Guide to the DR
Santo Domingo · --:--
República Dominicana · Example itinerary

5-Day Dominican Republic Itinerary

Beach and capital, the easy way — Punta Cana's sand, then Santo Domingo's history.

✈ PUJ→Punta Cana3 nights→Santo Domingo2 nights→✈ SDQ
Build my own version → See the route

Five days is a first taste of the Dominican Republic, and the trick is not to overreach. Base on one beach, give the capital its due, and skip the rest for next time. This route pairs Punta Cana — direct flights, white sand, easy excursions — with Santo Domingo, the oldest city in the Americas, about two and a half hours west. Fly into one and out of the other and you never double back.

How to read this: it's one good way to spend 5 days, not the only way. We show the shape of each day — the two highlights worth building around. The planner fills in every meal and a night out, adds a budget breakdown, and swaps it all to your pace, budget and taste. For the drives between stops, see our drive-times guide.

✈
Fly into PUJ — Private driver / transfer. Have the ride arranged before you land.
1

Punta Cana

3 nights Base: Bávaro
Full Punta Cana guide →

Frictionless: direct flights, white sand, resorts, golf and easy excursions — the safest, simplest first stop.

Day 1
  • Higüey Basilica & Dominican Countryside Tour — The pilgrimage basilica, a local school and a family home with a real campo lunch — the closest a resort day gets to the actual DR. Book ↗
  • Dominican Coffee, Cacao & Rum Tasting — How chocolate, coffee, cigars and mamajuana are actually made — a small, tasty, low-key afternoon. Book ↗
Day 2
  • Playa Bávaro — The signature palm-and-turquoise strip.
  • Marinarium Marine Park Snorkel Cruise — Snorkel with nurse sharks and rays in a protected natural pool, then float the sandbar. Book ↗
Day 3
  • Playa Macao — The wilder public beach — surfers, fewer resorts, a fried-fish shack or two.
  • Bávaro Parasailing — Up over the turquoise for the aerial view of the whole coast.

Standout tables: Noah Marina · Dolce Italia · SBG Punta Cana

🚗
Punta Cana → Santo Domingo — Private driver / transfer, ~150 min drive..
2

Santo Domingo

2 nights Base: Zona Colonial
Full Santo Domingo guide →

Culture, food and nightlife in one walkable, well-policed core — the best cultural anchor for any trip.

Day 4
  • Catedral Primada de América — The first cathedral in the Americas (1540).
  • Alcázar de Colón — Diego Columbus's palace on Plaza España — the best-preserved Renaissance building in the Americas. Book ↗
Day 5
  • Museo de las Casas Reales — The colonial-era Royal Houses, now a museum of the Spanish period.
  • Fortaleza Ozama — The oldest European military fort in the Americas, with river-and-sea views from the Torre del Homenaje.

Standout tables: Turo · La Cassina · Central Gastronómica

Make this 5-day trip yours

Answer seven quick questions and we'll rebuild this route around your budget, your food, and your pace — with a full day-by-day, a budget breakdown, and booking links.

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