Skip to content
Prices and rules verified October 2026 · US$1 = RD$61Santo Domingo timeContact
BLUE PASSPORTTravel · Dominican RepublicDominican Republic
Plan with us

Trip Builder

Tell us how long you have, when you're going and what you love. The builder lays out a realistic day-by-day route through the Dominican Republic, from Santo Domingo's colonial city and a Punta Cana resort week to Samaná's whales, the north coast, the mountains and the southwest, with travel times and links to every destination's guide. Save it, share it or print it.

Verified October 2026
9 days
Leave it on best match, or pick a route.
What do you love? Pick any
Pace
Getting around

Ask us to plan it

Your saved trips

Kept in this browser only

    No saved trips yet. Build a route above, give it a name and choose “Save this trip”. It will wait here the next time you visit on this device.

    How the builder plans your route

    The Dominican Republic is about the size of Vermont and New Hampshire combined, and most places Americans visit are within four hours of Santo Domingo by road. Distances are short, but every change of hotel still costs about half a day of packing, transfers and check-in, so good trips stay at least two nights in each place and give a beach resort five or more. The builder compares eight routes (the east from Santo Domingo through La Romana and Bayahíbe to Punta Cana; a beach week from Punta Cana with Bayahíbe and Miches; Santo Domingo with Samaná and Las Terrenas; the north coast from Puerto Plata through Cabarete to Las Terrenas; Santiago with Jarabacoa and Constanza; Santiago, Montecristi and the north coast; the southwest from Santo Domingo to Barahona and Pedernales; and a two-week loop through the capital, the mountains, the north coast and Samaná), picks the one that best fits your interests and travel month, and gives each stop enough nights to be worth the move. It flags places that are much easier with a car, whale and Carnival dates, hurricane and sargassum months, and holiday weeks when Dominicans fill the beaches and mountains.

    Day 1 is your arrival day, so plan a light first afternoon. Your flight home comes after the last day shown; arrive at the airport three hours before a US flight, since there is no US preclearance in the country. Travel times come from our getting around and driving guides and the destination pages, and assume light traffic: buses take 15 to 45 minutes longer, and rush hour around Santo Domingo can add an hour. Caribe Tours and Metro Tours coaches link the capital with Santiago, Puerto Plata, Sosúa, Samaná, Las Terrenas, Jarabacoa, Barahona and Montecristi, and Expreso Bávaro runs between Santo Domingo and Punta Cana.

    Saving and sharing

    “Save this trip” keeps the plan in this browser, so it's here when you come back. “Copy share link” makes a link that opens this exact plan for anyone you send it to. “Ask us to plan it” sends the route to our planning form so we can turn it into a booked trip.

    Insider tip

    The country has six international airports: Punta Cana (PUJ), Santo Domingo (SDQ), Puerto Plata (POP), Santiago (STI), La Romana (LRM) and Samaná El Catey (AZS). If your route ends far from where it started, price an open-jaw ticket (the airlines call it “multi-city”): into Santo Domingo and home from Punta Cana, or into Santiago and home from Puerto Plata or Santo Domingo. La Romana's only US nonstops go to Miami and El Catey has none, so most Bayahíbe and Samaná trips start and end at PUJ or SDQ. See flights.

    Different from home

    Rental counters accept your US license with your passport, and the main highways are good, but Dominican traffic is assertive, motorcycles weave everywhere, and rural roads at night hide unlit trucks, livestock and potholes. If you choose “Happy to rent a car”, pick it up as you leave Santo Domingo rather than for your days in the city, drive between regions only in daylight, carry RD$100 and RD$200 notes for the tolls, and buy the rental company's supplemental liability cover, which US credit cards never include. If you would rather not drive, a private driver costs less than many people assume. See driving in the Dominican Republic.

    Watch out

    Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, most active from mid-August to mid-October. Buy travel insurance when you book, not when a storm appears, and check the National Hurricane Center before long road trips. Semana Santa (March 21–28, 2027) is the country's biggest vacation week: book beach and mountain stays months ahead and avoid driving out of the capital on the first and last days. Skip motoconchos (motorcycle taxis), whatever the route.

    Next steps: price it with the budget calculator, check buses and drive times in getting around, see when to go for hurricanes, sargassum and the whale season, and read the entry requirements for the e-Ticket before you fly. For a resort week, compare the all-inclusives; on a family visit, start with Dominican-American roots.