See a Different Side of Punta Cana with the Viator Punta Cana Zipline Canopy Adventure

Chris and I spent six days in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic earlier this month for a wedding. Now, beach vacations and weddings are totally my thing, but Chris? Not so much. He knew that I really wanted to go so he obliged, but I felt like I needed to sweetened the pot a little to make the trip really worth it for him! Viator helped me out with a complimentary Viator Punta Cana Zipline Canopy Adventure tour, so we got up bright and early one Friday morning and headed out to explore the Punta Cana countryside...dangling by a harness.

The Viator Punta Cana Zipline Canopy Adventure tour was about an hour away from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, and we had a pretty cool safari-style bus pick us up right at the lobby (there's no extra charge for picking you up at your hotel!). Chris ran to the bathroom before we got on board, and our drivers came into the lobby to gather us up. While we waited for Chris, I had a nice chat with Wilson, aka "Pinky" and Joelly about the day they had planned for us.

Before you begin the  Punta Cana Zipline Canopy Adventure tour, you'll receive instructions from your tour guides about what you will be doing on the lines. While you won't technically be responsible for breaking at the end of your zips, you will assist in slowing down on a few of them, and the guides will explain how you do this, along with showing you a short demonstration.

Then it's time to suit up! Unlike the other zipline tours I've done, we had two harnesses in Punta Cana. Their motto is "Safety, safety, safety" and they really mean it!

You'll be attached to the zipline course by two contraptions; one is the actual zipline attachment and the other is your safety line. As you begin each course, your guide will do all of the work of attaching you, and will remind you of the proper place to put your hands as well.

All you have to do is sit back, relax and enjoy the scenery as you zip across the stunning forest!

Squealing with delight is optional but highly encouraged. 

Now, I've done ziplines where we had to break ourselves and while I personally don't mind doing it, it was nice not to have to worry about doing anything on these courses.

There were a few times when the guides would ask us to slow down a bit as we came in, but all that meant was gently placing our gloved hand on the line to slow our momentum. For the post part, the guides used a breaking system to slow us down, and they were always there to catch us if we didn't slow down like instructed.

One of the things I really enjoyed about this particular canopy adventure is that it was actually IN THE CANOPY.

My favorite course was where we zipped to a tree and left from the same tree - it felt like a zipline drive through, we moved so quickly onto the next adventure.

It's wonderful to keep your adrenaline going!

Many times there aren't enough trees, or the trees aren't high enough, to support a real canopy adventure. Our Zipline Canopy Adventure moved in a sort of a circle, from one tree to the next, so we didn't have to climb very much at all.

We did have to walk from one area to another at certain points, so make sure that you're wearing closed toed shoes!

I saw something pretty special with this particular Zipline Canopy Adventure, which I have never seen in other locations: they offer zipline taxis for small children!

Most places have an age restriction, and only allow children eight and up to use the courses. This particular company allowed smaller children to go along with their families, and offered a guide to go on the course with the small child! Each is supported with their own harness, but the guide attached themselves to the child so that his weight can propel the child through the zipline.

This is an awesome option for families who have little ones and wouldn't normally be able to go ziplining!

I've ziplined twice in Florida, twice in Jamaica and once in Puerto Rico. While I have enjoyed every ziplining experience so far, the Punta Cana Zipline Canopy Adventure Tour was by far my favorite!

Our guides were friendly, they made us feel safe, and they were pretty hilarious, cracking jokes from the moment they picked us up at the hotel, all through the course, until they dropped us off after the adventure was over.

The scenery was breathtaking, so lush and green, and we even zipped over a pasture full of grazing cows at one point! The zipline is in the middle of a forest and a cacao ranch, so you'll see cacao trees with pods hanging all over the place! If you end up on a bus with Wilson, he will even let you sample some homemade Dominican chocolate made from the local cacao!

The zipline course is about a mile long, with between 8 and 10 ziplines in each tour, depending on the day. We had eight in our tour, and it was the perfect amount - it was starting to get super hot by the time we ended our last course, and I was ready for a bottle of water and fresh pineapple!

A note about photography:

Due to the double harness and attachments, you are not allowed to carry photography equipment or bags with you on the zipline course. Before you begin gearing up, let the photographer know if you would like to have your photos taken during the Punta Cana Zipline Canopy Adventure Tour, as they will mark your helmet with a sign that will let the photographer know to photograph you.

Prices vary depending on the season, but we paid $25 for a CD full of photos of Chris and myself - it was $25 per couple. As you can see, he really did a fantastic job of capturing our ziplining experience! There were about 20 of us that wanted our photos taken, and the photographer followed us around the entire time and there were 299 photos on the CD! While I felt naked without my camera during the course, after I finished, I realized that I had a much better time letting someone else worry about capturing the memories for me - I was able to live completely in the moment and not worry about pulling the camera out at all!

Highlights of the Viator Punta Cana Zipline Canopy Adventure Tour

• Experience the very first zipline in the Dominican Republic
• Travel across treetops in the Dominican Republic rainforest
• Professional, trained guides and double safety harness and line
• Hotel pickup and drop-off included
• Bottled water and fresh tropical fruit after your tour is completed
• "Zipline Taxi" service available for small children

You can find out more about the Punta Cana Zipline Canopy Adventure, as well as make reservations, on the Viator website. The Zipline Canopy Adventure is rated five stars, and I completely agree with that rating!

Viator also offers other fun adventures in Punta Cana, like horseback riding, safaris, dune buggy adventures and sight-seeing tours! You can find all kinds of Punta Cana Excursions offered through Viator!