Flights and Airports

Six airports, one decision

Pick your airport by where you are staying. A road transfer of two or three hours eats most of a vacation day and often costs more than the fare difference. Punta Cana has by far the most flights from the US, Santo Domingo is the hub for the capital and the diaspora, and the north coast has two airports of its own.

Nonstops to Punta Cana (PUJ)

Punta Cana is the busiest airport in the Caribbean and gets nonstops from more than 30 US cities in peak season. Routes marked seasonal usually run in winter and spring; check the airline's schedule for your dates.

Arajet is the Dominican low-cost airline, based in Santo Domingo, and has added US routes quickly. Like Frontier and Breeze, it sells a bare fare and charges for bags and seats, so compare the total. Southwest now charges for checked bags and assigns seats, so it is no longer the automatic bargain it was for families. Spirit Airlines stopped flying on May 2, 2026 and is being liquidated, so ignore any old Spirit routes that still show up in search results.

Nonstops to Santo Domingo (SDQ)

Las Américas serves the capital and much of the Dominican diaspora, so routes favor New York, New Jersey, Boston, Florida and Philadelphia.

A new terminal at Las Américas has been under construction since June 2025, with completion planned for the end of 2028. Expect some construction detours, and allow extra time.

Nonstops to Santiago (STI) and Puerto Plata (POP)

Santiago

Cibao International serves Santiago, the country's second city, and the Cibao valley. Most passengers are Dominican Americans visiting family, so flights fill up around Christmas, Easter and summer.

• JetBlue: Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and San Juan, and its schedule has long included New York JFK; check jetblue.com for your dates.
• Delta: New York JFK.
• American: Miami, and seasonal Philadelphia (four flights a week in spring and summer 2026, through early September).
• Frontier: seasonal Philadelphia.

Puerto Plata

Gregorio Luperón sits on the north coast between Puerto Plata and Sosúa and is the airport for Playa Dorada, Sosúa, Cabarete and the cruise ports of Amber Cove and Taíno Bay.

• American: Miami, and seasonal Charlotte.
• Delta: Atlanta.
• JetBlue: New York JFK, and Boston in some seasons.
• United: Newark.

La Romana (LRM) and Samaná (AZS)

La Romana, the small airport next to Casa de Campo, built to look like an old sugar mill, has US nonstops to Miami on American and on RED Air, a Dominican airline. Everyone else flies to Punta Cana, about 45 minutes to 1 hour by toll road from La Romana and Bayahíbe, or to Santo Domingo, about 1 hour 15 minutes away.

Samaná El Catey has no US nonstops; its flights come from Canada and France. Americans heading for Samaná or Las Terrenas usually fly to Santo Domingo and drive about 2 hours on the Samaná highway (a toll road), or connect through a Canadian city in winter. Small charter operators fly air taxis to the airstrip at El Portillo near Las Terrenas; see getting around.

How long the flight takes

Approximate nonstop flight times to Punta Cana; Santo Domingo is within a few minutes of these, and Santiago and Puerto Plata are 10–20 minutes shorter from the Northeast. Flights home are usually 20–40 minutes longer against the wind.

From the West Coast there are no nonstops; the usual connections are through Miami, Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Charlotte, New York or Newark, for a total of 8–11 hours.

Booking smart

• Book early for peak dates. Christmas through early January, Presidents' Day week, spring break, Semana Santa and July–August fill with resort vacationers and Dominican families. Book three to four months ahead for those weeks.
• Fly in on a weekday if you can. Saturday is changeover day at many resorts, and PUJ immigration lines are often at their longest around midday.
• Consider an open jaw. Flying into Punta Cana and home from Santo Domingo, or into Santo Domingo and out of Puerto Plata, saves a long backtrack on a multi-region trip. See the routes on the planning page.
• Package deals bundling flight, resort and transfers can be good value for all-inclusive trips, especially in shoulder season. Compare the room category carefully.
• Your fare already includes the tourist card and Dominican airport and departure taxes. You do not pay anything at the airport unless you overstay. See entry rules.
• Hurricane season runs June through November. Airlines usually publish free-change waivers when a named storm threatens, and travel insurance is wise for August through October trips. See when to go.

Arriving

Fill in the free e-Ticket online before you fly and keep the QR code on your phone; you show it at check-in and on arrival. Then it is immigration, baggage claim and customs, where bags usually go through a scanner. Punta Cana has automated passport gates that many US passport holders can use. The entry page explains the e-Ticket, the 30-day stay and customs allowances.

At Punta Cana's Terminal A, older and smaller, you may walk across the tarmac and climb stairs, so pack carry-ons you can lift. Terminal B has jet bridges.

Getting from the airport to your hotel

Punta Cana (PUJ)

Your options are a resort or pre-booked private transfer, a shared shuttle, an official airport taxi or Uber.

• Official taxis wait outside both terminals and charge fixed fares by zone, per car rather than per person. In 2026 the posted fares were about $30 to Cap Cana, $30–40 to Bávaro and about $70 to Uvero Alto. Confirm the fare before you get in, and pay in dollars or pesos.
• Uber works at PUJ, with designated pickup areas at both terminals. Connect to the free airport Wi-Fi, order in the app and follow its directions to the pickup point, which may be a short walk from the exit. In January 2026, UberX was around $16 to Bávaro, $15 to Cap Cana and $30 to Uvero Alto, including an airport surcharge, and prices rise with demand. Drivers occasionally cancel; have a backup plan. Do not accept rides from people approaching you inside the terminal.
• Shared shuttles are cheap per person but stop at several resorts, so a ride to the far end of Bávaro or Uvero Alto can take an hour or more.
• Private transfers booked through your resort or a transfer company meet you with a name sign. They cost more than a taxi for two, but they are worth it for families with car seats or for late arrivals.

Santo Domingo (SDQ)

The drive to the Zona Colonial takes 30–40 minutes on the Las Américas expressway (a toll road), longer at rush hour. Airport taxis charge fixed fares posted at the taxi desk; confirm before you set off. Since June 2025 Uber has had signed pickup areas just outside the terminal, one for Uber Select and one for UberX, Comfort and XL, and some licensed tourist taxis now take rides through Uber Select. The Santo Domingo page covers getting around the city.

Santiago, Puerto Plata, La Romana and Samaná

The smaller airports have taxi stands with fixed fares, and many hotels arrange pickups. Uber coverage is good in Santiago and Puerto Plata, thinner at La Romana and Samaná. For Cabarete and Las Terrenas, arrange a pickup through your hotel or a transfer company. If you are renting a car, all six airports have rental desks; see driving.

Flying home

1. Complete the departure part of the e-Ticket online before you go to the airport. See entry rules.
2. Leave your resort with time to spare. Punta Cana airport asks passengers on US flights to arrive at least 3 hours before departure, because of extra security screening.
3. Check in, go through emigration (show your passport and e-Ticket) and security.
4. If you overstayed your permitted time, pay the overstay fee at the airport before emigration.
5. Expect a second bag check at the gate for US-bound flights. Finish drinks before boarding and keep any duty-free liquids in their sealed bag with the receipt.

Is there US preclearance?

No. As of October 2026 there is no US Customs and Border Protection preclearance anywhere in the Dominican Republic. A preclearance station at Punta Cana has been planned on and off since the late 2000s, and the two governments negotiated an agreement, but it has been stalled for years in Dominican politics and constitutional review. The Caribbean preclearance airports are in the Bahamas, Bermuda and Aruba.

What this means for you: you clear US immigration and customs at your first US airport. Allow at least 2 hours, ideally 2 hours 30 minutes, to connect at Miami, JFK, Newark, Atlanta, Charlotte or Houston, since you collect your checked bags, clear customs, recheck them and go back through security.

• Global Entry makes US arrival far quicker if you travel abroad more than once a year.
• Mobile Passport Control, CBP's free app, gives a faster line at many US airports for those without Global Entry.
• Declare all food. Most fresh fruit, meats and plants from the Dominican Republic are not allowed into the US.

Airport lounges

Punta Cana has the most choice. Its VIP Lounge is a separate building with its own check-in, immigration and a pool facing the runway, sold as a service. Rates listed in October 2026 were US$200 per guest for departures for one or two people (US$175 each for three or more) and US$100 per guest for arrivals (US$85 each for three or more), plus 18% tax. Book by email with the airport, which says it replies within three business days.

Inside both PUJ terminals and at Santo Domingo there are pay-per-visit lounges, several of which accept Priority Pass and similar memberships that come with some premium credit cards. Santo Domingo's Terminal B has a Copa Club. Do not count on finding an Admirals Club, Sky Club or United Club at Dominican airports; check your lounge program's app for current access and hours.

Flying within the country

Scheduled domestic flights are limited, because the toll highways have made road travel fast between most regions: Santo Domingo to Punta Cana is about 2 hours 30 minutes, and to Samaná about 2 hours. Small charter and air-taxi companies fly between the main airports and airstrips such as El Portillo near Las Terrenas. They are useful for tight schedules and priced per plane. The getting around page compares buses, cars and air taxis.