Tourist guide of Santo Domingo – Capital of Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo is the capital of the Dominican Republic. The city of Santo Domingo has a sea but no beach.

Due to the beauty of the beaches of the Dominican Republic, which become a real magnet for many travelers who do not leave them during their stay in this country, the capital of the Dominican Republic is often relegated in the tourist circuits.

And yet, it is one of the most worthwhile visits when coming to the country.

Its entire structure and many of its services are conditioned to its character as the first city of the new world.

It is not an artificial or improvised city, nothing to do with those cities that look like a papier-mâché set because they were built a few years ago.

Santo Domingo has an intense life of its own, its population is well over two million inhabitants and at any time of the day and for many days in a row you can find something different to do that gives a new attraction to the day.

In the streets of the city you can perfectly feel a mixture of development and modernization that the country is experiencing with the imprint of a Caribbean character prior to all the technical advances.

The cell phone is found here in every corner but also the cold-cold, a kind of tricycle where you transport a bar of ice with which to cool the juices. Here there are good cars and others that could be considered ruins of the past rather than vehicles.

Tourists have at their disposal the best organization of tours and information about the most modern resorts, which can be included among the best in the world.

At the same time a more modern world coexists with another that seems to be anchored in the past, the capital has clearly advanced in recent years.

The tour shows the good condition of the colonial area, one of the most important visits of the city and that no one can miss.

From a tour through it you can appreciate the value of Santo Domingo: the first city founded in the new world.

📷What to see in Santo Domingo?

These are the main tourist attractions of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic:

Visiting the Colonial Zone

Santo Domingo’s Colonial Zone is one of the highlights for visitors to the city. Travelers find the Colonial Zone (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) a magnificent place to explore.

It occupies 11 blocks of cobblestone and paved streets, on the west bank of the Ozama, a deep-water river that flows into the Caribbean Sea.

The Colonial Zone, for those who want to enjoy it and squeeze it thoroughly, may require a visit of several days. There are many buildings, many mansions, courtyards and museums, each one keeping an important piece of history and countless legends that rumorology and popular tradition have been weaving.

And one must never forget, when walking through its streets, that in this nucleus began to emerge the first city built in the New World by the Spanish conquistadors.

It is convenient to walk through the colonial city with enough documentation in hand to be able to understand why each of these huge buildings has been erected, through which it is very easy to reconstruct the atmosphere of the small court and the small town that lived there centuries ago.

Some of the points of interest are just a cab ride away, here are the places you can’t miss:

Columbus Lighthouse

The controversial Columbus lighthouse (tel. 809-592-1492, ext. 251; Parque Mirador del Este; admission $2.25; hours 9:00-17:15 Tues-Sun), a monument halfway between a Soviet apartment block and the American version of a Mayan ruin with a complicated history, is worth a visit.

Located on the east bank of the Ozama River, its massive concrete walls extend almost a block; it is about ten stories high and cross-shaped. Powerful spotlights on the roof project a blinding white light into the sky, but they are almost never turned on because they produce blackouts in the neighborhoods.

In the transept there is a tomb, guarded by dour soldiers in white uniforms, which supposedly contains the remains of Columbus.

However, Spain and Italy are in dispute because both claim to possess the Admiral’s bones. Inside the monument, there is a large set of exhibition halls where documents are displayed (almost all reproductions related to Columbus’ voyages and the exploration and conquest of America).

The most interesting exhibitions (ironic though it may seem) are those made up of photographs and pieces from various indigenous communities on loan from several Latin American countries.

National Botanical Garden

The lush grounds of the National Botanical Garden (tel. 809-385-2611; ave. República de Colombia; admission US$1.25; hours 9:00-18:00, box office 9:00-17:00), extends 2 km and includes vast areas devoted to aquatic plants, orchids, bromeliads, ferns, endemic plants, palms and a Japanese garden, among others.

Special attention is paid to keeping the gardens and plants in perfect condition, so it is easy to forget that you are in the middle of a city of more than two million inhabitants.

In fact, bird lovers can contact Tody Tours for expert observation of a wide variety of species. The garden often hosts a variety of events, such as an orchid exhibition and competition in March and a bonsai display in April.

Inside is the Ecological Museum (entrance fee US$3.5; hours 9:00-16:00, box office 9:00-17:00) where the country’s most important ecosystems, such as mangroves and rainforests, are exhibited and explained, as well as a special display of the Los Haitises National Park.

The park is open until 18:00. Visitors can ride the little train (entrance fee US$1.25; schedule every 30 minutes until 4:30 pm) and take a half-hour ride through the park; children love it. The price of a cab from the colonial area is around US$4.

National Zoo

The National Zoo (tel. 809-562-3149; av. Los Reyes Católicos; admission US$5; hours 9:00-17:00 Tuesdays to Sundays), one of the largest in Latin America, is a depressing collection of overcrowded animals.

There are rhinos, chimpanzees, flamingos and the endangered endemic species solenodon, a very rare rat-like specimen. Located in a seedy neighborhood in the northwest corner of the city and surrounded by shantytowns, it is not at all easy to find.

The price of a cab from the colonial area is around US$6; it is recommended to arrange the return trip with the driver, as there are hardly any cabs in the area.

Mirador del Sur Park

Mirador del Sur Park (av. Mirador del Sur) is a long tree-lined promenade on a huge limestone ridge and is riddled with caves, some as big as a hangar. One of them has been transformed into a restaurant and another into a discotheque.

On the park’s seemingly endless trails, it is common to see young people jogging, many of whom live in the upper-middle class neighborhoods north of the park.

Avenida Mirador del Sur is closed to traffic from 6:00 am to 9:00 am and from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm each day, which is when it fills up with runners, skaters and cyclists, and street stalls selling juices and snacks.

The Three Eyes

Los Tres Ojos (east viewpoint park; entrance fee US$1.75; hours 9:00-17:00) is a rather interesting place frequented by tourists on organized tours; it consists of three very humid caverns with dark, tame interior lagoons connected by stalactite-filled corridors.

The caves are limestone sinkholes sculpted by water erosion over thousands of years.

You enter by a long staircase down a narrow tunnel carved into the rock; at the end, concrete walkways guide visitors through the caves, although you can also see them by boat for US$0.35 more.

Unfortunately, the tranquility of the place is broken as vendors harass tourists to sell them postcards and jewelry.

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📖 Directory of businesses in Santo Domingo

• Car rental in Santo Domingo
• Travel Agencies in Santo Domingo
• Santo Domingo Florists
• Wedding photographers in Santo Domingo
• Jewelry stores in Santo Domingo
• Santo Domingo Nightclubs

☎️ Useful telephone numbers for tourists in Santo Domingo

• Emergencies – 911 In case of medical, security or fire emergencies, you can call the 911 emergency number.
• National Police – +1 809-682-2151 If you need to report a crime or need police assistance, you can call the Santo Domingo National Police number.
• Fire Department – +1 809-682-2000 In case of fire-related emergencies, you can call the fire department number.
• Plaza de la Salud General Hospital – +1 809-959-6100 If you need medical care, Plaza de la Salud General Hospital is a good choice. It is located on Abraham Lincoln Avenue.
• Santo Domingo Tourist Office – +1 809-221-4660 If you need tourist information about Santo Domingo, you can call the local tourist office. They can provide you with information on tourist attractions, activities, lodging, among others.
• Cab Service – +1 809-221-5151. If you need transportation in Santo Domingo, you can call a cab service. This is a number for a local cab service.