EXPERIENCE PUNTA CANA IN ONE DAY
Punta Cana is booming with possibilities, whether you’re staying there for three luxurious weeks or even only one day. You could be staying in the heart of the Dominican Republic or in Santo Domingo, wanting to catch a lil of that seaside chilling Punta Cana represents. No worries! Especially for you, we’ve selected the best things Punta Cana has to offer, all packed into one day.
Punta Cana in one day:
Morning – coffee & small shop
You arrive in Punta Cana in the morning, around 10 or 11. Between the south beach of Playa Juanillo and the northern beach of Playa Macao, there is about a 46-minute drive. That makes Punta Cana small enough to see lots in one day, and big enough to have different options. As you only have one day, we would urge you to take a taxi to take you across town or rent a car. We’re starting off in Cap Cana, in the south. Here, you can have a quick coffee and delish croissant or fruit bowl at Breakers Coffee Shop. Yum! Walk around, check out the shops, take some beautiful morning shots at Juanillo Beach, a nice 12-minute walk from town.
Afternoon – wandering & lunching
It’s already past noon! Time to drive up to Puntacana Village for a peak in the Art Gallery, which shows works from contemporary Dominican artists. A little scoop of ice cream before lunch never hurt anyone, so why not try the famous honeycomb crunched Hokey Pokey at Baskin Robbins? If you’re in town on a Saturday, you can try to find out whether there’s a farmer’s market, too. Overall, Puntacana village is a nice colorful bit of town. We wouldn’t recommend to spend these hottest hours of the day on the beach, so an airconditioned shop is ideal at this time. There is so much to do in Punta Cana in one day.
Lunchtime! On an easy 5-min drive, you can find stunning restaurant Isabella, a great pick for foodies who would try anything from risottos to Japanese food, to native Uruguayan dishes. We recommend the spicy Tuna Tataki.
Want to go a bit more local? Head over to Cabeza de Toro, the bull’s head, a ten-minute drive. There, you find Toro Café, a gem of true Dominican food, where you can fill your stomach with dishes like Pollo guisado (stewed chicken) and habichuelas (beans).
Evening – beaching & dining
After lunch, let’s say it’s 4 in the afternoon, it’s time to move up to Bávaro, which is about a 20-minute drive from Toro Café or 25 minutes from Isabella’s. Bávaro is Punta Cana’s liveliest area, perfect for some pre-dinner beach time, soaking up that afternoon sun. Be sure to try some homemade mamajuana at Juan Bautista’s – gives you your energy back. Head to local beach Los Corales to enjoy the crispness of sand between your toes, and snack upon a nutritional popsicle if you haven’t had your fill of ice cream yet. Isn’t travel really all about the food?
When you’re only in Punta Cana for one day, you should be around beaches as long as possible. We have many, many beautiful, secluded and less secluded beaches. As the sun sets between 6 and 7 year-round, it’s a good idea to find a nice beach, pick a good spot to maybe swim for an hour, then watch the sun set into the ocean with your partner, friends or family. You can relax and stay in Bávaro, OR drive to popular beach Macao beach if you want to truly see it ALL. Go past the surfing school and enjoy the beach for yourself!
Your stomach will be growling after all those pretty views! For dinner, we recommend casual burger place Onno’s in Bávaro, who make their burgers with love and a side of nachos or shrimps! If you decided on Macao, go for local restaurant Dona Macao and eat the fresh catch of the day (mostly seabass and snapper), which the chef then simply prepares with butter and garlic – it’s HEAVEN.
Time to go. Did you enjoy Punta Cana in one day?
Photo by Justin Aikin on Unsplash