Punta Cana: Horseback, ATV & Water Cave Day with Macao Beach

4.78

(528 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

“You’ll probably laugh, but I was still brushing horse hair off my jeans when our guide, Miguel, handed me the ATV helmet. The ranch just outside Punta Cana smelled like wet earth and coffee — I guess that’s what happens after a quick rain. The horses were calm enough for even the nervous folks (me), and Miguel kept making jokes about ‘Dominican horsepower’ versus ‘real horsepower.’ I didn’t expect to actually enjoy riding so much. It’s only about 15 minutes but you get these glimpses of fields and banana trees that feel so different from the resort side of things.

Switching to the ATV was a whole other vibe. The engine noise drowned out everything except my own laughter and the shouts from the group behind me — someone nearly lost their hat on a bump. We followed this bumpy red-dirt path through palm groves until we stopped at an organic farm. There was this old guy roasting cacao beans over a fire, letting us taste coffee that honestly ruined hotel coffee for me forever. Mamajuana too — Li laughed when I tried to say it in Spanish (I definitely butchered it). The air there smelled like woodsmoke and chocolate. I still think about that.

The water cave stop was colder than I expected — you climb down into this echoey blue pool, and for a second it’s just quiet except for dripping water and people giggling as they jump in. My skin tingled from the chill but it felt good after all the dust from driving. Last bit was Macao Beach, which is way wilder than the hotel beaches — cliffs on both sides, waves crashing loud enough to drown out any small talk. We all just kind of stood there for a while, nobody saying much.