Jardín Botánico - Botanical Garden, Santo Domingo

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The Botanical Garden has been a must for nature lovers and everyone who wants to have peace within chaos in the city since its opening in 1976 during the government of Dr. Joaquín Balaguer. It houses one of the biggest flower clocks in the world (according to their website), a lovely Japanese garden, a section with native plants of the island of Hispaniola, aquatic plants, orchids, a museum with dissected exemplars of plants and a palm area. Don't miss their Japanese garden with its soft grass and the loveliness of the trees.

Here's another place where you can bring your own lunch and picnic (like the Zoo).

Because this garden is huge (2 million square meters), a good way to explore here is their guided tour by train. If you don't speak Spanish say so, so that they can do the guiding in English - like Mr. Sweden experienced :)

Practical info: open daily 8am-4pm all year round. The fees are as following:
- Entrance: 20 pesos for Dominicans (adults), 60 pesos for foreigners
- Train fare: 20 pesos for Dominicans, 40 pesos for foreigners.

They have a package including the entrance, the train and the museums fees but since we didn't take it I forgot what it costs. All fees are clearly published on the entrance, by the ticket booth, just look for the word "extranjeros".

The 'Jardin Botanico' is a nice place to enjoy endemic plants of the Dominican Republic and many others. Tall trees or even beautiful flowers. Take the motorized train that goes all the way around the park and the guide tells everystory about it. There is a orquid centre to enjoy the different kinds, and also a small shop if you want to get one. The park is quite a walk. Bring comfortable shoes and if you like some picnic you are free to do so, too.

Walk all the way through a Japanese Garden that the park created. Interesting trees and beautiful view. The entrance fee is less than a US dollar and also need to pay little extra for the train. Its a cheap deal! We stayed there for about 2 hours and it was more than enough to enjoy the visit.

The 'Jardin Botanico' is a nice place to enjoy endemic plants of the Dominican Republic. Tall trees or even beautiful flowers. Take the motorized train that goes all the way around the park and the guide tells everystory about it. There is a orquid centre to enjoy the different kinds, and also a small shop if you want to get one.

The park is quite a walk. Bring comfortable shoes and if you like some picnic you are free to do so, too.

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The green parts of Santo Domingo can be a bit deceptive - beautiful from afar but garbage-filled, ill-maintained and full of children begging when you get close. That's why its a great idea to head to the Botanical Gardens (Jardin botánico) for some of the Dominican Republic's most beautiful flora. The gardens are outside the city centre and you really need to get there by car or taxi. They feature herb gardens, a bamboo grove, small ponds and streams, desert flowers and a section with medicinal plants. The park contains over 300 different species of plants and flowers from all over Hispaniola and also a sculpted Japanese garden. A truly spectacular collection of the Caribbean's and Hispaniola's natural heritage.

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This is a very, very beautiful place. You'll find a large variety of plants and trees and even if this is not your type of thing you should still go for the beauty of the place. Allocate enough time to absorb and enjoy your surroundings. Make sure to bring your camera along. Some of the gardens, like the Japanese garden are quite beautiful.

The Botanical garden is very nice, especially the Japanese garden. Half a day is fine for this excursion.

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This is more of a large and tranquil park, rather than a botanical garden with a plaque on every tree and bush. It is nice to walk around. There is also a fairly large Japanese garden on premises.