tainopark

We travelled around DR with our 5 kids aged between 1 and 8 years old. Tainopark was one of my favorite place that we visited. It is very informative and interesting. You walk around 25 displays depicting the everyday life of the Tainos and the arrival of Christopher Columbus. The kids enjoyed it and so did the parents. Well worth paying the entry fees.

We were not sure if we wanted to do this but we were really glad that we did. It was a very informative and comfortable display

This was easily the most interesting place we visited in the DR. While listening to the history on ipods (which came in 5 different languages) while walking in the park from station to station we learned more than we had in the previous few years visiting museums and touring the island. The people were friendly and the presentation was wonderful considering the climate. The depictions of early life were illuminating and the history frank and candid. It takes about an hour and then you can browse the artifacts at the end. The snack bar and gift shop were just what we needed at the end.

Taino Park is apparently the biggest historical park in the Caribbean and is set in a sort of reconstructed Taino Indian village. You walk round the display of some 25 "scenes" depicting the story of these indigenous people's everyday life until the famous Christopher Columbus "discovered" the island and the subsequent conflict with the Spanish Conquistadors after which the natives were wiped out.As you walk around, you have an excellent hand held audio commentary which is so well done that you don't need to keep pausing it as it allows you plenty of time to take in each scene before walking the 100 yards or so to the next scene.The "walk" itself is undercover although the exhibits are out in the open. One reviewer stated that the scenes are "plastic" (I am sure it is all slightly more hi-tech than that) but as it obviously has to be "all weather" I am not sure what he expected them to use! Don't let that comment put you off because, to me, everything looked very authentic and the "village" itself is made of completely natural materials amongst lush vegetation, flowers and trees.At the end of the walk there is an archaeological exhibition which has an array of pottery, bones, wood etc. There is a café and souvenir shop both incorporated into the "village" so blend in well. Just a word of warning, much stuff in the souvenir shop is not priced so if you look in any way affluent you may pay well over the odds for things you can get elsewhere far cheaper - the voice of experience speaks on this!!There seem to be plans to add to and extend this attraction and I would definitely recommend this well thought out, well executed attraction if you are the sort of person who likes to learn something about their holiday destination without just walking round museums!

Tells the story very frankly about the natives and what they suffered through with the landing of Christopher Columbus. He was not the nicest man. This presentation almost makes you wonder why we celebrate Columbus Day. Did he really "discover" the New World? If he discovered it, why was there already natives there? We did this as part of an excursion from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.

Taino Park is a surprisingly professional, first-class destination. Unlike historical accounts told from proud, patriotic standpoints, Taino Park includes the ugly reality of what happened to the native population after Europeans first arrived in the Caribbean. As one government-published guide states, "No judgment is passed; this is history as it happened." Several of the 25 dioramas are quite graphic, such as the one of a Spaniard lancing a Taino clean through the chest. Each of the life-size, fiberglass sculptures is a work of art; the costumes are amazing. The bar / snack shop was just what we needed to refresh and recharge after the hour-long tour. I arrived thinking this would be just another cheesy, roadside attraction -- not at all! We were pleasantly surprised, quite impressed, actually. Well done!

it was very good and the only place we understood the history of taino. there are alot of languages you can choose in your earphones: english, russian, france.

Went here because it was included in a tour of Las Haitisis (which was awesome). It is a pretty basic museum, and you walk through it with a headset on as they tell you the history of the indigenous peoples of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. It isn't anything fun to look at, but the history is interesting. So if you aren't in to this type of thing I recommend skipping it.

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I wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised about how amazing this was. Someone here said they've studied Dominican history and the info was wrong--well I too have studied it extensively and found this to be pretty accurate. It is well organized and much more entertaining than your average museum. Great place to go after a trip to the beach. It truly is a must see. NOTE: I do recommend you take mosquito repellent; it may have been because it was rainy season when I went but I wish I had brought some with me.

I recommended to visit the Taino park Samana while you are in Dominican Republic. I learned the native Taino history and Spanish outpost in steady of being only from Californian Missions. The free ipod language guide was helpful. The museum was an outdoor exhibits with covered walkways. You could visit online by : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxDBNPblLlI

Sorry you didn't appreciate the audio guide commentary done by famous historical poeple in RD Sometimes history tells us things we prefer not to know about the past

If you visit Los Haitises add this Park to your tour. It has recreations of the native population that was systematically exterminated by the Spaniards. A history of genocide generally unknown to most of us; all in the name of God.It is not gruesome but tells some sad stories. Stories that are worth hearing.

We did Taino Park as part of a day trip with Los Haitises. I found the ipod language guides nice and the history lesson educational, but the dioramas were pretty bad. The museum at the end was nice though. The cafe in the park was horrible.

Life-sized dioramas depicting the Taino culture, the few Spanish who tried to protect it and the Spanish conquerors who destroyed it through attacks, disease, slavery, etc. Audio programs in a variety of languages tell the story. (The only drawback is that you can't stop the program to spend extra time at each display.) Wonderful museum with artifacts from Taino culture that also recall African and Northwest American and Canadian tribal culture. This park was recommended to me by a specialist in Taino culture.