Founded in 2008 by two devoted Dominican nature lovers, Manny Jimenes and Oly Sang, Explora Ecotour is one of the only authentic providers of true ecotourism in the Dominican Republic. The DR is home to some of the world´s most spectacular beaches, virgin tropical rain forests, vast dry regions, cloud forests, and even pine forests found in the tallest mountain ranges in all the Caribbean, and is one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world.
Our educational and sustainable nature tours feature most of the country´s national parks and scientific preserves, and are led by our experienced, passionate nature guides. Explora Ecotour constantly supports local efforts to improve local environmental awareness and protection and has a long-term commitment to working for the good of our parks and their surrounding rural communities.
In 2013 Explora Ecotour was named one of the 50 Greenest Companies in the Dominican Republic by Top Green Brands. In 2020 Explora Ecotour became a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence Winner for the 11th consecutive year and a “Travelers’ Choice: Best of the Best” Award Winner which is given to the top 10% of TripAdvisor attractions in the world. For the past few years, we have been proud to work with prestigious international birding tour companies such as Rockjumper, Wings and Field Guides in offering memorable birdwatching tour packages throughout the Dominican Republic.
Manny Jimenes
Our Team
Manny Jimenes and Olyenka Sang: Dominican owners and founders of Explora Ecotour, both are lifelong nature lovers that one day decided to devote themselves to their true passion: sharing and protecting the environment. Having both grown up in different parts of the US, then having moved back to the Dominican Republic, they were blown away with the incredible biodiversity and natural beauty of the island and yet how few people actually knew about it beyond the traditional beach resorts. Over the years they have worked with a wide variety of clients ranging from naturalists, schools, universities, to international birdwatching companies and professional nature photographers, scientists, ornithologists, government institutions, embassies, and many conservation groups to name a few.
Manny has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and tourism and is a Nature Conservancy trained nature guide specializing in birdwatching with over 15 years of experience leading nature tours all over the country. Oly graduated from law school and handles the administrative and logistical parts of the company and is a talented amateur nature photographer and environmentalist. In 2012 they were married and now have 2 daughters they hope will follow in their footsteps someday.
Efrain Feliz: Our local birdwatching and nature guide in the southwestern mountains of Sierra de Bahoruco National Park, Efrain is from the beautiful coastal town of Paraiso near Barahona, and is a fluent English speaker who was educated in the U.S. He enjoys showing off the unique and mesmerizing natural beauty of his home region. He has been leading birding and general eco tours for the past 5 years, and previously held a position as a local manger for a well known ecotourism company in the area.
Captain Kiko Vizcaino: Our trusted captain and guide in the area of Bayahibe and Saona Island, Kiko has been driving and fixing boats for the past 20 years and, as a skilled dive master, is a fish in the water. He fluently speaks Spanish, English, French, Italian and German and has worked on several marine conservation projects with manatees and sea turtles for the local environmental NGO “Fundemar”.
*Our team is fully certified in first aid response by the Red Cross, and we are insured as required by the Ministry of Tourism.
We Proudly Work With:
Reservations or more info:
E-mail [email protected] (This is the best way to reach us)
Offices +1-809-567-1852 ; Gustavo Mejia Ricart No.43 Suite 209, Naco, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (Open 9 AM – 5PM US EST, Monday through Friday ; Saturday 9 AM – 2 PM)
Our Spanish website: www.exploradominicana.com