The Dominican Republic is the second largest island and country after Cuba in the Caribbean Sea. Its green nature, blue sea, beautiful beaches, waterfalls and many other natural beauties impressed me a lot. It is the motherland of Bachata and Merengue dances. The peak of Duarte is 3175 meters high and it is the highest point of Caribbean. We spent 10 days in here and tried to visit as many places as we could. I suggest you visit all the places in my route in a week. While we were travelling we used buses and rental car. Here is some brief information about our route. I hope you enjoy your stay in the Dominican Republic. For more articles like this, you can take a look at my Travel Route Series.
Americas Airport – Santo Domingo
Unless you don’t travel by a cruise ship or a sailing boat, you will probably end up in Las Americas Airport using a flight. It is 32 km far from the capital of the country, Santo Domingo. There is no public transportation between the city center and airport. There are taxi companies at the airport. One way is fixed price and it is 30 USD.
| Route | Distance (Km) | Duration (Taxi) | Duration (Autobus) | Price (RD$) | Price (USD) | Places To See |
| Las Americas Airport- Santo Domingo | 32 | 30 Min. | – | 1350 | 30 | Old Town-Downtown |
Santo Domingo – Salinas (Bani)
If you want to do sandboarding, you should visit Salinas that is the only sand dunes in the Caribbean. You can come here by car which takes approximately one and a half hours. It is 90 km far from Santo Domingo.
| Route | Distance (Km) | Duration (Car) | Duration(Autobus) | Price (RD$) | Price (USD) | Places To See |
| Santo Domingo-Salinas | 90 | 1.5 Hour | – | – | – | Sand Dunes |
Santo Domingo – La Romana
La Romana is 85 km far from Santo Domingo. You can reach here in one hour and fifteen minutes by car or in one hour and 45 minutes by bus. The buses run twice a day. From La Romana you should take a ferry to La Isla Saona where you can spend one day on the white sand of a beach.
| Route | Distance (Km) | Duration (Car) | Duration(Autobus) | Price (RD$) | Price (USD) | Places To See |
| Santo Domingo – La Romana | 85 | 1 Hour 15 Min. | 1 Hour 45 Min. | 200 | 5 | Isla Saona |
La Romana – Punta Cana
Punta Cana is on the eastern part and the most touristic part of the country. It is a holiday resort area which is full of 5 stars hotels. There are also many other resorts in Bavaro area which is 20 km north of Punta Cana. Buses leave from La Romana and they first get to Bavaro then Punta Cana.
There are also express buses from Santo Domingo to Punta Cana. You can enjoy Playa Bavaro, Playa Arena Blanco and Playa Corales.
| Route | Distance (Km) | Duration (Car) | Duration (Autobus) | Price (RD$) | Price (USD) | Places To See |
| La Romana – Punta Cana/Bavaro | 80 | 1 Hour | 1 Hour 45 Min. | 120 to 200 | 3 to 5 | Playa Bavaro, Playa Arena Blanco, Playa Corales |
| Santo Domingo – Punta Cana/Bavaro | 190 | 2 Hour | 3 Hour | 400 | 9 |
Santo Domingo – Samana
Samana is 175 km far from the capital. You can go there by bus in 4.5 hours and by car in 2.5 hours. You can make some daily tours to El Limon, Bacardi Island (Cayo Levantado), Playa Rincon and do some water sports.
| Route | Distance (Km) | Duration (Car) | Duration (Autobus) | Price (RD$) | Price (USD) | Places To See |
| Santo Domingo – Samana | 170 | 2 Hour 30 Min. | 4 Hour 30 Min. | 310 | 7 | El Limon, Bacardi Island, Playa Rincon |
Samana – Las Terrenas
If you want to go to Las Terrenas from Samana, taking a taxi or transfer is the easiest and fastest way. The distance is 40 km and takes 40 minutes. El Limon and Punta Bonita are some of the must-see places.
Santo Domingo – Las Terrenas
You can go to Las Terrenas from Santo Domingo by bus which first stops at the town of Sanches. The ride takes 4 hours. From Sanchez, you should take some local buses or taxis to go to Las Terrenas. The bus price is 310 RD$ which is approximately 7 USD.
| Route | Distance (Km) | Duration (Car) | Duration(Autobus) | Price (RD$) | Price (USD) | Places To See |
| Samana – Las Terrenas | 40 | 40 Min. | – | – | – | El Limon, Punta Bonita |
| Santo Domingo – Las Terrenas | 150 | 2 Hour 30 Min. | 4 Hour | 310 | 7 |
Santo Domingo- Puerto Plata
Puerto Plata is 223 km far from Santo Domingo. The car ride takes 2.5 hours and the bus ride takes 4 hours from Santo Domingo to Puerto Plata. The bus price is 330 RD$ around 7 USD. Sosua is 30 km far and Cabarete is 40 km far from Puerto Plata. In Puerto Plata, you can find some local buses and taxis which go to Cabarete and Sosua.
Cabarete is very popular and famous beach for windsurfers and kite surfers because of its strong wind and waves. You can find many excursions in and around Puerto Plata.
To see more photos of Dominican Republic, visit my Flickr Album.
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