Punta Cana: Jungle Buggy Ride, Cave Coffee & Macao Beach

4.92

(456 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

We’d barely climbed into the buggies when our guide, Carlos, grinned and handed me a bandana. “Trust me,” he said, “you’ll want this.” He wasn’t kidding — the first stretch was all red dust and the kind of laughter that comes out when you’re a little bit nervous. There was this family from Santiago in the next buggy over, waving like we were old friends. That’s how it started — not with a big speech or anything, just people messing around and Carlos shouting directions over the engines.

The air changed when we pulled up to this small ecological farm tucked behind some palms. I could smell roasting cocoa before I even saw where it was coming from. A woman named Marta showed us how she grinds cacao by hand — she let me try, and honestly my arms gave out after about thirty seconds (she laughed). The chocolate was warm, almost gritty, nothing like what I’m used to back home. And then came the coffee — smoky, strong enough to wake up anyone who’d been bouncing along half asleep. I tried saying gracias in my best accent; pretty sure I butchered it but nobody seemed to mind.

After that we headed deeper into the jungle until everything felt quiet except for birds and our engines cooling down. The cave pool looked unreal — clear water that felt cold enough to shock you awake but somehow perfect after all that heat. Some folks jumped right in; I hesitated but then just went for it. Still think about how bright the light looked on those rocks underwater.

We finished at Macao Beach where locals were grilling fish under makeshift tents and kids chased each other through the foam. Sand everywhere — inside my shoes, hair, probably still finding it days later. Didn’t expect to feel so relaxed just sitting there with wet shorts and salt on my skin, watching everyone else try (and mostly fail) to surf those waves.