In the Dominican Republic a guagua is any bus, from the Caribe Tours coach to the minibus that stops on the highway. To travel between cities you will use the scheduled coach. Inside cities there are shared carros publicos, local guaguas and motoconchos. Uber works in Santo Domingo, Santiago and Punta Cana when a driver is available.
Guagua: one word for every bus
Guagua is the Dominican word for bus, with no distinction of size. A Dominican calls the air conditioned coach with a luggage hold that covers 215 km from Santo Domingo to Puerto Plata a guagua, and also the 15 seat minibus that picks people up on every corner. When someone tells you to take the guagua, the question that matters is which one: the scheduled coach that leaves a terminal at a set time, or the local one you flag down with your hand. We use the word the way locals do, but on our routes we always mean the scheduled intercity coach, the one with a terminal, a fixed fare and room for your suitcase.
The scheduled coach: the one that links cities
The intercity bus covers long distances with scheduled departures from a terminal or fixed stop. The main operators are Caribe Tours, Metro and Expreso Bávaro, plus associations such as Asotrapusa in Samana. A typical trip runs from an hour and a half (Puerto Plata to Santiago, 65 km) to 4 hours (Santo Domingo to Puerto Plata, 215 km). They have air conditioning, assigned or numbered seats in many cases and a luggage hold. You buy the ticket at the counter, at the stop or with a booking, and it pays to arrive with a margin. Expreso Bávaro, for example, asks on its website for you to be there 1 hour early. It is the option we recommend to anyone landing without knowing the country.
Local guaguas and association guaguas
The local guagua is a minibus or van running along a road or through a neighbourhood, stopping wherever someone asks. There is usually a conductor at the door calling out the destination. You pay in cash, in pesos, a few dozen pesos for a short city hop and a bit more between towns, such as Sosua or Cabarete to Puerto Plata in a good half hour. Union guaguas sit in between: fixed routes between cities run by a transport association, with a street stop rather than a terminal. Asotrapusa works this way in Santo Domingo. The exact point comes with your booking confirmation.
Carro publico: the shared taxi on a fixed line
A carro publico is an ordinary car, often an old one, that drives along a fixed avenue and picks up passengers on the way until every seat is taken, sometimes four people in the back. You pay a fixed fare in pesos when you get out, far cheaper than a taxi. It is the everyday urban transport of Santo Domingo and Santiago, and you recognise it because it crawls along the kerb while the driver signals to you with his hand. For a new arrival with a suitcase it is not practical: there is no room for luggage and you need to know the line. It works for a short, light trip across town, with small change in your pocket and a clear address to tell the driver.
Motoconcho, Uber and taxi: the first and last mile
The motoconcho is a motorbike taxi: quick, cheap and for short distances. It is the usual transport in towns like Las Terrenas, where the beaches are a few minutes from the centre. With a large suitcase it is not an option. To reach the terminal from the airport or hotel, Uber or an official taxi is the comfortable choice: from Punta Cana airport to the bus stop in Bávaro is about 20 minutes, and from Las Americas to central Santo Domingo 25 to 35. Depending on the driver and the time of day, you may be asked to walk outside the hotel or airport grounds for pickup. If you ask us for assisted booking, from 20 USD per person, we tell you on WhatsApp or email how to get to the exact stop.
