You may have read Kim’s recent post on her review of Dreams Punta Cana Resort.  Now you can also hear about her incredible out-of-resort tours she experienced during her getaway to the tropical paradise, Punta Cana.Marinarium Snorkeling TourAs amazing as Dreams Punta Cana is, the joy of this destination I believe lies outside its gates. We did three tours, each of which greatly enhanced our Punta Cana experience. We did a half-day Marinarium Snorkeling Tour for $99 per person that took you to the Caribbean side and included snorkeling, a controlled swim with stingray and nursing sharks, and sort of a daytime, family friendly party cruise hosted by some truly engaging young staff. My husband was a total beginner at snorkeling, so the “caged” reef experience was comforting to him. The stingray/shark feature was cool and the rest of the boat activities were very fun, but for real snorkeling enthusiasts it could be disappointing. But we had a great time on this tour.Bavaro RunnersWe then did a full-day tour called Bavaro Runners  per person that was such an amazing, varied day of fabulous and interesting experiences. We visited a sugar cane field, tobacco farm, did horseback riding, visited a local home and say how they make coffee and cocoa, had a Dominican food buffet, visited an ancient cave and learned a bit about native culture as well as took in so much scenery in an open air truck. It is a bumpy ride at times, but nothing Dr. Dramamine couldn’t handle and it was quite possibly the highlight of our trip, so I highly encourage you to mention it to your clients and book in advance during busy times (probably true for any tours).Monkey LandOur last tour covered some of the same terrain as Bavaro Runners but took us to Monkeyland, a squirrel monkey sanctuary  per person. I’m not going to say having little monkeys jumping all over us wasn’t super cool, because it totally was, but it needs to be fleshed out a bit. You get a bowl of food and kind of wait for them to accept your offering and they may sit on your shoulder or arm. But it seemed all too brief and your experience is completely dependent upon what a colony of monkeys feels like doing that day and whether they are hungry or not. They could really do more with this experience and I hope they figure that out. In general, I was impressed by the varied and truly interesting tours available in Punta Cana and I would encourage travelers to leave the resort at least once.Learn more about planning your very own Punta Cana Vacation here.  Or, Contact a Vacation Travel Consultant Today to learn about other traveling experiences.