Santa Domingo was the first of the settled cities in the Dominican Republic. Discovered by Columbus in 1475 I believe, the city has grown alongside the river and is a bustling mix of tourism and poverty.
The arranged tour from the hotel was well-planned apart from the visit to the local flea market at the end of the day (more on that later).
The visit starts with a 2 hour bus ride from the resort along the Southern Coast taking in La Romana and San Pedro en-route. The tour guide (Norman) was a wealth of facts and figures and answered all questions knowledgeably. The resort runs tours in different languages on different days so you can usually find one that you can understand.
The tour included cultural, religious and tourist elements, culminating in the visit to the seedier part of town to spend an hour at the "best flea market in the Caribbean." If you like being hassled at every step, being crowded on all sides and having to haggle for every purchase then this is the place for you. For most of the group it was too much to takle on a hot day and we escaped back to the a/c on the bus.
Overall the day was enjoyable but long (11 hours in total - 4 spent travelling) and gave a very broad perspective on life on the island. Well worth the $40.