and Tina did a perfect Job. Highly recommend them both.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Hello Mr. Cantona. Thank you for taking the time to leave such a positive review! We're delighted to hear that you enjoyed your experience with us, and that your 3-year-old son had a great time as well. Edwin and Tina are integral members of our team, and we're proud that they did a perfect job to make your experience memorable. We appreciate your recommendation and hope to see you again in the future. We'd love to have you back for another adventure in the Dominican Republic!

Good to get away from the resort

Kristina_G, Jan 2024

My friends and I enjoyed our tour with Edwin! He was very knowledgeable and friendly, telling us information about the Dominican life and answering our questions. We weren’t interested in the cigar part, so we were able to skip that. We liked that this is a private tour for tour group (it was just the 4 of us plus Edwin, in a comfortable van with air conditioning). We would definitely recommend this tour!

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Hello! We're delighted to hear that you and your friends enjoyed your tour with Edwin. Providing a knowledgeable and friendly guide who can share insights about Dominican life and answer questions is something we take pride in. We're glad to know that the flexibility of our tours allowed you to skip the part that didn't interest you. Our private tours, like the one you experienced with just your group and Edwin in a comfortable, air-conditioned van, are designed to offer a personalized and enjoyable experience. Thank you for recommending our tour; we truly appreciate your support and hope to welcome you back for another great adventure in the future!

great private tour of real life in DR

Kristin_J, Jan 2024

We had an amazing experience on our private tour with Edwin. He had so much interesting information to share about the Dominican Republic and answered all of our questions. He also made it clear that we could adjust the tour on the fly if there were any stops we weren't interested in making. And you never felt pressured to buy anything on the stops we made.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Hello! Thank you for sharing your experience with us. We're thrilled to hear that you had a great private tour with Edwin and that it provided you with a glimpse of real life in the Dominican Republic. Edwin's knowledge and willingness to answer all your questions are qualities we highly value in our team. We believe in providing a flexible and pressure-free experience for our guests, so we're delighted to know you felt comfortable adjusting the tour according to your interests and were never pressured to make purchases during the stops. Your feedback means a lot to us, and we hope to have the pleasure of hosting you on another memorable tour in the future. Thank you for choosing us!

Great tour

Anonymous, Jan 2024

Wonderful company and tour. Edwin was so knowledgeable and made the trip very enjoyable. I highly recommend this company and especially Edwin.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Hello! We are delighted to hear that you had a wonderful experience with our transportation and tour service. We take pride in knowing that Edwin was able to provide you with valuable knowledge and make your trip enjoyable. We appreciate your recommendation and kind words about our team, especially Edwin. We always strive to deliver the best possible service, and feedback like yours motivates us to keep doing so. We hope to have the opportunity to serve you again in the future. Thank you for choosing us!

Book this tour!

Janet_L, Jan 2024

Edwin was a wonderful guide. We had great conversations throughout the day. I would strongly suggest doing this over a larger tour.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Thank you for booking with us, thank you for your comment.

Fantastic tour

Catherine_C, Jan 2024

This was an awesome tour, Edwin was so enjoyable and explained everything to us. Loved the locations he took us too, really enjoyed rolling my cigar. Was so much fun being a private tour would recommend this to everyone. Thanks Edwin from the angry girl.🤪lol.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

thank you so much!

Authentic and Intwresting

Neha_D, Dec 2023

Nathan was a great guide. We were able to have an authentic cultural experience. The family owned cocao and coffee plantation was interesting and beautiful and the family was welcoming. The tobacco plantation was a unique experience. Translator app helped with communication issues, though by the end, we managed to understand each other perfectly.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Thank you so much.

Guide was great and tour gave a very good overview of DR life

Shashikant_M, Dec 2023

It was excellent half day tour by guide Jose. He was knowledgeable and knew area very well. He even took us to local empanada place and food was delicious. I would suggest this tour for anyone staying in Punta Cana and do not want to do day long Santo Domingo tour and get stuck in traffic.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

thank you for the good comment.

Just as described.

Ruth_W, Dec 2023

Edwin and brother guided us from Puna Cana to The cathedral in Higuey (about 45 minutes away), which is beautiful. We then traveled past the markets, and through the streets, neighborhoods and countryside on the way back. We stopped at a hand rolled cigar factory, and a coffee, cocoa, sugar, & vanilla plantation. Edwin was a very informative story teller. I would recommend his tour to others.

Response from Host, Dec 2023

Ms. Ruth, thank you very much for your good recommendation, it was a pleasure for us.

highly recommend

Harry_S, Nov 2023

Can’t recommend this tour enough, Edwin was such a good guide and gave us so much insight into what life is actually like in the DR. He picked us up from our hotel on time and provided water for us. The Cigar making and plantation part of the trip was a lot of fun. The family we met were so welcoming and it was really interesting to see what their home was like. We bought some coffee but wish we’d taken more money to buy other products from the plantation! If you want a friendly, informative guide and to see the real Dominican Republic definitely recommend this tour. Thank you Edwin!

Response from Host, Nov 2023

Mr. Sikes, thank you for choosing us, we hope to have you back soon on our beautiful island.

Amazing experience!

Randie_S, Oct 2023

Edwin and his brother were amazing! This was exactly what we were looking for. We took our 2 boys (9 and 11), my mom, brother and sister in law. We wanted to show our kids how they lived in that area and it opened their eyes! I love that we could customize the tour to skip the tobacco plant as we didn’t have any interest but had plenty of time at the house, farm, church and shopping! Thanks again Edwin!!