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Columbus Lighthouse

Columbus Lighthouse: Our most recommended tours and activities

From Bavaro: Santo Domingo Colonial City Tour

1. From Bavaro: Santo Domingo Colonial City Tour

Take a trip back in time, where you will enjoy an interesting historical recount. Visit the most emblematic museums of the Dominican capital, with architectural designs dating from the time of the discovery of America. Travel in the comfort of an air-conditioned bus while a professional guide shares their knowledge about the history of European colonization in America. After your hotel pickup, head to 3 Eyes National Park, a complex of underground caves and lagoons initially inhabited by the Taino Indians. Next, set out to visit the Colonial Zone, the first permanent European settlement in America. Founded in 1502 by the Spanish colonizers, it has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.  Visit the first Cathedral of America, the Alcázar de Colón or the Palacio Virreinal de Don Diego. Get to know La Calle Las Damas, the first street on the island.  Enjoy panoramic visits to the National Palace and the Columbus Lighthouse, a monument built in memory of Christopher Columbus and where his remains rest.

From Punta Cana: Full-Day Santo Domingo City Tour

2. From Punta Cana: Full-Day Santo Domingo City Tour

During this tour, you will visit key sites, including: the caves at Three Eyes National Park, the Columbus Lighthouse, the walled Colonial Zone, and the National Presidential Palace. Travel between the attractions with ease in an air-conditioned coach. A traditional Dominican lunch is also included. Your tour starts with pickup from your hotel in Punta Cana in an air-conditioned coach. Travel about two and a half hours to Santo Domingo, the oldest city in the New World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Visit some of the most spectacular places in this rich colonial city, including Diego Colon’s Palace, the Holy Cathedral Primada, the Fortaleza, and the National Pantheon. Walk and take pictures in the Colonial Zone, starting at the Columbus Palace. Completed in 1514, this was the home of Christopher Columbus's son, Don Diego. From the Palace, the tour will go through the historic Plaza de Espana and on to Calle Las Damas (the first paved street in the New World). Keep walking to the National Pantheon where heroes were laid to rest. The colonial tour will culminate at the First Cathedral of the New World.

Punta Cana: Full-Day Santo Domingo Tour

3. Punta Cana: Full-Day Santo Domingo Tour

Discover the oldest permanent city established by Europeans in the Western Hemisphere, Santo Domingo. ‘La Capital,’ as it’s typically called, is a collage of cultures and neighborhoods with the Colonial Zone, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, at its heart. On this day trip, explore the city with a local guide. Next, head to Santo Domingo and its Colonial Zone for your guided tour of the city. Walk along iconic and unique streets such as Las Damas, El Conde, Arzobispo Meriño, Isabel La Católica, and more. Enjoy included entry to emblematic monuments such as Colonial Gate Cinema 4D, the National Pantheon; the only known residence of a member of Christopher Columbus' family, Alcazar de Colon; and the oldest cathedral in the Americas, Basilica Cathedral of Santa María la Menor. At 1 PM, savor a delicious Dominican buffet at one of the most famous restaurants in town, El Museo del Ron. At 2:15 PM, enjoy 45 minutes of free time to explore the Colonial Zone at your own pace. At 3 PM, visit the famous Malecón boulevard, then the Faro a Colón lighthouse, a memorial to Christopher Columbus. Begin your journey back to Punta Cana between 4 PM-4:15 PM and finish the tour with drop-off at your hotel.

From Punta Cana: Santo Domingo Full-Day Trip with Lunch

4. From Punta Cana: Santo Domingo Full-Day Trip with Lunch

Join a full-day experience leaving from Bávaro and Bayahibe through the new Autovía del Este. Walk in the cobblestoned historic core of Santo Domingo and visit the cathedral. Observe iconic spots like the Alcázar de Colón Palace, National Pantheon, and Los Tres Ojos. After arriving in Santo Domingo, head to your first stop, the open-air limestone cave and lakes of Los Tres Ojos. Continue the tour until you reach the Colón Lighthouse. Listen to its history and take photos of the view around you. Stroll around the coffee-lined Plaza de España and Colonial Zone. See the Alcázar de Colón palace, now one of the city’s many museums, displaying medieval and Renaissance art. Learn about the past and present of the oldest city in the Americas. Stop for a buffet lunch in a restaurant in the Colonial Zone. Pay homage to the First Cathedral of the Americas. Move on to the first street, Calle de Las Damas, and other colonial monuments from the 15th and 16th centuries. Take in a panoramic view of the modern city, residential areas, and the Presidential Palace. Enjoy free time to take a walk around El Conde where you can see old buildings or go shopping.

From Punta Cana: Santo Domingo Day Tour with National Park

5. From Punta Cana: Santo Domingo Day Tour with National Park

Explore the highlights of Santo Domingo, the oldest city in the Americas, a great option for first-time visitors and history buffs. Visit the caves of Three Eyes National Park, the Columbus Lighthouse, the Colonial Walled Zone, and the National Presidential Palace, traveling between attractions with ease. Immerse yourself in the cultural and historical heritage of Santo Domingo with this full-day tour of the capital. Follow a guide on a walk past important monuments in the Colonial Zone, a Unesco World Heritage site. Round-trip travel from Punta Cana is easy with hotel pickup and drop-off.

Santo Domingo: City Highlights Guided Tour with Lunch

6. Santo Domingo: City Highlights Guided Tour with Lunch

This fascinating experience will transport you to the colonial era, you will get to know the first city in America, first you will enjoy one of the most spectacular natural wonders, the Los Tres Ojos National Park, you will be able to admire this wonder of nature where inside a cave springs water forming 4 spectacular lakes, you can navigate in them and see movie scenes. Before entering the city we will be greeted by one of the most impressive architectures, the lighthouse monument to Colon, where you can learn about and explore the fascinating history of the admiral, as well as a brief overview of all the countries of America, for nothing Santo Domingo is known as the door of the Americas. Already in the city you can admire the architecture of the National Palace, its impressive and majestic architecture will dazzle all trace unté and facilitate original and majestic photographs. Now we will go to the historic center where we will walk through the cobbled streets from the time of the colony, we will know the foundations of the Dominican civilization, the famous door the count, the primate cathedral of America, you will be able to visit fascinating structures such as the alcázar de colon and the Ozama fortress where the city was protected and battles with invaders and pirates were fought. A coffee, a cigar, a drink of rum and much more can be found in the bars and restaurants of Calle de las Damas or from the terraces of Plaza España. Undoubtedly an experience where history and tradition can be lived and documented step by step.

From Puerto Plata: Santo Domingo Complete Visit

7. From Puerto Plata: Santo Domingo Complete Visit

This tour will take you back in time and show you Santo Domingo from the times of spanish colony. You'll admire architecture from XVI century and feel the ambience of the past centuries. Not to be overwhelmed by the monuments, you'll also explore the cenotes in the tropical scenery, approach the giant Columbus Lighthouse and ride the cable car over the city. You'll start early in the morning (about 6am) and will have a packaged breakfast on the way. Transfer to the capital will take about 3.5h. Once arrived to Santo Domingo, you'll see first the famous Malecon Boulevard by the Caribbean Sea. Then you'll follow to the east part of the city, where you'll have a glance of eye at the huge Columbus Monument. Nearby are located beautiful cenotes The Three Eyes. You'll explore the limestone caves and will have a ride on a small boat inside the cavern. Your next attraction will be the cable car over the city, connecting different neighbourhood's of the capital. You'll be surprised to see how varying can be local people's living conditions... About noon you'll be heading to the old city, to have about 1 hour walk. You'll follow the route of the first governor of Santo Domingo - Nicolás de Ovando. Buildings dating to his times were the first spanish creations in the New World. Santo Domingo was at that time the head quarter of all spanish colonies. You'll discover the most important monuments: Alcazar de Colón, Casas Reales, Ozama Fortress, Cathedral, Santo Domingo Monastery and others. After the visit, enjoy dominican lunch in form of tasty buffet with soft drink included. Then you'll have a free time to explore the old city by your own. It's perfect occasion to make some souvenir shopping or just stroll around. We'll leave the city around 4-5pm and come back to the north coast about 8/9pm.

Other Sightseeing Options in Columbus Lighthouse

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What people are saying about Columbus Lighthouse

Overall rating

4.0 / 5

based on 77 reviews

Hello, we could not participate in this activity because there was a disagreement on the schedule at the meeting point. It's a shame because this visit must be interesting ... however, we put 5 * because the situation was taken into consideration immediately and by the company Go excursion and Get Your Guide in person where we were able to obtain a full refund with good obviously recommendations that we gave to the people who organize this excursion to prevent this from happening again. Again, Get Your Guide is very serious, it's not the first time we've booked with GYG and we've always been very satisfied! We will continue…thanks.

We were picked up very punctually, which is probably rather rare in the Dominican Republic. Therefore great. Our tour guide in Santo Domingo was great too. He made every effort to hold the tour in German, which was probably very difficult for him, but we still understood him very well. He showed us many sights and always combined them with a little fun so that the tour didn't seem too boring. At the end we were able to go into 2 souvenir shops and buy souvenirs from the trip. All in one a beautiful day.

The guide, a very capable person, spoke in 4 languages, he informed us all about the destination throughout the excursion regardless of the country we came from. Lunch was delicious and we were able to enjoy a typical Dominican dance show. Transport very comfortable with air conditioning.

the trip was great. The tour guide was a unique Victor. He explained everything in three languages. Santo Domingo is worth seeing

To me, there was a lot packed into this tour and it was very well executed.