If you live in the United States or Canada, you’ve most probably heard of Punta Cana— a popular resort town in the Dominican Republic. With its gorgeous white sand beaches and vibrant nightlife, it’s not hard to see why it’s popular. There are many direct flights from many major cities in the US and Canada so it’s easy and convenient to spend a short vacation here. That further increases its appeal. It’s mostly known for all-inclusive resorts, so if you’ve read a couple of my blog entries you may be wondering why I went here. All inclusive resorts definitely do not fit my travel style, nor does it fit my usual travel budget 😂. See, I wanted to visit another place in the Dominican Republic. It turns out flights to Punta Cana were way cheaper compared to flights to the capital Santo Domingo. With the number of direct flights daily to Punta Cana, this shouldn’t have been surprising. After booking my flight, I started researching on the basics— if there are any entry requirements, how to get to the town center from the airport, cheap places to stay, cheap places to eat… then I realized… this may not have been a wise decision after all. Sure, I saved some money on the cheaper flight, but I may end up spending more for food and lodging.

Thankfully, I found ways to cut expenses so staying for a couple of days in Punta Cana wasn’t as expensive as I thought it would be. First off, let’s get the entry requirements out of the way. Citizens from a lot of countries can enter visa free. Substitute visas are even accepted. If you have a USA, Schengen, Canada, Ireland, or UK tourist visa, you can enter the country without a visa too. However, everyone is required to have an eTicket before boarding. You can easily get one from this website:

https://eticket.migracion.gob.do

Do not forget this. You wouldn’t be able to board your flight if you don’t have an eTicket, these are checked before boarding. Don’t worry, it’s free. You just have to fill out a form online, then a QR code will be issued. There’s a USD 10 tourism fee, but if you’re traveling by air it’s already included in the airfare. If you’re traveling by land or sea though, you’d pay this on arrival at the port of entry.

Next, I had to find a place to stay. So apparently it’s not just all- inclusive resorts in Punta Cana. There’s a hostel near Playa Cortecito in Bavaro. Playa Cortecito is a long stretch of white sand beach, and a lot of all-inclusive resorts are here. The hostel isn’t in a beach front location, but the public beach is only about 10 minutes away on foot. There were also cheap places to eat nearby as well as grocery stores. The hostel has kitchen facilities so I was able to cook my own food. The hostel is called Hostel Eco Punta Cana. If you’re not a picky traveler I’d say it’s not bad and the staff were real friendly (though some didn’t speak English at all— better brush up on your Spanish). I found out later from fellow travelers that there are cheap AirBnb listings in the area. There are studio apartments that only cost 50 US Dollars a night— not bad if you want some privacy. So yeah, if you’re traveling on a budget, the area close to Playa Cortecito is the place to stay. There are other locations with cheap lodgings but these are further inland. If you want to stay near the beach, I would recommend staying in this area.

Next thing I had to figure out… how to get to the hostel from the airport. Good news: there’s public transport from the airport. Once you head out, just ignore the numerous taxi drivers and turn right. After the car rental services you’d see a bus stop. Wait for the Tramabapu or Sitrabapu bus. One passes by every 30 minutes or so. One ride only costs 50 Pesos (or 1 US dollar… many establishments and transport options accept US Dollars in Punta Cana though you won’t be getting a good exchange rate). This bus only takes you to Veron though. From Veron you have to take another bus or guagua (mini-van) to where you’ll be staying. This would set you back another 50 – 100 pesos, depending on the distance. If your Spanish is good, you can ask locals which bus or guagua heads to your final destination. In my experience, Dominicans are very friendly and helpful to tourists. If you don’t know Spanish, it would be hard to ask for directions. There are rickshaws too, but again most rickshaw drivers do not speak English. I’ve also been warned that most of them would try to scam you once they learn you’re a tourist. There’s Uber in Punta Cana though, so if you have data you could just take an Uber from Veron. Keep in mind that these guaguas are usually cramped. If you have huge bags with you, you may just annoy the locals. Since this trip was only a short break I only had a small backpack with me so my plan was to take public transport to the hostel.

However… my flight got delayed. I arrived at half past 8PM. It was past 9 PM when i got through immigration. When I asked where the bus stop was, I was told there wouldn’t be any more buses or guaguas running that late (buses only run from 6AM to 8PM). I thought of getting an Uber, but apparently it’s hard (but not impossible) to get one from the airport because taxi drivers were at odds with them (similar to many countries). The taxi drivers started to hound me, but they were asking for 30-40 US dollars. I checked the rate on Uber just before I went outside the airport and it only costs around 800 Pesos to get to the hostel. They were definitely asking for too much. I went to get some cash at the ATM first while I figured out my next move. As I was walking a private driver approached me asking if I needed a ride. He mentioned that he was also an Uber driver. I showed him the rate on Uber and he agreed. Yeah the price difference between an Uber and the guaguas was huge, but it would still be a whole lot cheaper than taking a cab. So if you arrive late and public transport is no longer an option, don’t just hop in a cab. There seem to be a lot of private drivers waiting outside the airport.

If you need a SIM card, sadly they aren’t selling any at the airport in Punta Cana (as of February 2025). I found that odd considering Punta Cana is a very popular tourist destination (they do sell SIM cards at the airport in Santo Domingo though). I managed to get a SIM card the next day. Many small shops in Bavaro sell SIM cards, just ask around. If you plan on taking Ubers around town, then getting a local SIM is essential. eSIMs you say? If you’re traveling on a budget just get a local SIM. All those eSIM plans are ridiculously overpriced. I’d recommend getting a prepaid SIM card from Claro. They have the widest coverage, and since there are lots of Claro shops in the country, it’s easy to top up when you run out of data. I got a SIM with 10GB that’s valid for ten days. I only paid 280 pesos (about USD 4.50) for it. I topped up once and paid 200 pesos (about USD 3) for 7 GB (don’t ask why i was using so much data 🤣).

For stuff to do, you don’t have to break the bank. As I’ve mentioned, Playa Cortecito is a beautiful beach. Although the resorts have certain areas cordoned off, there are still a lot of areas that the public can use— it’s a very long stretch of beach. Some beachfront hotels and bars have sun loungers for rent too. You could easily spend the entire day relaxing at the beach. If you want to do day trips, there are several tour shops at the beach. I’ve seen some snorkeling trips and booze cruises that only cost 25 US dollars per person. As for the nightlife, it can get pretty pricey. The most popular spot is Coco Bongo— and the cheapest tickets cost USD 90! I wasn’t interested in visiting this place anyway. I’m not a fan of acrobatic theme shows.. .that’s not my kind of nightlife. Luckily, there are cheaper options in Bavaro. if you don’t know where to go, ask where the locals hang out at night. They definitely would point you to non touristy places.

Punta Cana is touristy. It does get real crowded. You won’t get to experience much culture here. Still, it’s undeniably beautiful. And now that I know that I don’t have to spend a lot of money to visit this place, it’s one place I wouldn’t mind visiting again for some R & R.