Visit the oldest European city in the New World, with its Alcázar de Colón (the Columbus palace), the old Atarazana customs buildings, the National Pantheon and the first cathedral. Pause in the cafés of El Conde, Santo Domingo’s main shopping street, and soak up the atmosphere.
www.saonadreamsweb.com
The 40-kilometre bay enclosed by the Samaná Península on the north shore is the Caribbean’s liveliest mating and calving ground for humpback whales. Early in the year you can see them diving, breaching and slapping their massive fins. If you’re really lucky you might even hear their calls on the on-board hydrophone.
Samaná Península, www.whalesamana.com
Canyoning is the sport of descending a river gorge by scrambling, wading, slithering, sliding, swimming, abseiling and – if all else fails – jumping. The four-hour Iguana Mama Canyoning Supremacy Tour down the Damajagua River takes in a dozen 20-metre jumps and some 50-metre abseils. Lots of (very wet) fun.
www.iguanamama.com
Baseball is the national sport and is followed avidly by the Dominicans, and a number of Dominican nationals play in the major leagues in the USA. Check out the noise and passion for an evening in La Romana, at the home stadium of local team Toros del Este (The Bulls of the East).
La Romana, www.lostorosdeleste.com
Get a taste of true Dominican life on a day out in the countryside: visit a colmado (a corner shop, centre of gossip and occasional disco), have a meal in a local home, see how sugarcane is crushed and how cigars are rolled, and finish up on the beach for a swim.
www.runnersadventures.com
