Date of publication 09/12/2022
Family vacations Discovering the Dominican Republic's Natural Parks with the Kids
Show the kids the best of the great outdoors.
The great outdoors can be an endless field trip for children of all ages. In the Dominican Republic’s many natural parks, the whole family can discover what it means to have kid-friendly fun together while connecting with nature.
The abundance of beautiful and varied landscapes in The Dominican Republic makes it a perfect place to explore with your kids. Over 25 percent of the country is protected in the form of national parks, reserves, and marine sanctuaries and your family has several choices throughout the country.
There are numerous benefits of spending time outdoors, both for kids and adults. Some deem spending time in nature is necessary. Plenty of studies that have shown that kids who connect with nature are smarter, happier, more attentive, and less anxious. In natural environments, we practice an effortless type of attention, known as soft fascination that creates feelings of pleasure. Show your kids how spending time in nature is extremely beneficial (and fun) by taking them to explore the natural wonders of the Dominican Republic.
INDIGENOUS EYES ECOLOGICAL PARK AND RESERVE
If you’re traveling near Punta Cana, take your family to Indigenous Eyes Ecological Park and Reserve, a 1,500-acre private conservation area owned and maintained by the Ecological Foundation. Education is the key here, as there is a variety of exhibits that showcase fun ways to learn about both the history of the area and the surrounding flora and fauna.
Hike a network of trails that lead to 12 freshwater lagoons - 3 of which you can swim in. Identify the birds, reptiles, insects, and other local flora and fauna while trekking through the lush forest while you make your way towards the lagoons. Your kids will be fascinated to learn that the natural pools were formed by an outcropping of an underground river called 'Yauya'.
Swimming around in the lake will definitely be rejuvenating and do a whole lot of good for your family’s mind, body and soul! The names of these lakes come from the Taino Indians who inhabited the island before its discovery by European settlers. Due to their particular shape, they referred to the lakes as “eyes”. Spend half a day in the park where you can get a guided tour of the Ecological Park and Reserve or feel free to explore the park at your leisure.
The Ecological Park also consists of numerous exhibits describing the cultural and natural history of the Dominican Republic. Your kids can enjoy visiting a petting zoo with many common domesticated Dominican animals and even check out an iguana habitat.
Another fun family activity to do with the kids is to enjoy a walk along the Hawk Trail and Bird Watching Tower with a wildlife specialist. You can play a game to spot hundreds of different bird species living in their natural habitat, and if you’re lucky, you may even spot a native and endangered Ridgway Hawk.
If you happen to be visiting on a Saturday, take your family to The Sustainability Center where they can learn about ongoing environmental projects going on in the region like the Coral Restoration Project. Make it a fun family activity to enrich your knowledge about how human beings help corals reproduce to maintain their beach ecosystems. If your kids are old enough to scuba dive and are PADI certified, consider taking it up a notch and enrolling in The Coral First Aid Specialty Course as a family – a program educating divers the principles and techniques of successful coral reef restoration.
Take a look at our hotels in Punta Cana and discover the best way to enjoy you family holidays!
ISABEL DE TORRES NATIONAL PARK
If you find yourself in the Northwestern part of Dominican Republic, just 3.8 miles from the city of Puerto Plata lies Isabel de Torres National Park. Your kids will love the views of the city when ascending the park’s peak by cable car. If they are up for a little more exercise, you can also opt to hike through the forest and mountains to get to the top, exploring the various cultural sights along the way. Check out our 5-star hotel in Puerto Plata!
Once up there, you’ll find a system of easy walking trails that are perfect for the children, incredible manicured gardens, and the large Christ the Redeemer, a statue reminiscent of the famous Cristo Redentor in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
There are also a slew of restaurants to dine at on the mountaintop so you can plan to have a delicious local Dominican lunch in the park before your descent. And let the kids know about the strategically placed snack shacks at the top of the hill and at the bottom.
PARQUE NACIONAL DEL ESTE AND SAONA ISLAND
Only 20 miles south of Punta Cana is Parque Nacional del Este, one of the Dominican’s most popular parks. Take your kids on a boat trip to Saona Island, an island off the coast that is part of the national park. Your children will enjoy the psychological benefits that come with swimming in clear turquoise waters and setting foot on the white sands of this quintessential 'desert island'.
With endless opportunities for spotting birds and fish of different kinds, the waters in the immediate area offer some of the Dominican's best scuba diving and snorkeling. Take your family on an underwater adventure to witness hundreds of fish fill the rich coral reefs. Maybe you’ll even see some manatees and dolphins. Another fun activity is exploring fields of starfish.
A popular way of exploring the park is by catamaran, which can easily be chartered from the small fishing village of Bayahibe. You can also opt to join a day tour that departs daily from the village to the island. There is even a glass-bottom boat, where everyone can gaze at the seafloor below, witnessing the underwater coral inhabitants, like starfish, sea rays, brilliant fish, and possibly even a loggerhead sea turtle. Or you can stay in our all inclusive hotel in Bayahibe and complete your holidays!
TWENTY-SEVEN WATERFALLS OF RIO DAMAJAGUA
Forty-five minutes by car outside of Puerto Plata lie the Twenty Seven Waterfalls of Rio Damajagua, which is hands down the best adventure tourism for kids ages twelve and up that you can get in the Dominican Republic. Nestled in the rolling hills of the Northern Corridor mountain range and behind sugar cane fields, lie twenty-seven pools, carved into limestone.
Your kids will feel like true adventurers as they put on their water shoes, mandatory helmet and life jacket and follow an expert to trek knee deep in the river. They’ll get an adrenaline rush as they rappel or zip line through the waterfalls that are as high as eight meters. The more adventurous ones can jump into the depths of the sparkling pools below.
Plan on spending around four hours to make it to the 27th waterfall and back. The falls are open from 8:30am to 4pm, but go before the crowds arrive and you might just have the whole place to yourself.
EL CHOCO NATIONAL PARK
Your kids will feel like Indiana Jones as they traverse through the hundreds of million-year-old El Choco Caves. With several shallow caves that are quite safe for kids, the family can see hanging stalactites and rising stalagmites formed by millions of years of moisture seeping through the ancient stone. The mountains of El Choco are predominantly limestone, which are very porous by nature and act like a natural reservoir that has shaped several underground pools and keeps the constant, fresh temperatures throughout the area.
If you’re lucky, you’ll hear a coqui frog (a little native green frog of the Antilles) croak in the darkness, and find species of spiders, small fish and river shrimp. Some of the caves in El Choco even have bats, but they tend to stay away from the most frequently visited caves.
The Cueva de Cristal is one of these caves that you can dive in. As you can enter through a small unassuming hole in the ground that is easily missed, you then walk down makeshift steps and descend into a dry cave. The cave itself is not very big and the whole visit can take about 20 minutes but it’s a nice dive. The water has a green tint and makes for a nice color contrast with the red silt. The cave is made up of a series of collapsed boulders and the water has a maximum depth of 15 meters.
The Cueva de los Murcielagos (the “Bat Cave”) is a little more of a trek. To gain access to this cave, you need to climb down a dry cave, through two narrow passages with metal ladders into a fairly big cave which houses all sorts of creatures such as bats, tarantulas and scorpions. There are two slumps; to reach the first you need to climb down a vertical rock pile of 6-7 meters. Then from there it goes down vertically under water. This is a cave that you don’t necessarily need to dive in. You also have the option to explore this cave fully dry, as there are also wonderful rock formations to enjoy without diving.
Other non-caving activities to do in El Choco National Park include an idyllic river tour on the Catalina River, hiking through the forest and strolling through curated gardens. Another fun way to explore the park is by horseback. End the ride at the Monkey Jungle zip line park, a high-flying adventure that is always a hit with the kids.
PATRICIA SERRANO CHUNGSATHAPORN | 10/08/2017
Photography by Cordon Press and Dominican Republic Tourism
