Fly to Puerto Plata Airport IATA: POP. Be prepared to pay $10 for a tourist card. Check it out on the info page pasted on the glass of the tourist tax collection desk. Take a taxi approx US $35 per trip, not per person to Cabarete - approx 20 minutes. Departure is fast and easy, as Puerto Plata airport is very small, but make sure you are there 2 hours before your flight. It is always a good idea to call the airline on the day of your flight to make sure the departure time has not changed.
Another option is to fly into Santiago airport, and take a taxi from there. The taxi ride is about 1.5 hours, and the cost is about $80, but you can divide that by up to 10 passengers. Beware of taxi drivers that want to charge $80 per person. Fare is for trip regardless of number of passengers. If coming at night, ask the driver to drive through Puerto Plata, not on the mountain road too dangerous at night.
Alternatively, from STI Santiago Airport, get to the Caribe Tours bus station in the Jardines neighborhood in Santiago see here for how to get to Santiago city from the airport. Take a bus RD$160 as of 2012 March 15th to Sosua leaves 20 past every hour from early morning till evening, takes 2 hours From Sosua, flag any gua gua heading in the direction of Cabarete RD$25 as of 2012 March 15th guas guas pass by at least once every 10 mins during most of the day, journey takes about 20-25 mins depending on the number of stops the gua gua makes.
Puerto Plata is an expensive airport to fly to. Check your options by flying into or out of Puerto Plata, combining with Santo Domingo or Santiago in your way in or out. The difference in fare is substantial at times. A taxi cab from Santo Domingo could cost you about $150 but you may save several times this amount in your airfare. Trip from Santo Domingo takes about 3.5 hours depending on the time of the day.
