It is a long bus ride. We understood that prior to the trip. The bus seats were extremely small, very narrow, fit only one and 1/2 adult. This made for an uncomfortable ride for three hours each way. A/C was minimal at best. On the way to Santo Domingo we took two side trips, the first was in a coastal town at a souvenir store with aggressive sales folks, why did we stop there? the second was to some major league baseball endorsed parks not on the agenda. Why? The tour guide was knowledgeable, but saying everything in both English/Spanish became annoying. Constant chatter all the way there. However, some pertinent historical facts were provided. The first stop in the city was to an underground cavern with small water features which were fascinating and quite beautiful. The tour guide however said maybe two words the entire time and then was insulted when left a small tip. The second stop in the city is to a stone museum for Larimar and Amber. Hot, hot, hot in the building. Not very interesting, we were bored and sweaty. Next up was lunch. We dined in a historical area that was on the first paved road in the America's. Lunch was a buffet and was not too bad. Great atmosphere. We were then off on a short walk to see the house built by Columbus's son, pretty amazing that the building was still there and contained actually artifacts that Columbus used. Learned that much of the building was actually destroyed. Maybe a self guided audio tour would have been better than the guide we had. Hard to understand the guide, spoke softly and very accented. Then off to first cathedral of the New World, a most beautiful church. This was a self guided audio tour and the highlight of the trip for us. Amazing. Long bus ride back. Guide provided us with authentic DR bread and some rum. Overall was not a good tour. But the Old World was worth seeing.