This was the best thing we did while in Punta Cana. (Just some notes up front, wear clothes and shoes you do not care if they get dirty or muddy, wear sneakers and not flip flops, Bri g your sunscreen and bring some towels and absolutely buy one of the bandanas from Charlie for the ride, we were not sure at first and glad we did) We were picked up at our hotel (Palma Real) right on time. It took about 10 minutes to get to the shop. We met Charlie who was the owner and our tour guide for the day. We signed the standard waiver for any tour you do and then were given a safety and rules overview. All simple stuff to do and abide by. Basically just listen and don’t be stupid is how I would sum it up. Charlie had a great sense of humor and the day was off to a great start. One note, these are REAL DEAL DUNE BUGGIES like you see in movies. They are open aired and have a 4 speed manual transmission. If you do not like the wind or know how to drive a manual transmission this is not the right tour for you. I had not driver a manual in many years and it came right back so although this is not the place to learn, if you have just not done so in a while I highly recommend doing this as it will come right back. So after all of the briefings, Charlie fits you to your buggie. All of them are set up for different heights, so he will make sure you are in the right one. Off we go and we ride down a highway for a little bit until we get off and start down some roads in the countryside. The scenery is beautiful and you can now tell you have left the touristy area behind and are seeing the real country. You ride through towns, see the locals and how friendly they are. You make stops along the way in small towns at their local grocery stores. Charlie will explain where you are and how life works on the island and how simple it is. Although as you can imagine, it is not a rich place outside of tourist areas it is rich in community. Charlie told us that in each town, everyone tries to help everyone else. Making sure that all survive, eat and are able to raise their families. You get a snack at both on the way out and at a different one on the way back in. The cheese and crackers on the way out were amazing! Next you off to see some of the most amazing unspoiled coastline and going only where a dune buggy could take you. You get to stop, look around, take some pictures and off again, you make several stops along the coastline at places so beautiful and you would be unable to see if not on this tour. These are not places “tour operators” go, these are places Charlie knows about. Also, make sure to bring a bag with a towel and maybe a change of shirt or shorts as you will have the opportunity to go swimming in the ocean in a secluded cove. It was so nice!! You stop for lunch on a great ranch that is line in the middle of nowhere and served a delicious traditional lunch of rice. beans, salad and a meat (we had chicken). After lunch you ride through the mountainside seeing amazing scenery and how people live outside the main areas. The next place we stopped was a farm that had all kinds of fruit trees but most importantly coffee and chocolate beans. You will learn about the trees and what different things they can be used for, you will get to touch and smell coffee and cacao beans. The best part is that you get to taste a cacao fruit fresh, then when it has been dried to be a bean, then when it has been ground and then they add some sugar so you get to taste chocolate from begging to end. They also make some fresh hot chocolate with the fresh ground powder (this is to die for!!, I can never have regular hot chocolate again!) and you get to sample coffee as well. They bring out some fresh fruit just picked and sliced (pineapple, banana, star fruit) and of course you can buy some of the things you sampled. We got the chocolate powder. After that you drive to the second grocery store I mentioned and have a snack, talked to a few locals hanging out and then back to the main road for about a 50km ride back. It was a full day and the best money we spent! Don’t think just do!!! Finally, Charlie takes a ton of pictures and videos of you during the trip including while you are driving, they cost $20USD and well worth it. Also, they do not take any credit cards. Again, absolutely do this for an amazing adventure!