Punta Cana · Santo Domingo · Samaná · the north coast

The Dominican Republic,planned for Americans.

Punta Cana, Santo Domingo, Samaná, the north coast, the mountains and the southwest, explained in miles, US dollars and plain English, with the e-Ticket, the 28% on restaurant bills and the excursion and seaweed rules that trip Americans up. In-depth guides, checked in October 2026.

First trip to the DR The e-Ticket and entry rules How all-inclusives work Punta Cana Santo Domingo Excursions and Saona

Photos: Sunset over the Caribbean from a beach in Punta Cana: CT Cooper, Public domain · The Zona Colonial, the historic center of Santo Domingo: Максим Улитин, CC BY 3.0 · Playa Rincón on the Samaná Peninsula: Danu Widjajanto, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fog over the mountains of the Cordillera Central: siri bl, CC BY 2.0

Punta Cana✦Bávaro✦Cap Cana✦Uvero Alto✦Bayahíbe✦Isla Saona✦La Romana✦Altos de Chavón✦Miches✦Santo Domingo✦Zona Colonial✦Boca Chica✦Juan Dolio✦Samaná✦Los Haitises✦Las Terrenas✦Las Galeras✦Playa Rincón✦Puerto Plata✦Sosúa✦Cabarete✦Río San Juan✦Santiago✦La Vega✦Jarabacoa✦Constanza✦Pico Duarte✦Barahona✦Lago Enriquillo✦Bahía de las Águilas✦Montecristi✦Dajabón✦Punta Cana✦Bávaro✦Cap Cana✦Uvero Alto✦Bayahíbe✦Isla Saona✦La Romana✦Altos de Chavón✦Miches✦Santo Domingo✦Zona Colonial✦Boca Chica✦Juan Dolio✦Samaná✦Los Haitises✦Las Terrenas✦Las Galeras✦Playa Rincón✦Puerto Plata✦Sosúa✦Cabarete✦Río San Juan✦Santiago✦La Vega✦Jarabacoa✦Constanza✦Pico Duarte✦Barahona✦Lago Enriquillo✦Bahía de las Águilas✦Montecristi✦Dajabón✦

Before you book

Nine things every American should know

The planning guide →

Fill in the e-Ticket before you flyThe government’s e-Ticket at eticket.migracion.gob.do is free and rolls the immigration, customs and health forms into one QR code. You need one for the flight in and another for the flight home. Lookalike sites charge $30 to $90 for the same thing.The e-Ticket, step by step

The tourist card is already in your fareThe US$10 tourist card has been collected through airline tickets since April 2018, and the departure tax is in your fare too, so there is nothing to pay at the airport. If anyone asks you for a cash tourist card fee, decline politely and join the immigration line.Entry rules

30 days, then a fee when you leaveUS citizens are admitted as tourists for 30 days. Stay longer and you pay a stay fee to migration before departure passport control, starting at RD$3,500 (about $57). You can also extend online, up to 120 days.Stays and overstay fees

Add 28% to the menu, then tipRestaurant bills add the 18% ITBIS tax and a 10% legal service charge, the ley, so 28% lands on pre-tax menu prices. The service charge is pooled among staff, which is why Dominicans leave an extra 5–10% in cash for good table service.Money and tipping

Do not drink the tap waterNot anywhere in the country, resorts included. Dominicans drink purified water from big refillable jugs called botellones, every hotel room and colmado (corner store) sells bottled water, and ice is fine at established places.Health and water

Book excursions with licensed operatorsBeach sellers offer cheap boat trips and “VIP” Saona days. Some are legitimate, some take a deposit and never show, and some put you on an unlicensed boat. Book through your hotel, a reputable platform or an operator licensed by the Ministry of Tourism (MITUR).Booking excursions safely

Check the sargassum seasonThis brown seaweed drifts in from the Atlantic and is heaviest roughly April or May to September, worst on the east coast. December through March is usually the cleanest period everywhere, and Bayahíbe’s Caribbean side sees less in most years.Sargassum by coast and month

Hurricane season is June to NovemberThe Atlantic season runs June 1 to November 30, busiest from mid-August to mid-October. Most years no hurricane makes landfall here, but passing storms bring floods, closed roads and canceled flights, so read your resort’s hurricane policy before you book.When to go

Skip motoconchos, use Uber in the citiesMotorcycles weave through traffic everywhere and riders account for the largest share of road deaths, so avoid motoconchos (motorcycle taxis) and hire a driver if you are a nervous driver at home. Uber works well in Santo Domingo, Santiago and Punta Cana.Getting around

Ready-made routes

Four classic first trips

Each route links to the guide with the details: where to stay, how to get around and what to book ahead.

8DAYS

Punta Cana and Santo Domingo

DAY 1 Fly into Punta Cana and transfer to Bávaro
DAYS 2–5 Beach days, Saona Island and Hoyo Azul
DAY 6 The toll highway to Santo Domingo
DAY 7 The Zona Colonial
DAY 8 Fly home from SDQ

Read the planning guide → 9DAYS

Santo Domingo and Samaná

DAYS 1–3 The Zona Colonial, Metro and cable car
DAYS 4–6 Las Terrenas, El Limón and Playa Rincón
DAY 7 Los Haitises by boat, or whales in season
DAY 8 Cayo Levantado, then back toward the capital
DAY 9 Fly home from SDQ

Read the Samaná guide → 11DAYS

The north coast to Las Terrenas

DAYS 1–2 Puerto Plata and Fortaleza San Felipe
DAY 3 The 27 Waterfalls of Damajagua
DAYS 4–6 Cabarete, Sosúa and Laguna Gri-Gri
DAYS 7–10 Las Terrenas and the Samaná Peninsula
DAY 11 Fly home

Read the Puerto Plata guide → 8DAYS

Santiago and the mountains

DAYS 1–2 Santiago: Centro León and a cigar factory
DAYS 3–4 Jarabacoa: waterfalls and rafting
DAYS 5–6 Constanza and Valle Nuevo
DAY 7 Down to Santo Domingo
DAY 8 Fly home from SDQ

Read the mountains guide →

Where to go