Bavaro Adventure Park | Punta Cana Tours & Excursions — Attraction in Higüey

IT'S A LONG ONE BUT A MUST READ!! We signed up for buggies, a cenote swim, man made waterfall swim and tour of a true Dominican village tour....Ok let me start this by saying we were told this excursion would be a 4 hour adventure from 10:30-2:30. We were picked up on time at 10:30... HOWEVER we didn't return to our hotel until 5:30! We were also told this was a cenote and was NOT MAN MADE & ONLY THE WATERFALL AREA WAS MAN MADE. We booked our excursion thru our airport transportation which was booked with our Delta vacation package. Either this gentleman was extremely misinformed or they are allowed to say whatever they'd like in order to sell the package. So on top of that let's dive in. If getting dirty isn't for you do not do not do not sign up for the buggies/Polaris part. We did the buggies they attempted to up sell us on arrival to upgrade to a Polaris for another $150 on top of the $270 we already paid for the excursion.. No thank you and I'm glad we didn't because the buggies were just as fun (in our opinion the buggies were the only fun part of this) you are only allowed to go so fast so the upgrade is NOT with it. After we checked in and turned down the upgrade we had to buy face covers(you will want to buy one if you don't bring one trust me along with sunglasses or goggles it's extremely dusty) then off we were to put our backpack in a locker we head to rent because you're not allowed to take bags, phones or go pros on the buggies which is when you will visit the blue lagoon if you have that portion included in your package. I however opted to still take my phone in a ziplock bag YOU WILL NEED IT TO PROTECT ANYTHING IMPORTANT. You will get very dirty.. So will the towel you bring with you I'd try to sit on it or put it behind you somehow if you want a simi clean one for when you're done. Then was waited... For a whole 40min almost before we even got started on the buggy rides... When you finally get into your buggies it's more waiting.. Waiting on ppl to get in waiting when they break down waiting around at every stop you make..... I'm sure your catching my point...again this was very much not at all in any way a cenote or natural lagoon that you visit why they ask you to rinse off before you enter it? I'm guessing is so it's less cleaning they have to do to the water lol. After 15 min of swimming in a dirty pool then you drive a bit more to look at how true Dominican villages are lol it's a walk thru of a few mini"houses" smh I got a better look at how they live on the drive to the location again a laugh. Next your all taken into a store where you try hot coco and coffee even tho at this point your covered in mudd and sweating you butt off but sure coffee and hot chocolate sounds great said NO ONE while the sips they give you are tasty it's not worth having to sit in uncomfortable nastiness.. Next back on the buggies again to finally go shower lol NOT they wanna talk more!!?? Nope we walked away from that speech we were stopped by a few ppl and I just shook my head and said I'm going to the bathroom I didn't care to hear anything anyone had to say I had to rinse off! I'm not a prissy princess but yo enough was enough so I have no idea what was said at that speech I was over the talks.. our son chose to jump in the other man made waterfall pool for about 5 min it was so murky you can miss the steps watch it..we had a traditional lunch after that which was pretty good or it was that we were just starving at that point we weren't sure lol. Then we headed back to guess what wait some more!! A whole 45 min almost before we finally headed back to our resort. This was a long read and if you stuck thru it just know I could of really went into detail of how bad this really was. It absolutely wasn't worth being gone from our resort all damn day! You live you learn... Let our experience be your...

A bit of a rip off, but ok to waste time if you want something outdoors. Probably would never come here again. $169 USD per person for the 2nd from the top package, the other was the Polaris for more. Then you wait in line for 30 minutes as you check in. We did an online disclaimer , but it doesn't work, so we had to do it again. Lockers are $6 USD for a small and $9 USD for large. Bring a bandana for the buggy/Polaris, they are $6 USD here. A large can fit a backpack, a small is about half the size. They don't allow cameras or phones (read on as to probably why). They give you some raggedy buggies that are in terrible shape and loose pieces everywhere (this is probably one part of their "security". They hotwire the engine to start it. It's slow and messy, which is ok for some. The tour starts with a bunch of people and takes you on some rocky pothole filled roads, which was kinda fun, but they go real slow for most of it. They take you to a "Dominican village", but you can't take pictures of the supposed history since no cameras are allowed. Then they take you to a sales pitch trying to sell you stuff for about 20 ish minutes. After you get back in the buggy and go to the cenote and tell you to shower before entering. You can go back after to take a picture of the cenote. You get a lunch, which was good, but only water included. Then we did horseback riding (again, no cameras)which was ok. This led us down a path full of rocks and mud. After a short ride, you finish and go on to the zipline (no cameras,not even a chest strap). The zipline was fun as was the bridge walk. At one point, they were more worried about trying to get my picture rather than help me on the platform. Fine, I'm in ok enough shape to help myself and have done several ziplines all over the world, this one ranking among the lowest. Then off to the lazy river, just to relax, not bad, again, pictures. After that was the pool time. Then off to wait for your transportation. They try to sell you terrible photos for $79 USD or $16 for each (as a digital link copy), what a rip off. I can Photoshop myself better into this scenery. I want to see my experience video and pictures, not a terrible picture showing me on something or someone else's experience of stalker like pics. I want the memory of the experience, not a random picture and that could have been staged. This is their money maker and why I think cameras aren't allowed even for a non driver (passenger), or a chest strap which I don't touch to operate more than to start and stop. They say it's for security and safety... What security, their pocket book? Safety, I can understand as a driver or horseback, but even a chest strap is not acceptable, really? Again, the only security is to secure money by overcharging you for photos after already spending. And you don't even get any pictures of history that you might want like the village or the nature. I might pay them $10 USD for all of it, because I could have physical copies of pictures for less and my experience on video. Don't waste your time or money on this place if you want true memories. I would add photos, but cameras weren't allowed and they take it away from people who do...

A full day at Bavaro Adventure Park is an adrenaline junkie's dream. We spent the day driving a buggy, horseback riding, ziplining, learning about the Dominican culture, & taking a dip in the pool!

In our first activity, we got down and dirty in a dune buggy driven along the ocean coast! This experience was unique because you can only reach the scenic view from the buggy tour. There’s more history to this view that you can learn on the tour & the significance of the coast that’s only located 45 minutes away from Puerto Rico! This area is also is where the Atlantic ocean makes the Caribbean ocean!

My recommendation for the buggy tour is to upgrade to the Polaris if you want to go fast & rent the goggles from the park! Trust me you don’t want to learn the hard when you are on the road!

After the stop by the ocean, you’ll stop by a real Dominican house to learn a quick history lesson about Dominican Culture, drink fresh coffee & hot cocoa, cigar tasting & learn more about local Dominican products you’ll be able to take home with you! After this stop, I left with a bunch of different flavor cigars that you can’t get ANYWHERE ELSE to bring back home!

For the lunch break, we were served A Dominican-style meal of tender chicken with plantains, rice, and beans. The food was excellent !!!

Next, we zip-lined with sky-line views! Now if you know anything about me I am extremely afraid of heights so really I don’t know how my six-year-old daughter encouraged me to face my fears ziplining! Even though I was fearful of the heights I faced my fears and felt conquered!

Before each activity the staff also gives all the information you’ll need to have a safe experience! This gave me the confidence that I was able to have fun safety giving me the understanding of the Dos & Donts of each activity.

One of my favorite experiences was riding the horses. I’ve had experiences riding horses before but always had a guide holding a rope alongside me. At Bavaro Adventures, you'll get to guide yourself with the horse and ride fast! And when I mean fast I mean you’ll feel like your a cowgirl hurling a herd of sheep together!

The horses are also well taken care of and fed! The horses are never ridden 2 days consecutive days. So as an animal lover, I had the comfort I needed bonding with these beautiful creatures!

After all the excitement you can take a refreshing dip in the Jungle lazy river or enjoy the waterfall pool. By the pool, there’s a canteen center and the area is so Instagramable. This was another favorite area where we were able to end our day relaxing.

The park offers even more activities than the ones we did for the full day & you'll be able to pick the combo tour you want to experience. Kids are welcome but most kids will have to be over 48 inches to participate in most activities at the park! Overall we had a funfilled day living outside our comfort...