Travel

Travel Note

Why Punta Cana, DR?

Nicole was born and raised in the Dominican Republic, and while Gio was born in Miami (with Nicaraguan heritage), he has also fallen in love with Punta Cana. After all these years, he's basically an honorary Dominican. 😁🇩🇴 We are excited to share our paradise island with you as well.

Flight

Punta Cana International Airport

We recommend that you fly into the Punta Cana Airport. The hotel we are staying at is 6 minutes from the airport by car.

Travel Note

Passport & Visa Requirements

If you're coming from the U.S., you'll need a valid passport to enter the Dominican Republic. You do not need a visa if you're staying less than 30 days. There is a $10 tourist card that is typically incorporated into your airfare. And once you purchase your flights, you'll get info from your airline on how to fill out the e-ticket required for entry and exit. You can find more info & travel requirements in the website listed here.

Travel Note

When to Arrive

With our wedding being on Friday, we recommend arriving Thursday morning or Wednesday night, depending on flight availability from your city. After that, we will have the whole weekend to enjoy Punta Cana! We recommend leaving on Monday to take advantage of the long weekend. We will share our plans for activities/events as we get closer to the wedding.

Hotel

The Westin Puntacana Resort & Club

We will be staying at The Westin Puntacana Resort & Club and we'd love for you guys to stay here as well. Please click on the link below to book with our group rate. The group rate includes breakfast. The hotel isn't all inclusive, but they offer an all inclusive drinks/meal plan for $165 + tax per person, per day. If you are interested in the meal plan, or if you would like a more premium room or different dates, please email reservationswestin@puntacana.com and say that you're with Nicole & Gio's wedding and they can assist you with the request. IMPORTANT NOTE: The room block will be available until April 21st, so please plan to make your reservations before then if you'd like to stay with us and get the discounted rate.

Hotel

Four Points by Sheraton Puntacana Village

A more affordable hotel option is the Four Points by Sheraton. The Four Points does not have direct beach access and it’s located in the middle of the town near the airport, but there's a free shuttle that will take you to the beach. So knowing that, if you want a true vacation/beach weekend, we highly recommend staying at The Westin. IMPORTANT NOTE: The room blocks for both hotels will be available until April 21st, so please plan to make your reservations before then if you'd like to get the discounted rate.

Travel Note

More about Puntacana Resort & Club

Our hotel and venue are located inside Puntacana Resort, a secure, private area of Punta Cana known for its luxury accommodations, top-notch golf course and beautiful beaches. It has gated security and is considered a "high end" area with high safety standards. To give you a better idea of Puntacana Resort & Club, please see the map linked below. For reference, #7 on the map is our venue and #8 is our hotel. You can also visit www.puntacana.com for more info on the resort.

Travel Note

Other Hotel Options

We recommend that you stay inside the Puntacana resort for convenience, at either The Westin or the Four Points by Sheraton. However, if you'd like another option, we recommend the Secrets Cap Cana, a luxury all-inclusive resort located inside Cap Cana, another gated community about 15 minutes away from Puntacana Resort. The Secrets Cap Cana resort is at a higher price point than The Westin but it is truly amazing.

Travel Note

Currency & Tipping

The official currency of the DR is the Dominican Peso. The average conversion is 1 U.S. dollar = 60 DR pesos. So if you see a bill for RD$1000, that converts to approximately US$16. Almost everywhere you go will accept credit cards or cash (dollars), so it’s not super necessary to exchange money. If you have a travel credit card with no international fees, that works great. In terms of prices, the Puntacana Resort & Club is pretty Americanized, so you can expect U.S. prices at restaurants and bars inside the resort. Going out to the town is much cheaper and some good options as well, but you’ll need a car or Uber to get there. Tipping is encouraged (and expected) in the D.R. Almost everywhere inside the resort will already include a 10% gratuity, so there’s no need to add more. In places that don’t include it, 10-15% tip is customary. Additionally, have cash on hand to tip the bell hops, bartenders & drivers. Usually a few dollars will suffice for that.

Travel Note

Transportation

You won't need a car for the weekend's events if you are staying inside the Puntacana Resort. We recommend taking a shuttle from the airport to The Westin. The Westin is next door to our venue, so guests will be able to take a short walk or shuttle over. If you’d like to go into town and explore more of Punta Cana, then we would recommend getting a rental car. Uber is also an available option here.

Travel Note

Safety

While we are staying in a very safe, private area of Punta Cana, please remember that we're still in a foreign country. As with any travel, we recommend staying aware of your surroundings, using hotel-provided transportation and guides when exploring, and always safeguarding your valuables.