Traveling from Santo Domingo Las Américas International Airport (SDQ) to Bayahibe and La Romana has never been easier. Dominican Shuttles offers safe, convenient, private, and air-conditioned transfers directly to your hotel or residence in Bayahibe and La Romana.
We operate a fleet of comfortable air-conditioned private minivans, full size vans, medium and full size buses to get you from the airport to your destination in a little over 2 hours over safe highways. We firmly believe your vacation starts at the airport and the trip to your hotel should be absolutely stress-free.
Of all the popular tourist destinations on the island, the one which has probably seen the most striking transformation is Bayahibe. 35 years ago this was a sleepy fishing village, with wooden Yollas (fishing boats) bobbing peacefully in the secluded bay. Today, Bayahibe has joined the ranks of most visited tourist hot spots on the island, however it has somehow managed to retain its more intimate and relaxed ambience, with travelers happily mingling with the neighborhood population on the streets, at food carts and at the local colmados (corner grocery stores which, along with the regular grocery fare, will typically sell alcoholic beverages, put out a few plastic chairs, and serve as a friendly hangout for the locals to enjoy a cold beer or to share a bottle of rum amongst cronies). The colmado is a wonderful social Dominican institution found on every second street corner, where one can buy 2 eggs, 3 ounces of sugar, a single cigarette, or an ice cold beer.
While Bayhahibe and neighboring Dominicus Beach now boast 10 international full service resorts, there are also countless small hotels and airbnb’s. Punta Cana, by comparison boasts over 75 resorts, and does not have the ‘fishing village’ feel to it, probably because, unlike Bayahibe, it never was a fishing village, but was created as a conglomeration of resorts. Surprisingly, the authentic past is still an active ingredient in a vacation spent in Bayahibe.
If you’re landing at Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ), our door-to-door La Romana and Bayahibe transfers provide the most comfortable and cost-effective way to travel. The trip takes less than an hour, almost the same time it would take to some of the more outlying resorts in the Punta Cana area. Bayahibe has a much more authentic Dominican feel to it than the Punta Cana area, and Casa de Campo, Located in La Romana is still one of the top resorts in the Caribbean. La Romana is also home to the La Romana Cruise Ship terminal, which continues to steadily grow. This year (2025) 64 luxury cruise ships from s number of different origins included La Romana in their list of visited ports for the high season from January through the end of March.
The closest and therefore most convenient airport for a vacation in Bayahbe, La Romana, and Casa de Campo is La Romana International Airport (LRM). In close proximity to Casa de Campo and La Romana, and only a comfortable 15-20 minute ride to the Bayahibe and Dominicus Beach areas. The original La Romana airport was actually conceived and build as Casa de Campo’s private airport, but with the rapid expansion of Bayahibe and Dominicus Beach tourism, a new modern facility was built and opened in the year 2000.
Known in the Dominican Republic for the best scuba diving and snorkeling sites, Bayahibe is also the set-off point for a number of excursions, most specifically the Saona Island tour, by far the most popular excursion in the country. In 2024 over 800,000 tourists (yes that’s eight hundred thousand!) visited Saona Island, and this year the number is bound to increase. Quite an incredible escalation from 35 years ago when the owners of Dominican Shuttles (not yet in existence at the time) had to charter a local fisherman with a leaky little wooden fishing boat featuring a 3 HP outboard for the wet, choppy 5 hour trip to the island, where we were welcomed by what must have been the entire population of Mano Juan village at the far end of the island. This little anecdote underscores our claim that we at Dominican Shuttles know the Island better than anyone. For your safe, convenient, family oriented and friendly personal transportation anywhere in the island, at very reasonable rates, no company is better equipped than Dominican Shuttles!
But to return to Saona Island, the field next to the Bayahibe fishing harbor from where the excursions depart, used to be where young boys played ‘vitilla’, the typically Dominican street game which is basically baseball played with a plastic water gallon cap and broomsticks, has long given way to progress, and is now a massive asphalted parking lot with ample room for scores of buses, bringing tourists for the Saona Island tour. Most excursions feature a leisurely catamaran ride, fueled with excellent local rum and soft drinks on the way to the island, with a scheduled stop at the ‘piscina natural’ (natural pool) on the way, where you can stand waste deep in the soft warm waters, sipping a drink and taking care not to step on the many sea stars. After a wonderful few hours on the island, with plenty of time to enjoy the tropical sun, white sands and the typically Dominican buffet lunch on the beach, you are ready for a quick exhilarating ride back to Bayahibe on a speed boat.
But Bayahibe is not just the starting point for the Saona adventure, it is a wonderful destination in its own right, with fabulous beaches, access to the neighboring national ‘Parque del Este’ with its caves featuring primitive authentic Taino indian art, as well as great scuba diving and snorkeling, featured on excursions to Catalina Island which is even closer to the Bayahibe coast than Saona Island. Due to its location, Bayahibe’s beaches are lapped by generally calmer seas than other beaches on the island.
NOTE: An additional fact which has become a real advantage recently is that the beaches are almost guaranteed to be completely free of the infamous Sargassum seaweed which has unfortunately plagued so many other beaches in the Caribbean recently.
La Romana was already a tourist destination before Bayahibe was on the tourist map. This was due largely to the fact that world famous Casa de Campo with it’s fabulous hotel and luxurious villas was opened in 1974. Casa de Campo has enjoyed a fantasic worldwide repution, and continues to grow with contruction of new villas under its real estate umbrella … Casa de campo boasts a total area of over 7,000 acres! The world renowned ‘Teeth of the Dog’ golf course on the premises actually opened before the hotel, in 1971. It remains one of the most famous courses in the world largely due to its spectacular oceanfront location.
La Romana grew in terms of tourism largely to cater to the Casa de Campo guests and villa owners, and now boasts numerous cafes, restaurants and smaller hotels. Contributing to its development, an international cruise ship terminal opened in 2002. The number of visiting cruise ships continues to grow and La Romana has become a regular cruise ship stop for Caribbean cruises. Dominican Shuttles services Casa de Campo, as well as offering comfortable and safe transfers for cruise tourists arriving at and departing from the La Romana Cruise Ship Port, who need experienced service to and from Punta Cana, Santo Domingo and La Romana international airports.
For a safe, comfortable, family oriented and reasonably priced way to travel anywhere in the Dominican Republic, Dominican Shuttles has long been a leading option. Having been in business for over 15 years, we know the island like the back of our hand and have built a great reputation for dependability, pleasant safe drivers, and a wonderfully relaxing way to travel to and from the arrival airport of your choice.
Santo Domingo airport (SDQ) → La Romana, Casa de Campo, La Romana Cruise Ship Terminal: Distance: 100 kms Travel time: 1 hr 15 min Santo Domingo airport (SDQ) → Bayahibe: Distance: 120 kms Travel time: 1 hr 30 min
Punta Cana airport (PUJ) → La Romana, Casa de Campo, La Romana Cruise Ship Terminal: Distance: 70 kms Travel time: 50 min Punta Cana airport (PUJ) → Bayahibe: Distance: 70 kms Travel time: 55 min
La Romana airport (LRM) → La Romana, Casa de Campo, La Romana Cruise Ship Terminal: Distance: 5 kms Travel time: 5 min La Romana airport (LRM) → Bayhibe: Distance: 20 kms Travel time: 20 min
A: Yes, all our transfers are private, door to door, with no stops unless requested by you.
A: Yes, all our vehicles are equiped with wifi for your convenience.
A: We monitor all flights for delays or early arrivals. Your driver will be waiting for you when you disembark.
A: if your departing flight is delayed, please let us know as soon as possible and we should be able to accommodate your updated pick-up and get you to the airport on time.
A: Cancellation at least 48 hours before your scheduled service: Full refund Cancellations made within 24 to 48 hours before the scheduled service: 50% refund Cancellation less than 12 hours before the scheduled service: No refund
A: Yes, we offer door to door private transfers to any hotel, airbnb, bed & breakfast, and villa or residence.