Bus Travel

Public buses (known as guaguas) service Punta Cana and Bávaro, but it's not easy to coordinate travel from point to point. Schedules are sporadic, with buses about once every half-hour, and stops are not always clearly marked (it's best to tell the driver where you want to get off). But for 35 pesos (about $1) it is possible to get from the hotels to stops within walking distance of popular shopping centers and restaurants. Note that it may be a long walk from your room to your resort's main entrance, along the road where the buses stop.

Traumabapu buses (playeros) run along the beaches where the resorts are located until about 7 pm. Sitrabapu buses run on the Punta Cana/Bávaro-Higüey routes until 10:30 pm; from Friusa/Bávaro, you can travel to Higüey for 110 pesos (about $3).

To get to Punta Cana from Santo Domingo, Expreso Bávaro buses depart from the Sitrabapu-Sichoprola terminal on Calle Juan Sanchez Ramirez, near the intersection with Avenida Máximo Gómez. The buses have air-conditioning and the price is right (325 pesos, about $9, for a four-hour trip). If you're going to one of the Punta Cana resorts, you get off at the Friusa/Bávaro stop and take a cab from the taxi stand.