Bayaguana-Landsafari von Juan Dolio/Boca Chica

This was possibly the best excursion I have ever booked although somehow they didn't have me on the list for pick ups but thankfully let me on to the last available seat after checking with head office. So many different and unique experiences and they aren't afraid to show you what real Dominican life is like regardless of local poverty, wealth inequality or differences in living standards. We visited friendly Jorge from Haiti working in a sugar cane field. Here we tried raw freshly cut sugar cane and drunk some rum. We also saw Jorge harvest some coconuts. We visited a local cigar roller and saw cigars being made and you could try and buy some of these if you wanted to. We went to a typical Dominican home, garden / homestead/farm. Here our guide gave us an excellent tour of the garden and talked to us about many different foods growing here including cacao, coffee, coconuts, mandarins, pineapples, papaya, mangoes etc. We then saw how they make coffee the local way and tried this. There was then a chance to buy some local products from this lovely family (3 generations were there - grandmother, mother and son). We also visited some local streets in Bayaguana, including shops where you can buy pretty much anything and a local food market (this was the part I found most interesting). You can still see charcoal stoves being used in this market. After this we visited a local church. We then went to a local waterfall in the middle of a forest that was very picturesque. Here you could take photos and swim if you wanted to. Afterwards we went to a local restaurant for lunch back up the track. Standard selection of food for a Dominican style buffet plus water and coke. Apart from the meat looking quite dry and needed a sauce so just stuck to plain rice, pasta and basic salad. The fruit ran out quite quickly so they need to provide a bit more of this. However, the beautiful surroundings of the restaurant made up for the food not being great. After this we returned in our transport for the day. This was an open-sided safari style lorry/bus. This was quite rusty, dirty and old and could do with a good clean, maintenance or be replaced. However, thankfully it had natural air-conditioning! If you want to experience the really Dominican life outside of your hotel, resort, town etc. I would definitely recommend this tour.

The jeep was NOT a comfortable ride at all. travelling through the streets and highways, smelling the exhausts from other vehicles and a fairly long ride. the sugar cane visit was along the road side with the guide chopping down a piece and handing each one of us a taste. the cigar factory was mostly a man in the village rolling a cigar and offering us a taste. the coffee and cinnamon planttion was interesting with a tasting of the organic items grown on site. bring cash if you want to buy anything. the dip in the water was a nice treat. the lunch was a little over cooked but still an ok meal. we did also drive by the baseball camps. but only visited from the road side. we also visited the town, walked thru the market, seen how many locals lived, and walked thru the oldest church. for me, i liked going through the village as i would probably never gone to see and visit with the locals or gone to an open air market. but in all the trip was ok. not the best i have every taken.

This trip was canceled by the tour company the night before. Unfortunately they had transport issues. We are still waiting for our refund.