Citizens of most countries can purchase a tourist card on arrival. See Entry Requirements (http://www.go-dominicanre...)
By plane
The main airports in alphabetical order are:
AZS Samana, also known as "El Catey", located between the towns of Nagua and Samana on the north coast.
EPS Samana, also known as "Aeropuerto Internacional Arroyo Barril" between Sanchez and Samaná
JBQ "La Isabela" airport in Santo Domingo, mainly for domestic flights but also receives some flights from other Caribbean islands
LRM La Romana on the south east coast
POP Puerto Plata, also known as "Gregorio Luperon" on the north coast
PUJ Punta Cana International Airport in the east, the busiest in the country
SDQ Santo Domingo, also known as "Las Americas" on the south coast close to the capital city Santo Domingo
STI Santiago also known as "Cibao International" in Santiago de los Caballeros the country's 2nd largest city.
COZ Constanza, a domestic airport to all dominican destinations.
BRX Barahona, aslo known as "Aeropuerto Internacional MarÃa Montez" this airpot was reopened during the earthquake in Haiti, in order to bring the primary aid to the haitians.
CBJ Cabo Rojo, Pedernales, only for domestic use, located near Cabo Rojo port facility.
You can get flights from Europe via Madrid MAD or Paris CDG. From the US, you can fly from New York, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Philadelphia, San Juan, Atlanta or Charlotte. Most European and Canadian cities have charter flight connections, which operate seasonally.
You will be charged $10 for a tourist card on arrival. This must be paid in US dollars or euros. Local currency, sterling, or other currencies will not be accepted. A departure tax of $20 cash is payable on most charter and some scheduled flights. If you are flying on a US carrier, the departure tax is always included in the taxes when you purchased your ticket, so you will not have to pay anything when leaving.
Taxi fares to nearby hotels are posted just outside the airports.
Taxi from Airport to Santo Domingo Ciudad Colonial: it is about $40. There are no hotel "courtesy shuttles" at airports in the Dominican Republic.
At the airport, you can change your US dollars and euros in Dominican Pesos. Note that you may not be able to exchange back local money to US dollars and euros, so do it before leaving.
By ship
There is a ferry that travels between Mayagüez in Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo in Dominican Republic. The website says the journey takes 12 hours, leaves Puerto Rico on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8PM, and arrives in Dominican Republic at 8AM the next morning.
For prices and bookings, visit the Ferries Del Caribe English website (http://www.ferriesdelcari...).
NOTE: According to an artice on DiarioLibre.com, the ferry service between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic "temporarily" ceased on 15 April 2010 due to a conflict between the company Ferries del Caribe and the administration of the Port of Mayaguez. (http://www.diariolibre.co...)
NOTE: As of March 1, 2011 ferry service has returned, it now sails from Mayagüez and San Juan. Check their website for schedules.
By car
Cars may be rented through Hertz, Avis, Prestige Car Rentals (http://www.punta-cana.us/...) other agencies in Santo Domingo and other major cities. Gasoline, however, is expensive often costing upward of US$5.75/gallon as of March 2011. Some roads, especially in remote areas, are fairly dangerous often without lane divisions and many people tend not to respect oncoming traffic. However, road conditions on most major highways are roughly similar to road conditions in the United States and western Europe. However, potholes and rough spots are not rapidly repaired and drivers must be aware that there are a significant number of rough spots even on some major highways. However, there are a number of very good roads such as DR-1 which is a four lane highway connecting the cities of Santo Domingo and Santiago and can be traveled with no trouble. Highway DR-7 is an excellent toll road opened in late 2008. It goes from just east of Santo Domingo north to near Sanchez. From there, you can go east to the Samana peninsula or west along the northern coast of the DR and costs about US $11.
Probably the biggest challenge that an international visitor to the Dominican Republic will face if he or she chooses to rent a car is not so much dealing with automobile traffic, but rather avoiding accidentally running over pedestrians who cross poorly-lit streets and highways in the evening and nighttime hours. Lack of head/taillights on cars and especially motorcycles is also not unusual and with motorcycles this makes them extremely hard to spot. The best recommendation is not to drive after dusk. Outside of Santo Domingo, the motorbike motoconcho is an extremely common form of travel. If lost, you can hail a motorbike driver motochonchista and ask for directions. You will be taken to your destination by following the bike. A tip is appropriate for such help. Remember that many of these motorbike drivers look upon road rules as only recommendations. However, driving in the Dominican Republic should not be particularly difficult for experienced drivers from North America or Europe.