DREAM Service Learning in the Dominican Republic
8 DAYS
Cabarete 7
Basic Inclusions
Accommodations
Accommodations in centrally-located three-star or four-star hotels. Rooming on a triple basis.
Meals
All breakfasts. Six lunches. All dinners. Welcome dinner at the hotel on Day 1. Lunch on Days 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. Caribbean Fusion Dinner on Day 6. Dinner at the hotel on Day 7.
Transportation
Round-trip transportation on scheduled airline. All public transportation tickets included where applicable.
Guide
Special arrangements as noted.
Travel Protection
Passports provides and pays for a Post Departure Travel Protection Plan that includes coverage for Trip Interruption, Trip Delay, Medical Expense and Evacuation and more.
Tour Summary
Itinerary Includes
Daily local tour guides
One Checked Bag Included Per Person
Day 1: Home - Cabarete
Arrival transfer, Hotel Check-in
Orientation session at hotel with DREAM staff
Welcome dinner at the hotel
Day 2: Cabarete
Introduction to DREAM Project Programs at DREAM Center
Community Scavenger Hunt at a DREAM School
Lunch
Introduction to a service project and Volunteering at local DREAM community
Excursion to an ecological park and dinner in a treehouse
Day 3: Cabarete
Service project at DREAM School
Lunch
Excursion with guided visit at El Choco National Park and swimming in a cave
Guided walk along Cabarete beach and sunset dinner
Day 4: Cabarete
Service project at DREAM School
Lunch
Service project at DREAM School
Excursion with Yasica River boat ride, dinner, bonfire and Bachata dance lesson
Day 5: Cabarete
Service project at DREAM School
Lunch
Excursion to the Río Damajagua Waterfalls: Guided hike to Pool #12 of the Río Damajagua's 27 Pools with return via the pool-dotted gorge
Day 6: Cabarete
Service project at DREAM School
Lunch
Service project at DREAM School with wrap up and celebration
Caribbean Fusion Dinner
Day 7: Cabarete
Excursion with boat ride through mangroves and swimming at La Piscina
Lunch
Beach time!
Dinner at the hotel
Day 8: Cabarete - Home
Departure transfer
UNPARALLELED STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Puerto Plata, or Santiago Transfer to Cabarete, Orientation with DREAM Staff, Welcome dinner
The day you've been waiting for! Your destination is the Dominican Republic, a Spanish-speaking nation which shares the island of Hispaniola, second largest of the Greater Antilles islands, with the French Creole-speaking nation of Haiti. When Christopher Columbus reached this island on December 5, 1492, he declared it to be "the fairest land under heaven."
You will land in the provincial capital of San Felipe de Puerto Plata.
* Flight schedules may dictate an alternate arrival airport*It's a short ride to a seaside resort where sandy beaches bathed by the tropical sun meet a rolling surf tamed by a coral barrier reef.
You're about to get well acquainted with this town of some 15,000 inhabitants that was founded in 1835 by the English Quaker Zephaniah Kingsley, who had first settled in Florida, where he had married one of his slaves and freed 53 others. As the father of several biracial children, Kingsley felt that he would find in the the Antilles more freedom for them than he could expect in North America.
Nowadays, Cabarete is a popular center of aquatic sports, notably surfing, windsurfing and kitesurfing.
Settle into your hotel. Already, you're eager to explore your surroundings!
Your team leader will welcome your group and introduce members of the staff.
Then, learn about your new surroundings, the way of life in your host town, and your part as a DREAM Project volunteer, going over the standard code of conduct and safety rules.
This evening, enjoy dinner with your fellow travelers.
Overnight: Cabarete
Day 2: Introduction to DREAM Project Programs, Community Scavenger Hunt, Service Project, Excursion to Ecological Park and Dinner in Treehouse
Get a a better understanding of the program in which you're about to take part during this presentation of DREAM's education programs, which are offered to participants ranging from early childhood to young adulthood in order to to combat the effects of poverty and foster community enrichment.
Visit a local DREAM school and take part in a community scavenger hunt with the students.
After the presentation of your service project, set out for a local DREAM community to begin the volunteering portion of your Dominican republic tour.
Change of pace as you get acquainted with one of the Dominican Republic's lush rainforests on a visit to an ecological park. Then, enjoy dinner in a treehouse!
Overnight: Cabarete
Day 3: Service Project at DREAM School, Excursion to El Choco National Park with Cave Swim, Cabarete Beach Guided Walk and Sunset Dinner
Pursue your volunteering activities.
Discover Parque Nacional El Choco, one of the Dominican Republic's national parks, located on the outskirts of Cabarete. It's so close and yet often overlooked by visitors, who rarely venture beyond the seashore.
In the company of a guide, descend into a cave filled by natural pools of mineral water and enjoy a dip, or a swim! Underground, you may come across signs left by the island's original inhabitants, the Taíno people. And you may hear tiny coqui frogs chirp!
Enjoy the special atmosphere of the seashore at the end of the day, when a softer light gives the impression that nature is quieter all around, be it the waves, the birds, or the visitors strolling along the beach. Conclude with a dinner accompanied by the unpredictable symphony of colors of a tropical sunset.
Overnight: Cabarete
Day 4: Service Project at DREAM School, Excursion with Yasica River Boat Ride, Dinner and Bachata Lesson
Pursue your volunteering activities.
Pursue your volunteering activities.
Set out for a remote area, not so far from Cabarete, but not so easy to find either since it's set in a somewhat jungle-like location, where the Río Yasica meanders its way between mangrove-lined banks.
Enjoy your boat ride through this exotic tropical heaven. Then, it will be time for dinner, a bonfire, and Bachata! This dance style has been called the 'Dominican tango' as it originated in the Dominican Republic, along with Bachata music.
Overnight: Cabarete
Day 5: Service Project at DREAM School, Excursion to the Río Damajagua Waterfalls
Pursue your volunteering activities.
This excursion begins with a ride to a spectacular natural site nestled in the hills of the Northern Mountain Range (Cordillera Septentrional).
You've travelled into this jungle-like setting to view the spectacular waterfalls of the Damajagua River, which runs through a series of gorges and caves that create 27 charcos (pools) of various sizes and depths.
Start with a hike (about 45 minutes) to the Midway Point, known as Waterfall #12, and head back to base camp via the pools. This is hailed as the most accessible section, but the path is nevertheless challenging and involves getting wet while crossing the pools or jumping into them.
Overnight: Cabarete
Day 6: Service Project at DREAM School, DREAM School Service Project Wrap Up and Celebration, Caribbean Fusion Dinner
Pursue your volunteering activities.
You've reached the last stage of your volunteering program. After a few activities, it will be time to wrap up and mark the occasion with a little fiesta in the company of the local students and staff members you've gotten to know better each day.
Tonight, enjoy a "soul food" menu that combines culinary traditions typical of the Caribbean islands, which are similar according to geography and original ethnicity, but culturally diverse due to their respective histories over the past six centuries.
Overnight: Cabarete
Day 7: Excursion with Mangroves Boat Ride and Swimming at La Piscina, Beach time, Dinner at the hotel
If you have seen the 1951 movie The African Queen, you may feel that you have been transported to the Congolese filming location as your boat glides along dense mangrove shrubs.
Then, enjoy a cooling swim at La Piscina.
Relax at the beach, swimming, sunbathing, or strolling along the shore, where water meets land.
This evening, enjoy dinner at your hotel with your fellow travelers.
Overnight: Cabarete
Day 8: Puerto Plata or Santiago, Departure
There's no lack of options for Dominican gifts and souvenirs! You'll see handicrafts such as artistic candle-shades carved out of dried gourds; reproductions of Taíno figurines; colorful paintings; beautiful but pricey amber jewelry and Larimar blue stone jewelry. There are also items made with typical homegrown items such as chocolate, coffee, rum, and cigar tobacco leaves.
Due to concerns about the environment, visitors are asked not to buy articles made with turtle shells, coral, starfish, and seashells (the conch-like Lambi shells found on beaches are protected by law and by the WWF).
Set out for Puerto Plata or Santiago airport.
¡Hasta la vista, República Dominicana! Together with your traveling companions, you will remember the warm balmy air, the hot sun, and tropical wonders. But what you'll remember most will be laughing and playing with kids who have grown up in poverty, and sharing with them joys of childhood. You've brought friendship and support; in return you got friends and lasting memories.
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Cabarete, Dominican Republic
DREAM Orientation
DREAM Project Programs
Local DREAM School
DREAM Volunteer Programs
La Piscina Beach
Sunrise in Cabarete
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