Four days in Dominican Republic

We visited plenty of hotels, mainly larger resorts with lots of activities available, lovely palm fringed beaches and all inclusive deals to tempt you to stay put for the duration of your stay. The food wasn't great but for location and value for money, you can't go far wrong. It's worth forcing yourself off that sun lounger to leave the resort once or twice though as Dom Rep certainly has plenty more to offer.

Set on the most geographically diverse Caribbean island, Dom Rep boasts virgin alpine wilderness, tropical rainforests, mangrove swamps, cultivated savannas, wide expanses of desert and everything in between. We sampled some of this on an Outback Jungle Safari tour which headed inland to visit a local home and cocoa plantation, took a quick stop at a local school and ended with lovely Macao Beach for a chance to cool off in the waves. Our guide was excellent and very informative and the tour was a great chance to hear about the country, its history and people.

We also fitted in a half day catamaran trip to Saona Island. It was lovely to be out on the water, and lazing on the deck with a rum in hand was a working day I could probably get used to! Back at Punta Cana we found time for a quick taster buggy ride through Punta Cana Ecological Foundation; a private, protected area of lowland subtropical forest covering 1,500 acres dedicated to conservation, scientific research and recreation. Sadly we didn't have time to see all that the reserve offers, but the buggies were lots of fun and a short walk to one of the freshwater lagoons was a great opportunity for cooling the toes!

Next stop Antigua...