In Punta Cana go on the Don Lucas cigar tour. There is free transportation from all the hotels. It's a 15 minute drive. You drive through the gate of the factory that is guarded by a machine-gun toting guard. The tour is started with a cigar of your choice. You get to meet the rollers who perform all stages of assembling the cigars. Then you tour the aging rooms, both raw tobacco aging and rolled cigars aging. At the end of the tour you enter a large high-end humidor where you can buy Don Lucas cigars and other traditional high-end cigars. No deals to be had, but a nice set-up.
There is also a chocolate factory with samples that is somewhat interesting that includes a show of how to make chocolate.
Lastly they end with a typical tourist trap junk souvenir shop.
I enjoyed the cigar manufactoring tour and I enjoyed the trip to and from that enables you to see some of the area. After the trip, most people decide not to leave the safety of the hotel strip on the beach. Its a different world just outside the strip!