Colonial Zone, Columbus Lighthouse and Los Tres Ojos Tour

Los Tres Ojos National Park

Los Tres Ojos, the Three Eyes, is a chain of open-air limestone caves on the eastern side of Santo Domingo, inside the Mirador del Este park. Long ago the roofs of these caverns collapsed, leaving deep sinkholes where freshwater lakes now sit under walls hung with stalactites, ferns and tropical vines. The water is famous for its colours, from emerald green to deep blue, and for its high mineral content that keeps it unusually clear.

A path of stone steps cut into the rock takes you down into the caves, where it is noticeably cooler than the streets above. Your guide explains how the lakes were formed and how the Taíno people knew this place long before the Spanish arrived. Plan on comfortable shoes, as the steps can be damp. Many travellers ask whether Los Tres Ojos is worth visiting; it is the most unusual natural sight inside the city, and on this tour the entrance ticket is already arranged.

Columbus Lighthouse (Faro a Colón)

The Columbus Lighthouse is one of the largest monuments in the Caribbean: a long, stepped concrete structure in the shape of a cross, completed in 1992 to mark five hundred years since the first Spanish voyage reached the Americas. It is not a lighthouse for ships. At night powerful lights in its roof can project a huge cross into the sky, while inside, a central chamber holds a mausoleum said to contain the explorer's remains.

Around the inner courtyard, halls display exhibits sent by countries from across the Americas, Europe and Asia, with costumes, maps, crafts and historic documents. On the full options of this tour the entrance is included, and your guide gives you time to walk the galleries and photograph the monument from its wide esplanade. The visit usually takes about forty-five minutes, enough to understand why the site is a national symbol of the Dominican Republic.

The Colonial Zone, UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Colonial Zone, or Zona Colonial, is the historic heart of Santo Domingo and the first permanent European city in the Americas, founded in 1496 on the banks of the Ozama River. Its grid of streets still follows the original plan, lined with coral-stone mansions, churches, convents and leafy squares. UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage Site in 1990 for this rare survival of early colonial urban design.

On this tour the Colonial Zone is explored on foot with a live guide, which is the best way to see it, as many streets are narrow and closed to traffic. The guide links the buildings with the stories of the people who lived in them, from Spanish governors to artisans and enslaved workers. If you are planning a Santo Domingo day trip from Punta Cana, this walk is the part most visitors remember, and it suits all ages who are happy to walk for about two hours.

First Cathedral of the Americas and Columbus Park

The Cathedral of Santa María la Menor, known as the Catedral Primada de América, was built between 1512 and 1540 and is the oldest cathedral in the Americas. Its honey-coloured coral-stone facade mixes late Gothic vaults with a richly carved Renaissance doorway. Inside are side chapels, old altars and a sense of calm that contrasts with the busy square outside.

The cathedral faces Columbus Park, the main square of the old city, shaded by trees and watched over by a bronze statue of the explorer pointing north. The square is a natural meeting place for locals, street musicians and pigeons, and a good spot to rest in the shade between sights. Your guide explains the building's history from the outside and points out details in the facade. Visitors who want to enter should dress modestly, with shoulders and knees covered.

Calle Las Damas, Alcázar de Colón and the Ozama Fortress

Calle Las Damas is considered the first paved street of the Americas, laid out in the early 1500s and named after the ladies of the colonial court who strolled along it. On it stand the Ozama Fortress, begun in 1502 and the oldest European military building in the Americas, the Museum of the Royal Houses, once the seat of the colonial courts and governors, and the National Pantheon, a former Jesuit church that now honours national heroes.

At the end of the street lies Plaza de España and the Alcázar de Colón, the fortified palace built around 1510 for the governor Diego Colón and his family. Its double arcades look out over the Ozama River. The guide stops at each landmark to bring its story to life, and the tour ends near a crafts market where you can browse local handmade items such as larimar jewellery, wooden carvings and painted ceramics.