A Nature Lover’s Dominican Trek

Day 1

Fly into Santo Domingo [2] and rent a four-wheel-drive vehicle; head 201 kilometers southwest to the coastal town of Barahona [3]. Check into the Hotel Costa Larimar [4]. Enjoy some fresh seafood at Brisas del Caribe [5] right on Barahona’s Malecón and some dancing at hot spot Los Robles [6].

Day 2

Get an early start and drive along the very picturesque coastal Highway 44 to Parque Nacional Jaragua [7], the largest national park in the country, and hire a boat guide at the gate who’ll take you to Laguna de Oviedo. There you can view the 130 bird species that live in the park (including flamingos), iguanas, and a cave that has Taíno drawings.

Continue on to Las Cuevas village and hire a boat captain to take you to one of the last virgin beaches in the country, Bahía de las Águilas [8]. The locals in Las Cuevas offer fresh seafood lunches prepared on the beachfront. Head back to your hotel in Barahona for the night.

Day 3

Take the arid and very hot Lago Enriquillo Loop Road [9] to get to Parque Nacional Isla Cabritos [10]. Stroll through the gardens at the entrance gate and mingle with the numerous ricord and rhinoceros iguanas. Purchase a tour that will take you to Lago Enriquillo [10] to see American crocodiles and flamingos hang out by the mouth of the Río de la Descubierta.

Continue the loop and head for the Taíno rock carvings at Las Caritas [10]. After circling the lake on the loop road, stop for lunch in Neyba [11]. Head back to Barahona for your last night in the southwestern region.

Day 4

From Barahona [3], travel to Constanza [12], in a beautiful circular valley surrounded by mountains 1,200 meters above sea level. Stay at Alto Cerro [13] and enjoy the ranch’s horseback-riding tour through the countryside. Dine at Lorenzo’s [14], famous for its chivo guisado (goat stew) and other typical Dominican fare.

Day 5

Take a day trip to hike in the Parque Nacional Valle Nuevo [15] (20 kilometers south of Constanza), where bird-watching reigns supreme. Afterward make the bumpy ride to a three-tiered waterfall, Salto de Aguas Blancas, and take a dip in its serene pool surrounded by the protected forest.

If you still have energy you can take a drive to the Reserva Científica Ebano Verde [16], created to protect the 621 plant species, amphibians, reptiles, small mammal species (such as solenodons and bats), and 59 species of birds. Enjoy a six-kilometer hike here along a trail where trees are marked with information about their species. Back in Constanza, have a plate of la bandera dominicana (chicken, beans, rice, and fried plantains) at Aguas Blancas [14].

Day 6

Drive north to Jarabacoa [17], the gateway village to the central mountains and the national parks Armando Bermúdez and José del Carmen Ramírez. [18] Stay at the Gran Jimenoa [19] hotel, right on the bank of the Río de Jimenoa, and take short hikes to the waterfalls of Jimenoa and Baiguate, [20] where you can dip into the pools.

Day 7

Take a tour of an organic coffee production plant at Café Monte Alto [21] of Jarabacoa and enjoy a cafecito in their coffee shop before heading back to Santo Domingo [2] to catch your flight the next day.