If you are staying in Punta Cana, you may be interested in visiting Santo Domingo, the first and oldest city built in America by Europeans. the best way is by bus taking the Bávaro Express (Expreso Bávaro). This bus departs from the Bávaro bus station, at the intersection of Friusa on United States Avenue 809-552-1678.
The departure times are:
7:00 am (first bus)
09 am
11am
1 pm
3 pm
4 pm (last bus)
You can also board at the Veron stop along Plaza Colonial 809-455-1473. In this case, the pick-up times are usually half an hour after the original departure time. The price of the ticket is RD $ 400 one way for both adults and children and there is no discount if you buy the return ticket. You can buy tickets at the office just in front of the bus stop, same story in Santo Domingo for the way back. The trip is about 3h40 depending on traffic.
** PLEASE NOTE that very often when entering the city the driver or other men ask who is going to visit the Colonial Zone. This is a trick for tourists. They say that the bus does not go through the Colonial Zone and that the only way to get there is by taking a taxi. That is not true because the bus actually goes to the Colonial Zone. The only reason they do it is because they just want to get some extra money. So they try to let you get off earlier and pressure you to take a taxi (taxi drivers have a deal in this regard) with the excuse that this part of the city is very dangerous. In case this happens, DO NOT GET OFF and stay on the bus until you reach the Chinatown neighbor which is very close to the Colonial Zone and is safe **.
When entering Santo Domingo, the driver is flexible in letting passengers off. The normal stops are in front of the Darío Contreras Hospital on the east side of Santo Domingo, the corner of Calle Josefa Brea and 27 de Febrero and the last stop in Juan Sánchez Ramírez, in front of Máximo Gómez.
Get to Bavaro from Santo Domingo
The bus picks up right off Avenida Máximo Gómez at Juan Sánchez Ramírez # 31 809-682-9670 approximately half a block from the National Supermarket. The departure times are the same as in Bávaro. Before leaving the city, the bus will make one more stop at El Parque Enriquillo on Avenida Duarte. Tickets can also be purchased at this location.
Once the Expreso Bávaro bus arrives in Bávaro, it is no longer an express bus. From the first bus stop in Veron, to its last stop in Friusa, the driver will let the passengers get off wherever they want.
Note:
The Bávaro Express is currently the only express transport between Santo Domingo and Punta Cana. The only other option to travel to Santo Domingo and other western destinations is to take local buses to Higuey and transfer from there.