Planning a holiday in La Romana or Bayahibe and not knowing how to get from the airport to your resort? This article gets you covered! We are explaining to you all the ways of how you can get from Punta Cana Airport to La Romana, and also from Santo Domingo to La Romana and Bayahibe. The article lists the best options for private transfers, shuttles and taxis between Punta Cana, La Romana, Bayahibe and Santo Domingo and also includes the best transfer options in case you are arriving at La Romana International Airport.
This post is about all the transfers from and to La Romana and Bayahibe.
If you are arriving in the Dominican Republic and want to go elsewhere, check out the following posts:
– Punta Cana Airport Transfers
– Santo Domingo Airport Transfers
From Punta Cana Airport to La Romana and Bayahibe
La Romana and Bayahibe are popular alternatives to Punta Cana – or actually, they can be considered as a part of Punta Cana in the broader sense as it is less than an hour away from Punta Cana International Airport.
The following all-inclusive resorts in La Romana and Bayahibe can be reached by the transfers from Punta Cana Airport to La Romana presented in this article:
For Grand Bahía Principe La Romana and Luxury Bahía Principe Bougainville, separate transfers are needed as you can read further below.
Private transfers from Punta Cana Airport to La Romana
The easiest way in getting from Punta Cana Airport to La Romana is by pre-booking a private transfer. Like this, you avoid being hassled by taxi drivers upon exit from the airport as your private driver is waiting with a sign showing your name right in the exit area. Even though the transfer time is just around an hour, prices are pretty high considering the short time. Still, it is a reasonable option and cheaper than the official taxis. This private transportation option from Punta Cana Airport to La Romana* brings you right to the door of your hotel, it doesn’t matter if you have booked an all-inclusive resort in Bayahibe such as Dreams Dominicus or Hilton La Romana, or an Airbnb or apartment in the La Romana area.
All transfer options in the widget can be booked in both directions. Some also do offer return bookings for both ways. For another option to book the return trip from Punta Cana Airport to La Romanas hotels in one step, you can check out this offer*.
Punta Cana to La Romana Shuttle
If a private transfer to La Romana is too expensive for you, you can book a shuttle from Punta Cana to La Romana. This means that you’re grouped with other passengers heading in the same direction as you. The shuttle usually leaves after a waiting time of not more than 45 minutes, often less. Once at your final destination, you’re usually dropped off right at your hotel, but depending on the other passengers in the La Romana shuttle, additional stops might be necessary along the way.
Those shuttle transfers from Punta Cana to La Romana/Bayahibe are a great option to save money but to still arrive at your destination relatively quickly and without any stress.
Taxi from Punta Cana Airport to La Romana and Bayahibe
Another option is taking a taxi from Punta Cana Airport to La Romana – even though I am not vouching for this option.
Even though taxis are perfectly safe in Punta Cana, they lack service standards and proper manners. The times I have used taxis at the airport, they either wanted to haggle about the price with me (even though fares are set) or they tried to put other passengers in my car as well. When I was denying it, they yelled at me.
Second, taxis in Punta Cana have kind of a monopoly on prices, which they try to defend with all forces. Not the satisfaction of the tourists is their No. 1 goal, it is simply the money. This was underlined impressively by the clashes between taxi drivers and Uber in 2020 and 2021 when the “taxi mafia” even were hitting the cars of Uber drivers with passengers inside on purpose! Check out more about this story in my article about Uber in Punta Cana.
Decide on your own if you want to book a taxi from Punta Cana Airport to La Romana.
Uber from Punta Cana Airport to La Romana
Uber from Punta Cana Airport to La Romana mostly likely won’t work – at least not for the price quoted in the app. The app prices are simply not made for long-distance trips and drivers will decline your request.
Read more in the following articles if you want to gather more information about this topic:
– Uber in Punta Cana
– Punta Cana Airport Transfers
Rental Car from Punta Cana to La Romana and Bayahibe
Another option for getting from Punta Cana Airport to Bayahibe and La Romana is renting a car in Punta Cana. It is a very easy drive to La Romana and Bayahibe. From the airport, you just follow the highway until you see the Bayahibe turnoff. Follow the road for another 15 minutes until your Bayahibe resort.
If heading to La Romana, it is slightly more complicated as you have to enter the city traffic. For both destinations, Bayahibe and La Romana, consider that you have to pay tolls of around 5 USD each way.
More information about if you shall rent a car in the Dominican Republic can be found here.
Public transport from Punta Cana Airport to La Romana
Public transport from Punta Cana to La Romana is theoretically possible – but pretty difficult. Especially if coming from the airport and heading towards Bayahibe it involves three different guaguas, which are Dominican-style busses that are usually pretty cramped and not suitable if traveling with luggage. If you still want to try it, check out the Bayahibe Travel Guide for instructions.
Transfers to Grand Bahía Principe La Romana
If you’re heading to Grand Bahía Principe La Romana (or Luxury Bahía Principe Bougainville), transfers are working slightly differently as this all-inclusive resort is not located in the La Romana/Bayahibe area (even though it is named La Romana). Therefore, you can’t use most of the transportation options from Punta Cana Airport to La Romana mentioned above.
The hotel can be found between San Pedro and La Romana, which is around 30 miles away from where all the other Bayahibe resorts are. This is also the reason why these transfers from Punta Cana Airport to Grand Bahía Principe La Romana and Luxury Bahía Principe Bougainville are usually a bit more expensive.
However, there is even currently a shared shuttle to Grand Bahía Principe La Romana and Luxury Bahía Principe Bougaainville available, which means you can travel pretty affordable from Punta Cana International Airport. Just enter your arrival details at this link to get the quote*.
Hilton La Romana Airport Shuttle
Hilton La Romana is one of the most famous all-inclusive resorts in La Romana, hence the question is often raised if there is a specific Hilton La Romana Airport Shuttle. Yes, there is, which you can book here*, but it is nothing different than the other transfer options mentioned above. When taking any kind of transportation from Punta Cana Airport to Hilton La Romana, this family resort and adults-only hotel (it consists of two sections) is (usually) the first stop on the way anyway.
From Santo Domingo Airport to La Romana and Bayahibe
Also when heading from Santo Domingo Airport to La Romana and Bayahibe, you have different options for getting there. The great thing about La Romana and Bayahibe is that they are nearly right mid-way between the two biggest airports in the Dominican Republic: Punta Cana International Airport and Santo Domingo’s Las Américas International Airport. From Santo Domingo to La Romana it is just 70 minutes and to Bayahibe you can add 15 minutes more.
Airport transfers from Santo Domingo to La Romana and Bayahibe
Airport transfers from Santo Domingo Airport to La Romana are as straightforward as their counterpart services from Punta Cana. Just book your trip (for example with this transfer from SDQ Airport to La Romana*) and enjoy being welcomed at the airport followed by a smooth ride. Transfer time to most Bayahibe resorts is less than 90 minutes.
Santo Domingo to La Romana Shuttle
If you’re traveling alone or would like to save a few bucks, shared airport shuttles from Santo Domingo to La Romana are also available. Those are leaving once the other passengers scheduled for a similar time have arrived, usually with a waiting time of less than an hour. Once you’re traveling with more than 2 persons, a shared shuttle doesn’t have any advantages economically anymore, hence it would be better to book a regular airport transfer from Santo Domingo to La Romana in this case.
Taxi from Santo Domingo Airport to La Romana and Bayahibe
Same as at Punta Canas’ International Airport, airport taxis to La Romana and Bayahibe are also widely available at Santo Domingo’s Las Américas International Airport. The price is around 100-150 USD USD for a trip to Bayahibe even though you have to negotiate (ideally in Spanish) to get the rates on the lower end. I only used airport taxis from the airport to the city and remember that usually some haggling was involved.
Uber from Santo Domingo Airport to La Romana and Bayahibe
Uber is available at Las Américas Airport, but they won’t accept a ride to La Romana and Bayahibe, as the rates from the Uber app are not sustainable for long-distance rides.
Rental Car from Santo Domingo to La Romana and Bayahibe
When you are looking for airport transportation from SDQ to La Romana and Bayahibe, you can also consider renting a car in the Dominican Republic. This particularly gives you much more flexibility during your Bayahibe holiday, when you want to explore the surrounding areas. Driving from Santo Domingo to La Romana is mostly easy as it follows a well-maintained highway, just the first section around Boca Chica is often congested and with some crazy drivers (motorcycles, busses, etc.).
Public transport from SDQ Airport to La Romana
Public transport from airports in the Dominican Republic in general is not that easy – the same applies when trying to get from SDQ Airport to La Romana and Bayahibe by bus. Refer to public transport instructions in the Santo Domingo Airport Transfer Guide if you want to try it, but it is not really convenient. If you’d like to add a night at Santo Domingo’s Colonial Zone it becomes a different story though.
Transfers to Grand Bahía Principe La Romana
Contrary to when coming from Punta Cana, Grand Bahía Principe La Romana is actually on the way for any method of airport transportation from Santo Domingo to La Romana. This being said, you can reserve any airport shuttle or private airport transfer to La Romana/Bayahibe and they will drop you at Grand Bahía Principe La Romana in less than an hour.
However, you can also book a specific airport transfer from Santo Domingos Las Américas Airport (SDQ) just to Grand Bahía Principe La Romana. This might save you a few bucks as it is a shorter drive than all the way to La Romana or Bayahibe.
Hilton La Romana Airport Shuttle
For your Hilton La Romana Airport Shuttle from Santo Domingo, just book any of the options listed in the widget above or enter your transfer details here to get a quote for an airport transfer to Hilton La Romana*.
La Romana Airport Transfers (La Romana International Airport)
Ok, now we have explained everything about how you get from Punta Cana to La Romana and Bayahibe respectively from Santo Domingo. But what if you’re landing at La Romana International Airport? The airport is super close to the La Romana area and Bayahibe but is receiving just very few flights. For 2023, regular flights are only scheduled from Canada, Italy and Russia plus there are a few charters exclusively for cruise ship passengers.
Still, in case you happen to arrive at La Romana Airport for whatever reason, you have the following La Romana Airport transfer options.
La Romana Airport Transfers
La Romana Airport is just 5 miles away from La Romana and 10 miles away from Bayahibe. This is why a La Romana airport transfer is a rather quick and affordable journey. The ride should not need more than 20 minutes. For your destination, you can choose from any hotel in the La Romana area or any Bayahibe all-inclusive resort.
La Romana Airport Taxi
If arriving at La Romana International Airport, taxis will be available.
La Romana Airport Shuttle
If looking for a shared shuttle as a method for your La Romana airport transportation, this is possible as well. Savings are not as big as with the airport shuttles in Punta Cana, but especially when travelling alone, booking a shuttle is a great option to save a few bucks.
La Romana Rental Car
There are rental car companies at La Romana International Airport. Hence, when arriving there you can rent a car, particularly if you’re planning to use it on several days during your Dominican Republic vacation. The drive from La Romana Airport to Bayahibe is very easy, hence renting a car might be an option. You can check out the cheapest rental car options in La Romana here*.
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CHRIS
Author, Travel Coach & Punta Cana based digital nomad
Hey, I am Chris, a born and raised German, travel-addictive and Caribbean Soul. Since 2011 I have been living in the Caribbean, among them 5 years in the Dominican Republic. Punta Cana is my home-base here in the country and I’d love to tell you more about how to experience Punta Cana off-the-beaten-track and give you all the advice you want to know for your vacation in Punta Cana.
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