Punta Cana, Dominican Republic: initial impressions
This post shares my findings in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. I spent only 1 night there during my transit to Canada, so haven't explored in detail.
Why transit through Punta Cana, DR?
I had to return to Canada from Peru. I had Canada visa but US Visa has expired. I explored multiple options but all had issues
#1: Return via Bogota, Columbia on Avianca- Indian passport holders will need transit visa even with Canada visa. Visa free transit only if we have US visa
#2: Return via El Salvador: Indian passport holders need to pay 1000 USD + Tax & bank charges as integrity fee to transit through El Salvador- No point paying so much
#3: Direct flight on Air Canada-2x, 3x expensive
#4 Return via Mexico city or Cancun: Was an option, I had flown in via Cancun, so wanted to try a different path on my return
#5 Fly via USA on any of the US based airlines: United, AA can connect you to Toronto via their hubs in USA, but not possible unless you have valid USA visa
#6 Fly via Panama City on COPA: I think I didn't see any viable flight options for my date and destination, you can try.
#7 Fly via Punta Cana on Arajet: This was the cheapest viable option for me (Cabin bags cost extra), so decided to book and try. Dominican Republic I had seen in Fast & Furious movie, so was happy to visit it in person.
Punta Cana experience:
Arajet Experience:
Arajet operates flight to South and North America from its base in Punta Cana. Since Dominican Republic allows Indian passport holders with US, Canada, Schengen visa to enter visa free, Arajet is a viable option to fly between North & south America if you get good flight options. Arajet has lowest size limit for "personal item", so you will end up paying 60-70 USD for cabin bag. Factor this in your pricing. Airline seems fine. For Lima to Punta Cana leg, I got upgraded to business class. Punta Cana to Toronto the aircraft didn't have business class seats. On board food prices reasonable, service no issues, flight was delayed by an hour.
.jpg)
DR Immigration: was smooth, no issues. They do stamp on both entry and exit.
Forex: As I arrived at Punta Cana, I wanted to convert 20 USD into local currency-but currency counter at Punta Cana airport refused, saying minimum is 100 USD. As I was spending only 1 night, 100 USD would be too much for me, so I left without converting. Later found a shop in city to convert 20$.
Hotel was 5 kms away- had originally thought of walking, but after 1 km booked Uber as temperature was hot.
Airport road: Airport Road had tender coconut trees, very impressive. Watch this reel.
Punta Cana has great quantity of high-quality tender coconut, much like India. Each tender coconut sells for 50 to 100 Dominican Republic pesos
Punta Cana city felt standard, nothing unique. Not much focused on tourists, most shops were for locals.
Shared vans, bike taxis and public transport buses can be used for affordable movements- but language will be a problem if you don't know Spanish, -plus they don't appear on google maps, so you have to try your luck with pickup and drop points.
I stayed at this Plaza Corel hotel- was decent- they had breakfast but I couldn't avail it as I had to leave early, they had a nice pool. They quoted a higher price that what was showing in my booking.com confirmation. After some discussion, they agreed for booking.com price.
Food: I got some rice from a shop. Fruits are available easily.
Wanted to go towards the beach area but abandoned plans due to time and lack of affordable transport option.
Uber to airport early morning cost me 2x compared to airport to city previous day.
If situation permits, will plan a multi day visit in future.
Leave a Comment