**Update June 2020**
As soon as you arrive to Punta Cana, you’ll feel the heat and humidity on your face. Welcome! You’ve made it! Your vacation can begin!!
First, it’s time to get to your resort.
This experience should be as simple as it sounds, and it will be if you’ve already booked a transfer or you have a tour operator/ transport company waiting for you.
But if you didn’t do this, you’ll need to find a taxi to take you to your destination, and you’ll want to make sure you get the right pricing.
Getting a Taxi at the Airport
The moment you walk outside the airport you will be greeted by taxi drivers offering their services. You will instantly realize that the price for a taxi in Punta Cana is more expensive than New York, London, or even Tokyo. This service is working only for tourists – locals don’t use it.
I would definitely trust all of the taxis when it comes to safety, but not so much when it comes to pricing. From the beginning, they will ask you for more money than they would ask from a Dominican. So bargain!! This is the Dominican Republic, and you should bargain the prices of almost every service offered.
Depending on your resort, the price will be different. The distances in Punta Cana are somewhat large for a small city. There are a few main areas in which your hotel might be located.
If you are staying close to the airport:
– Secrets CapCana
– Sanctuary CapCana
– AlSol Resorts
– The Westin Punta Cana
– Club Med
You shouldn’t pay more than 18-25 dollars for your taxi. A fair price would be 20 USD. You should know that these resorts are very close to the airport.
Resorts a little bit further away, Cabeza de Toro area:
– Dreams Palm Beach
– Catalonia
– Natura Park
The price here should be about 25 USD, but you can expect to pay up to 30 dollars for the service.
In the city center:
– Melia Caribe Tropical
– Paradisus Punta Cana & The Reserve
– Grand Palladium
– Barcelo Palace Deluxe
– Ocean Blue & Sand
– Iberostar Hotels
– Riu Hotels
These hotels are centrally located and the price would be around 30-35 USD for a single journey.
Further away from the airport:
– Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
– Bahia Principe
– Majestic Colonial, Elegance & Mirage
– Royalton Punta Cana
– Splash Memories
– Barcelo Punta Cana
The price for a taxi ride to any of these hotels can go up to 45 USD but we think 35 USD would be a fair price to pay.
Uvero Alto area:
– Dreams Punta Cana Resort & Spa
– Excellence Punta Cana
– Sirenis Punta Cana
– Sensatori Punta Cana
These resorts are far. Feel free to negotiate a fair price, but you can expect to pay 55-70 USD for this journey.
Outside Punta Cana:
– Bayahibe Area: Prices start at around 100 US dollars as this is about an hour away from the airport.
– La Romana: About 130 US dollars for a taxi ride to Bahia Principe La Romana.
– Juan Dolio: This is closer to the capital than it is to Punta Cana, so the prices go up quickly. 150 US dollars is what you can expect to pay.
– Santo Domingo: Somewhere between 150-200 US dollars.
We hope that list will help you get quick and safe to your hotel.
Don’t be shy, just ask different people for the pricing to get to your destination and you will get many different answers.
Welcome to Punta Cana!
