Title: Day trips from La Romana with a private driver 2026 — how it works Locale: en Canonical HTML URL: https://lrmairporttransfer.com/en/guides/day-trips-la-romana-private-driver Updated: September 2026 Author: LRM dispatch desk, La Romana Operator: LRM Airport Transfer — A&M Caribbean Group SRL # Day trips from La Romana with a private driver Answer first · updated September 2026 · written by the dispatch desk ## Direct answer Yes — the same private vehicle that meets you at LRM can be booked for a day out of the resort. It works exactly like a transfer, just longer: your driver collects you at the hotel or villa at an agreed time, drives you to the destination, waits while you are there, and brings you back the same evening. The price is fixed per vehicle before you go, quoted on WhatsApp, taxes and tolls included — never a meter, never per person. The four requests we get most from the La Romana side are Altos de Chavón, the Bayahibe and Dominicus docks for Saona Island, Santo Domingo's Colonial Zone, and the Basílica at Higüey. Prices are one-way, per vehicle, taxes included, 1–6 passengers. 7–14 passengers move to a van: Standard +20 / VIP +40 on local zones. Private only — no shared seats, no night surcharge, no prepayment to hold. Rate list updated September 2026. ## What a private day trip actually is It is a round trip with a long stop in the middle. You tell the desk where you want to go, what date, how many passengers and roughly what time you want to leave and be back. We quote one fixed price for the vehicle, you confirm on WhatsApp, and on the day your driver is at the lobby at the agreed time — the same way a hotel return pickup works, only he does not leave when you get out. There is no meter, no per-person maths and no surprise at the end. The number you agree before you set off is the number you pay, and it already includes fuel, tolls and taxes. If your plans change during the day, you talk to the driver, and anything that changes the price is agreed out loud before it happens. The vehicle is yours for the day: air conditioning you control, bags and beach gear that stay in the car, and a schedule set by your group rather than by twenty other hotel pickups. ## Altos de Chavón and Casa de Campo The closest and easiest day out. Altos de Chavón is the replica sixteenth-century Mediterranean village built above the Chavón river inside Casa de Campo — cobbled lanes, the St Stanislaus church, artisan workshops, the archaeological museum and the 5,000-seat Greek amphitheatre with a view over the gorge. From La Romana or Casa de Campo it is fifteen to twenty-five minutes; from Bayahibe or Dominicus about forty. That makes it a comfortable half day, often combined with the Marina Casa de Campo for lunch on the water or a look at the golf courses. Because the drive is short, families do this one in the late afternoon and stay for sunset, which is when the village photographs best. ## Bayahibe, Dominicus and the Saona boats Saona Island is the single biggest day-trip draw on this coast, and almost every boat leaves from Bayahibe village or the Dominicus dock. From La Romana or Casa de Campo that is a twenty-five to forty minute drive; from the LRM area generally, well under an hour. If your day involves a boat, tell the desk the departure time and dock name when you book, because the driver's arrival is planned backwards from that, exactly the way a departure transfer is planned backwards from a flight. Catamarans usually want you there 45 minutes before cast-off. We do not sell the boat trips themselves; we get you there with time in hand and collect you when the boat returns, which is normally between four and six in the afternoon. The Bayahibe and Saona guide covers the area in more detail. ## Santo Domingo and the Colonial Zone This is the trip people underestimate and are glad they made. Santo Domingo's Zona Colonial is the oldest European-founded city in the Americas — cobbled streets, the cathedral, the Alcázar de Colón, and lunch somewhere that is not a buffet. The drive is the honest part to plan around: roughly one hour forty-five to two hours each way from La Romana on the Autopista del Este, plus Santo Domingo's own traffic at both ends of the day. That means an early lobby pickup — many groups leave around seven or eight — and a return in the evening. It is a long day and it suits people who want history rather than beach. Our Santo Domingo page covers the same route as a one-way transfer if you are moving cities rather than making a day of it. ## Higüey and the Basílica Higüey is the provincial capital inland, about forty-five minutes to an hour from La Romana, and the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia is the country's most important pilgrimage church — a striking concrete arch that most beach visitors never see. Because the drive is short this works as a half day: leave mid-morning, see the Basílica, walk the market streets, be back at the resort for the afternoon. It is also the trip most often combined with a supermarket or pharmacy stop on the way back, which the grocery-stop guide explains. For families it is one of the easiest days on this list: short drive, no early start, and the car right there when someone has had enough. ## Private driver vs an organised excursion bus An excursion bus is cheaper per person, and that is a real advantage for solo travellers and couples on a tight budget. What you pay for it is time: a pickup window rather than a pickup time, a circuit of other hotels before you leave the area, a fixed lunch stop, and a return time set by the slowest passenger. A private vehicle flips the maths as the group grows. Priced per vehicle rather than per head, a family of four or a group of six often pays about what the bus tickets would have cost — and gets a car that leaves when they say and goes home when the children are done. It also removes the sales layer. Nobody steers you into an amber shop or a resort presentation on the way home, which is the same reason people pre-book their airport pickup rather than take their chances at the curb. ## Waiting time, stops and the practical details Waiting is included in a day-trip quote — that is the whole point of it. When you book, tell the desk the rough shape of the day (leave at 8, back around 6) so the driver's day is planned around yours. Short overruns are handled without drama; anything larger is re-quoted before the clock starts. Child seats are available if you ask when booking, the same as on an airport transfer — the family guide covers the details. Larger groups get a van rather than a car; the groups and luggage guide explains the vehicle sizes. Payment works exactly as it does for transfers, and the how-to-pay guide has the specifics. Book at least a day or two ahead in high season, because the same vehicles are running LRM airport runs. ## How to book one Message the desk on WhatsApp at +1 849 377 5889 or send the quote form with five things: your hotel or villa, the date, the destination, the number of passengers, and the time you would like to leave. You get one fixed price for the vehicle back, usually within minutes. If you are still planning the holiday, the easiest sequence is to book the airport pickup, the return and the day trip in the same conversation. One thread, one desk, three confirmed times — and the driver you met at LRM is often the one who takes you out for the day. Day-trip prices depend on destination and vehicle, so they are quoted per request rather than listed. The published rate list on our prices page is the airport transfer list, and the same fixed-price, per-vehicle, nothing-added-later logic applies to both. ## FAQ ### Can the driver wait while we sightsee? Yes — waiting is what a day trip is. The driver stays with the vehicle at the destination and is there when you come back. Tell us the rough hours when you book (for example, leave at 8 and return around 6) so the day is quoted and planned correctly. ### Is the day-trip price per person or per vehicle? Per vehicle, like every transfer we run. A couple and a family of five going to the same place on the same day pay the same price, as long as everyone fits the vehicle. Taxes and tolls are included; nothing is added at the end of the day. ### Can you take us to the Saona Island boats in Bayahibe? Yes, that is one of our most common day bookings. Tell us the dock and the departure time when you book — Bayahibe village or the Dominicus pier — and the pickup is timed backwards from it, with the driver returning to collect you when the boat gets back. ### How long is the drive to Santo Domingo from La Romana? Roughly one hour forty-five to two hours each way in normal conditions, plus city traffic at both ends. That is why the Colonial Zone works best as an early start and a full day rather than a half day. ### Do you provide child seats on day trips? Yes, if you request them when you book. Say the number of children and their ages and the seats travel in the vehicle for the whole day, the same as on an airport transfer. ### How far in advance should we book a day trip? A day or two is usually enough, but in high season book earlier — a full day out takes a vehicle off the LRM airport rota, so availability is tighter than for a transfer. If you know your plans before you fly, book it in the same WhatsApp thread as your airport pickup. ## Related pages - [Full price list](https://lrmairporttransfer.com/en/prices) - [How pickup works](https://lrmairporttransfer.com/en/how-it-works) - [FAQ](https://lrmairporttransfer.com/en/faq) - [Uber at LRM airport](https://lrmairporttransfer.com/en/guides/uber-at-lrm-airport) - [Taxi vs private transfer](https://lrmairporttransfer.com/en/guides/taxi-vs-private-transfer) - [Shared shuttle vs private](https://lrmairporttransfer.com/en/guides/shared-shuttle-vs-private) - [Transfer times by zone](https://lrmairporttransfer.com/en/guides/transfer-times-from-lrm) ## Contact WhatsApp +1 849 377 5889 · info@cana.tours · LRM Airport Transfer (A&M Caribbean Group SRL), La Romana, Dominican Republic.