PLAN YOUR TRIP

Flights to the Capital Santo Domingo,  may vary widely depending on season and demand. You can get flights from the US, most European and Canadian cities have charter flight connections, which operate seasonally. Other Airports that also serve international flights include Samana (EPS), Puerto Plata (POP). Punta Cana (PUJ).

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Santo Domingo (447) – Cabarete (173) – Puerto Plata (149) – Santiago (115) – Las Terrenas (315) – Punta Cana (259)

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BEFORE YOU GO

When you are travelling to Dominican Republic with a U.S. Passport, a Tourist Visa is not required.

When you are travelling to Dominican Republic with a Non-US Passport, a Tourist Visa is required.

The cost of the 30-day tourist card which used to have to be paid previously separately, is now included in the airline ticket. All foreign citizens who enter the Dominican Republic, exclusively for tourism purposes, must have a valid passport during their stay and departure from the country. (This exceptional measure is valid until July 31, 2022.)

ONCE YOU ARE THERE

You will be charged US$10 for a tourist card upon arrival. This must be paid in US dollars or local currency. A departure tax of US$20 cash is payable on most charter and some scheduled flights. If you are flying on a US carrier, the departure tax is always included in the taxes when you purchased your ticket, so you will not have to pay anything when leaving.

Options for getting around the country include bus service, ‘gua-guas’ (pronounced “Gwa-Gwas”: small battered vans or trucks that serve as a collective taxi running fixed routes that are very cheap but can also be very overloaded). Most towns and cities have regularly scheduled bus service, if not by one of the big bus companies, then by gua-gua. The bus lines are most often simple, independently run operations, usually only connecting two cities within a region (Southwest, East, North) or between one city and the capital (with stops made for any towns on the route).

Plane : Flights can be a quicker and cheaper way to travel between Dominican Cities.  You can get connecting flights to reach the secondary cities.

Buses : Guaguas are the traditional means of transport in the Dominican Republic. Guaguas will be filled to the brink with people and luggage; expect to squeeze to fit more people who will be picked up en route. If you prefer authentic experience over comfort, traveling by guagua is the right choice.

Guagua comfort can range from air conditioned with leather seats to a bit worn down with open window air breeze cooling. Traveling with guaguas is safe, and tourists are treated friendly and get helped out.

Be aware that guaguas stop operating at dusk. Plan your trip with enough slack that you will be able to catch your last guagua when the sun is still up.

You can also hop on mid way if you know where to stand on the route and gesture the driver; tell the conductor your destination and he’ll tell you where to get off and how to switch guaguas; sometimes you’ll have to ride across town to another bus station.

Prices are modest: RD$100-150 for a 1-2 hour ride. Since most guaguas are minibuses, you might have to stow your luggage on a seat; in this case you might have to pay a fee for the occupied seat. Larger routes get serviced by normal sized buses with a separate storage compartment.

The guagua network is organic and does not require you to go through the capital; you might have to change several times though, as guaguas usually only connect two major cities.

Train : There is a rail system operating only in the city of Santo Domingo.

Driving : If you prefer driving. Renting a car is easy with our booking system. You’ll be able to collect a hire car from all major airports and cities.

Probably the biggest challenge that an international visitor to the Dominican Republic will face if he or she chooses to rent a car is not so much dealing with automobile traffic, but rather avoiding accidentally running over pedestrians who cross poorly-lit streets and highways in the evening and nighttime hours. Lack of head/taillights on cars and especially motorcycles is also not unusual and with motorcycles this makes them extremely hard to spot. The best recommendation is not to drive after dusk. Outside of Santo Domingo, the motorbike (motoconcho) is an extremely common form of travel. If lost, you can hail a motorbike driver (motochonchista) and ask for directions. You will be taken to your destination by following the bike. A tip is appropriate for such help. Remember that many of these motorbike drivers look upon road rules as only recommendations. However, driving in the Dominican Republic should not be particularly difficult for experienced drivers from North America or Europe.

Road conditions on most major highways are roughly similar to road conditions in the United States and western Europe. However, potholes and rough spots are not rapidly repaired and drivers must be aware that there are a significant number of rough spots even on some major highways.

Biking : You can rent bikes at numerous locations, or reserve one prior to your trip

USEFUL INFORMATION

Language: The official language of the Dominican Republic is Spanish. You will find some Spanish-English bilingual locals especially in Santo Domingo and tourist areas. If you speak some Spanish, most Dominicans will try hard to meet you half way and communicate. If you have a problem, you can probably find someone who speaks sufficient English (or probably French and possibly German, Italian or Russian) to help you out. Dominicans are quite friendly and will be quite helpful if you are polite and respectful

Currency: The currency of the Dominican Republic is the Dominican peso denoted by the symbol “$” or “RD$”. Although $ are widely accepted, you can change your US dollars and euros in Dominican pesos, though the rates there are not great. It makes sense to get only as many pesos as necessary there and change more later on at your destination or to withdraw pesos from an ATM with your credit- or debit-card. You may not be able to exchange back Dominican pesos to US dollars and euros in most countries, so do it before leaving.