How to Get to Cabarete from the Airport

airport transport to Cabarete

Arriving at the airport in a new country can be pretty stressful, especially if you don’t speak the language and have no idea what’s going on.

Fortunately, Cabarete is just 20 minutes away from the nearest major airport in Puerto Plata (POP).

If you fly into POP, we can arrange a taxi to pick you up, and you could be sipping pineapple juice on the beach within a couple of hours of touching down in the Caribbean.

Annoyingly, flights into Puerto Plata tend to be more expensive than into the other three Dominican airports. So, your journey to Cabarete might be a little more complicated once you arrive in the country.

But, don’t worry, I promise it’s worth it when you do make it to the beach.

Here’s how to get to Cabarete from the four major airports that have regular international flights from North America and Europe: Puerto Plata Gregorio Luperon (POP), Santiago Cibao International (STI), Las Americas Santo Domingo (SDQ), and Punta Cana International (PUJ).

Puerto Plata (POP)

There are two main options from Puerto Plata: taxi or bus.

The taxi is a 20-minute ride away and will cost you around US $35, or a bit less if you manage to haggle it down. Always agree a price with the driver before getting into the taxi.

Taking the bus is cheaper, but requires a bit of taxi hopping, which is perhaps not ideal if you have loads of luggage, or are getting in late at night. Your choice.

The bus from Puerto Plata to Sosua will cost you around 35RD a seat, that’s less than a dollar. You have to take a taxi from the airport into the city to get to the bus depot (25 mins) and then on the other end a taxi or guagua from Sosua to Cabarete (15 mins).

The main national bus companies are Caribe Tours and Metro, both have stations in Puerto Plata. Go to their websites to check the bus schedules.

The buses are pretty nice: clean, air conditioned (pack a sweater!), and they even have toilets. Score!

Santiago Cibao International (STI)

STI airport is nearby to the DR’s second largest city, Santiago de los Caballeros, known simply as Santiago.

A taxi ride from Santiago to Cabarete will take around an hour and forty-five minutes, and will cost you US $85-100.

Santiago does have Uber, so you can check that out as an option. But, as Cabarete does not have Uber, the driver will not be able to charge for his journey back to Santiago, so he might charge a bit more than the app says. You can still get a good deal, though.

You can also take a 2-hour bus trip from Santiago to Sosua, which costs around 100RD (US $2). Again, there will be a taxi or guagua on either side so will take around 3 hours total, but it does work out a lot cheaper. From Sosua you take a guagua or taxi, it’s only 15 min away from Cabarete.

Taxis right at the airport will always charge a lot more, so consider walking out of the airport to grab a cheaper taxi from the street.

Las Americas Santo Domingo (SDQ)

The taxi journey from the DR’s capital city will take 4 hours and will set you back around US $200. Could be worth it if you find a really good deal on flights. But it is long.

The bus ride, again with Metro or Caribe Express, from Santo Domingo to Sosua takes 4- 5 hours and costs 400RD (US $8). From Sosua you can hop again in another taxi or guagua. Please also note that the bus stops in Santo Domingo are not directly at the. You have to take a taxi from the airport to either bus depot in Santo Domingo (US $25, about 30 min.).

The taxis or guaguas on either end will add up, both in time and money, but it’ll be much, much cheaper than the taxi.

Punta Cana International (PUJ)

This is a really long journey. I know Punta Cana looks a bit like Puerto Plata, they both start with a ‘P’, but they are on opposite ends of the country. Triple and quadruple-check your booking to Puerto Plata, if that’s your intention.

Flights are getting cheaper into Punta Cana because of the touristy development that’s going on there. Make sure it’s really worth it to trek into Cabarete from Punta Cana.

The taxi ride will take 5 and a half hours and will cost around US $400.

It’s at least a 9-hour trip on the bus. Take a taxi from the airport to Bavaro Express Terminal, which is at the Friusa crossing in Bavaro.

The 3-hour Bavaro Express bus will take you to Parque Enriquillo in Santo Domingo (400RD), where you need to taxi to the Caribe Tours or Metro terminal. Catching another 5-hour ride to Sosua will cost around 330RD.

A final 15-minute taxi or slightly longer guagua will bring you into Cabarete.

It’s real long.

Bon voyage!

If you have any concerns or questions about getting to Cabarete from any of the Dominican international airports, please feel free to contact us.

The eXtreme team at reception are pros at this and will organise your transport for you, just let them know your flight details.

For info on getting around Cabarete when you’re here, check out this Motoconchos, Carritos and Guaguas post.