Call Today: 801-683-0123
Call Today: 801-683-0123
December 25th – January 1st, 2026
Tour Summary
Celebrate the holidays in a tropical paradise on this family-friendly Humanitarian Vacation. Depart late on Christmas Day after having time for family traditions and celebration. Leave the winter chill behind and spend a week serving local communities, creating lasting memories, and enjoying adventurous island activities together. Plus, ring in the New Year with a beach celebration before heading home to catch school starting back up. Serve, play, and connect on this unforgettable Dominican Republic escape.
Participation in all service and adventure activities can be modified to include young children (ages 8+), teenagers, adults, and grandparents, making this the perfect way to celebrate the holidays with all of your loved ones!
Tour Includes
Separate Costs
Tour Itinerary
Day 1 – December 25th
After a day of holiday activities, head to the airport and catch a late night flight headed to Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic!
We may have a group flight option for those flying out of Salt Lake City. If you would be interested in information about this, please indicate such on your reservation form.
Day 2 – December 26th
Arrive in the Dominican Republic and be greeted by our Tour Managers as well as bus driver. They will take you to our beachfront resort, Blue Jack Tar.
Here we will enjoy our stay in the Dominican Republic for the week. Feel free to unpack and enjoy the resort until our Welcome Dinner in the evening.
Meals Included: Welcome Dinner
Day 3 – December 27th
Today we have the opportunity to attend a local ward for Sunday church services. Afterwards we will have lunch and go up to the Mount Isabel Gardens. In the afternoon there will be free time at the resort.
Meals Included: Breakfast & Lunch
Sacrament Meeting will be in Spanish. For those who would like to attend the 2nd hour meeting in Spanish, you are welcome to!
Anyone who would prefer English can gather with our Tour Managers for a Come Follow Me discussion.
Sunday dress is preferred but not required.
This brief tour will take you to some of Puerto Plata’s other local spots, including the Plaza, Citadel, and Puerto Plata Sign.
Mount Isabel, one of the Dominican Republic’s tallest volcanoes, offers breathtaking views and lush gardens waiting to be explored. If the Teleferico (cable car) is open, enjoy a scenic ride to the summit; if not, our driver will take us to the top.
Once there, admire the Christ the Redeemer statue – a charming replica of Brazil’s iconic landmark – and wander through the beautiful gardens filled with vibrant flowers, winding pathways, pools, and tropical vegetation.
Overall Physical Rating: 4-6/10
Day 4 – December 28th
This morning we will go to our first service activity at Chocal, the women’s cooperative chocolate factory. After we have worked up an appetite, we will head to Damajagua for lunch, followed by our waterfall activity. In the late afternoon you will have more time to enjoy the resort, as well as play games in the evening.
Meals Included: Breakfast & Lunch
What is a Women’s Cooperative?: A women’s cooperative is a business brought to life through the women of a community. Often times these women are single parents, so by coming together, they create not only a source of income, but also a sustainable way to support each other and their children.
Working at the Chocolate Factory: As our guest, you can participate in the complete production cycle of chocolate: from planting and cultivating the organic cacao trees, to preparing the raw materials, to producing and packaging the final product for sale. By helping to improve production and increase sales, you will also be helping the organization to thrive so it can hire more local women, providing critical income in a region so limited.
Overall Physical Rating: 5/10
Other Things to Know:
The Damajagua 27 Waterfalls is a popular tourist destination known for its jungle beauty and adventure activities. This attraction offers visitors the opportunity to hike through lush tropical forests and experience the thrill of sliding, swimming, and jumping through a series of stunning waterfalls of varying heights.
The number of waterfalls available to jump and slide are limited due to precipitation levels of the season. Usually we do anywhere between 4 and 7 jumps and slides as a group.
Overall Physical Rating: 8/10
Other Things to Know:
Day 5 – December 29th
Today we set out to lay a fresh concrete floor for a local family in need. After our project we will return to the resort for beach time.
Meals Included: Breakfast & Lunch
As our guest, you will have the opportunity to help improve the lives and health of the Dominican people from the ground up. Literally. In the homes of poorer communities, the common basic dirt floors are a genuine health risk. They pick up dust during the dry season and retain dampness and puddles in the rainy season. And they’re impossible to clean, which means that anything spilled on the floor or tracked into the house, however unhygienic, tends to stay put.
Every month, homes in a different small area of a community will be chosen to be upgraded with new concrete floors. Can’t you see yourself pouring concrete and working alongside the homeowners and other members of the surrounding community, including children and teenagers, helping them create surroundings they’ll be proud to take care of and maintain. The families are so appreciative. The average cost of the new concrete floor is $200. Part of your fees pay for the materials of this humanitarian project.
Day 6 – December 30th
This morning we will have the opportunity to interact with local children as we teach them how to speak English. After our lessons there will be time to play and enjoy time with the kids. Following the project, we will return to the resort for beach time.
Meals Included: Breakfast & Lunch
On a national level, young Dominicans face almost insurmountable obstacles to academic success. One of the skills in demand by local employers is basic English. However, a shortage of trained English teachers and lack of academic support at home make a formalized English learning curriculum difficult to sustain. You’ll have the opportunity to work with both teachers and students on activities designed to create interest and excitement in the learning process and aid in language retention.
You will engage in games, simple vocabulary lessons, and small-group conversations that provide much-needed confidence. And find that this kind of positive impact on the life of a child is one of the most gratifying experiences a traveler can have. Your humanitarian impact can anticipates that, within five years, more than 2,200 of the students whose lives we’ve touched will have achieved working proficiency in English and will be prepared for jobs that can raise the income levels of their families.
Overall Physical Rating: 6-7/10
Other Things to Know:
Day 7 – December 31st
Today we will learn how to make water wilters at the Wine to Water Foundation. Following lunch, we will journey to a local river spot on our Outback Adventure. Tonight we will bring in the New Year with a celebration on the beach!
Meals Included: Breakfast & Lunch
The water crisis is a reality that plagues the entire world. In the Dominican Republic alone, more than three million people have no access to piped water. One solution already being implemented is the production and distribution of clay water filters, which mean far fewer children and adults will miss school or work due to water-borne illnesses.
On this humanitarian vacation, you will have the opportunity to work alongside established organizations and local artisans in the entire filter-making process: gathering and mixing the raw materials, working the clay, shaping and firing the filters, testing the quality of the finished product, and distributing the finished filters to needy families. In this family-friendly activity, even smaller children will find ways to do their part.
Enjoy the beautiful scenary of the island’s countryside. Along the way we will drive through local communities, giving us an even better glimpse into the lives of the local people.
We will end the scenic ride at El Rio Sonador, a river hangout spot for locals in the area. Here we will spend the afternoon swimming, enjoying the waterfall, and exploring.
Oveall Physical Rating: 6-8/10
Other Things to Know:
Day 8 – January 1st
Today we start our journey back home. A group transfer to the airport will be included for the majority.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Payment Terms: $300 pp deposit required at booking. Final payment due 90 days before departure.
**this tour is based off of a minimum of 20 passengers and a maximum of 40 passengers
Additional Resources ~
From Couch to Community – 3 Families Making an Impact Through Humanitarian Travel: These families experienced real change on this vacation…Read More
Water is Life: Water is an incredibly precious source in many parts of the world, and the tropical island of the Dominican Republic is no exception…Read More
