Our trip to the Dominican Republic would not have been complete without a tour of the island culture. Here’s Brittany’s take on our excursion.
Sometimes on a trip, what you expect to be the least fun will really surprise you. When the man we consulted about tours, Manolo, told us to try the Country Express tour, we were a little put out. It didn’t seem that fun from the description- visiting a cacoa farm and a local school? How about…no? I’m glad Manolo was able to convince us to take the tour. The Country Express Adventure through Nexus and Vacation Express was a once in a lifetime experience. We learned more about the Dominican Republic in one day than through the other four days of our trip and a lifetime of World Geography and History lessons.
The tour starts with a pick up from your hotel in an open bus. The first stop is a local school. In the Dominican Republic, many of the schools are sponsored by tour companies. If you take a Country Express or Country Adventure tour, be sure to bring school supplies. You can take them to the school with you and give them to the students or teachers. You can also buy products from the tour company or make a donation to the school. Many of the children of tour guides or hotel workers attend these schools. Thanks to the work schedules of parents, there are two four hour school shifts. Some kids attend school in the morning, and some attend school in the afternoon. We made a donation and bought three tee shirts. These donations and proceeds pay for sneakers, school uniforms, meals for the children, and more.
The next stop is a small farm collective. Unlike the local cacoa and coffee plantations, this collective works to make sure they receive fair wages for their work. They partner with the tour company to sell their goods at fair prices. This was one of the coolest parts of the tour! We got to see cacao and coffee being turned into recognizable products, and we saw vanilla, pineapple, and coconuts just growing. We toured a traditional Dominican house, and there was an obligatory gift shop pit stop.
We were able to pick up some delicious cocoa powder, fresh coffee, coconut oil made on site (after seeing a demonstration of how it was made,) and even some of that Dominican favorite- Mamajuana. Mamajuana gets its name from a once famous natural healer, Juana. Since she was so knowledgeable, residents called her Mama. What is mamajuana? It’s a combination of natural herbs and spices, honey, wine, and rum. What’s it a cure for? Well…. it’s considered a bit of an aphrodisiac and great for older men. (Read between the lines there.)
After the collective, we drove towards Higuey. Higuey is a bustling city with fascinating sights and smells at every turn. We saw four people piled onto a motorbike! We also saw the Cathedral of Altagracia, the patron saint of the Dominican Republic. This cathedral is extremely important to Dominicans, and has been visited by the Pope twice since its construction began in 1949. Admission to the cathedral is one dollar (USD) and is not included in the price of the trip, so bring cash.
After Higuey, we stopped at a ranch for a traditional Dominican lunch. Rice, beans, chicken, beef, potatoes, and fresh veggies were on the menu. You had a choice of soda, rum, or beer- but the alcohol had been free-flowing on the bus all day, so if you were planning on drinking, there was always something available. We stuck with soda, although Justin sampled the rum and had an after-dinner sip of Dominican coffee. Lunch was excellent, but we chose to eat light as we were about to head back onto a bumpy road for a while!
The last stop of the day was Macao Beach. A beautiful beach with zones for both swimming and surfing, along with some amazing rock formations to explore, it was beautiful. Restaurants and bars for locals lined the back of the beach, offering all kinds of tantalizing treats that we saw families enjoying. The only bad thing about Macao was the vendors, who decided to try to get the people arriving in the tour bus to buy their wares. Since we arrived on a tour bus, we were approached by vendor after vendor.
Our tour guide, Alex, and our driver, Victor, were excellent. Knowledgeable, professional, and extremely entertaining, they really made the trip for us. We also had a wonderful cameraman, although we didn’t wind up buying the photos. If photos are your thing, this would have been a great deal. Overall, this was our most memorable day in the Dominican Republic.
- Pam’s Tips:
This is an all day tour, lasting from 9:00 AM to around 4:15 PM, so if you have small children you might want to pack snacks.
Our tour guide, Alex, was multilingual, presenting the tour in English, French and Spanish. Other languages are available as well. If you are interested in the tour, there should be no language barrier.
The ride into and out of the mountains is through extremely bumpy dirt roads. If you have motion sickness, be prepared.
On Macao Beach we were startled to see an adult remove his clothes and change into his swimsuit on the beach. Alex glanced up and said, “Oh, Europeans do that a lot.” Be forewarned.
Don’t forget to take a few dollars to tip the guide and driver.
What a beautiful country! I really like the idea of going on a tour like that.
The country looks beautiful – this would be such a exciting trip to take!
This looks like such a beautiful place. I would love to spend the day at Macao Beach. I am hoping to be able to go to the Dominican in the next year or two.
That looks a lot like Jamaica, down to the flowers. Fun time and great tour
I love the DR, but and I’m super jealous you got coconut oil fresh right there! How amazing is that?!
This looks like such a fun time! The Dominican Republic is on my bucket list.
Wow, this entire experience sounds completely and utterly amazing. I would love to get cacao beans or coconut oil from a local source.
Gosh this is one place I really want to go and visit. So much to see! Looks like a lot of fun
What a cool tour! We love taking tours on vacation too!
I would love to do a tour like this one. That gas station is out of the ordinary.
I’ve been to the Dominican Republic and I can not wait to go back. I stayed at an all-inclusive resort, but I would have loved to have been able to see more.
What I love about the Dominican Republic is that life is so simple. Most people want to visit places like Paris and London. While London might be cool, Paris doesn’t interest me. But, visiting places where they slow down and value the earth and life around them are the places that interest me most.
WOW this sounds like a fascinating place to visit! It looks like you guys had a great time!
It is always interesting to see other parts of the world and how people live. I have never seen gas sold like that!
Neat. Looks like such a great experience. Thanks for sharing it.
We visited the Dominican Republican many many years ago. This post totally makes me want to go back.
Dominican Republic is a place I have always wanted to travel to. I have such fair skin I would burn really bad. I bet it would be worth the sun burn and with all the fun it looks like you guys had.
It looks so beautiful there! I’m sure that’s an experience you won’t soon forget!
This is such an amazing experience. I would love to visit there some day.
I’ve never been to the Dominican, but definitely sounds like an adventure! I would have never guessed that was a gas station!
I’ve always wanted to visit the Dominican Republic. It looks so beautiful.
I would be a bit startled to see that on the side of the road, too. Us Americans. 😉
Looks like a very informative and fun day!
What a great experience that would be. How beautiful!
The Dominican Republic is insanely beautiful! It is such an amazing place to visit and I highly recommend it.
It sounds like you had a blast in the DR. It’s always a delight to see pictures that describe the experience.
Wow I’ve never done a tour like that before. It’s great that you can help out the school while you take in the culture.
This is something I would LOVE to do. I think it would be such an incredible thing to experience. DR AND SAFARI? yes please!
This sounds absolutely amazing. If I ever get there I’d like to do a tour like this.
I would love to visit DR one day. I love safari type trips so this is right up my alley!
Okay the gas station made me jump back a bit. That is crazy!
Looks like a great tour. Always nice to find out about something from word of mouth and it ends up being so met big really great.
I’ve found that even in everyday life the things I think will be the least fun turn out to be the most 🙂
It looks like a fantastic trip. I would love to visit one day and take this tour.
What a neat trip! That gas station…wow! Such a difference. (And the flower photo is beautiful.)
I can’t believe how gorgeous it is there. I guess the Dominican Republic is going on my travel bucket list!
I have never visited this place but these images make me want too! I love the buildings, beach, and the fact that the donations you made will help the less fortunate.
It is a good feeling to do something that helps other 🙂
What an amazing adventure. I would love to do a tour like that someday!