Chavon River Tours - Dominican Republic

Exploring Dominican Republic with private tours

Our best experiences in DR were definitely the private tours we arranged with two different operators. There were so many tour offers in DR that it was hard to decide which one to take. Be aware that they fill up very quickly, so make your plans as soon as you can. The sooner the better. Booking is a smooth process, and you pay some of the price online via PayPal and the rest of it on the day of the tour using cash.  

Chavon river

The first tour was arranged by Explora Ecotour to see Chavon river with zip lining and kayaking included. The guide was very professional, he was at our door 30 minutes early and very professional. The 2-3 hour drive was filled with conversation on various subjects about DR history, culture, nature and life in DR today, which made the time fly by quickly. The ride was pleasant with lots of scenery and photo opportunities. 

Once you exit the main road near Chavon river, the ride becomes an off-road adventure. You are transferred to a military style transport to get to the final destination. You arrive in a ranch in the rain forest, where you get a light breakfast and coffee, before you are prepped for zip lining.

The zip line kept us flying over the forest through several lines of different length and height. Two experienced guides and our original tour guide were with us the whole time. Luka (our youngest) was accompanied by our female guide on the scarier lines, while he was allowed to go alone on the easier ones. After a while Luka got tired and they arranged for him to go down to the base and wait for us there. They kept an eye on him while we finished the tour.

During the walk from line to line, we got lessons on all of the plants growing there, including their organic gardens where people from the ranch grow different vegetables, fruits and plants. They gave us information about all of them, how they grow and how they are used, making the tour not only fun, but also educational. We saw how cocoa grows from a tree and got to sample a live cocoa fruit.

After the zip lining we had a light lunch at the ranch prepared by their staff with the organic produce from the ranch.

Next on our agenda was kayaking at Chavon river. It was very hot by then so we chose to cut the kayaking shorter in order to have more time to swim in the river. It was our first time swimming in a river and we liked it. Another treat after the swim was a delicious dessert made from homemade chocolate from the ranch cocoa plants. After a short shower, we got dressed and headed back home. We give the whole experience a real A+ for the organization and friendly staff.