Latin America: Copa Airlines (Panama City), Taca Airlines (San Jose, Costa Rica).
Europe: Air France (Paris), Iberia, Air Europa, Air Plus Comet (Madrid), Warsaw (Fisher). There are charter flights to Toronto, Canada.

    Santo Domingo’s port, off from the Colonial City, has been renovated for the winter season 2006 and has already attracted big name cruise lines in 2007 that have named it their mother port due to the nearby facilities at the Las Americas International Airport. Renovations will continue in 2007 to turn this port area into a modern city center with its stores and promenades besides a modern marina.

   Hotel taxis usually are manned by bilingual drivers who double as tour guides. Radio taxis are readily available and reasonably priced, with the possibility of setting the fare prior to booking with the radio depot operator. These cars can be hired by the ride or the hour.

   Car rentals are available at Las Americas International Airport or through the rental companies’ offices in the city. You must be 21 years of age to contract a rental vehicle.

      Public transport can take you almost anywhere within the city limits for mere cents. There are no maps available, that explain the rates grid in Santo Domingo.

Those who are not in the know will need to ask a few questions in order to effectively get around by these public modes of transport. Among the most cost-effective are the conchos (multifare paying taxis) or large buses or minibuses. Motoconcho service (motorcycle taxis) is a popular albeit unsafe transport method.
    Santo Domingo is the central destination for all cross-country bus routes in the country. The two leading bus companies Metro and Caribe Tours provide very reasonably priced and reliable bus service several times a day to many inter-country destinations, including Puerto Plata and Samana. Regional express bus lines travel daily to La Romana and Punta Cana.

   As the first European city founded in the Western Hemisphere, much of Santo Domingo’s colonial heritage is preserved here in a charming enclave that lies adjacent to the Ozama River. This cityscape of 16th century dwellings and imposing late medieval palaces and fortresses are set amid a refreshingly non-geometric street grid. There you can visit the Americas’ first cathedral and stroll its first street, Las Damas street, named for the ladies of the court of the first viceroyalty, center of power and culture from where the Spanish planned the conquest of the Americas.

The UNESCO declared the Colonial City a world heritage site in recognition of Santo Domingo as the cradle of European civilization in the New World in 1990s. The old city can be easily toured on foot, with time for shopping in the adjacent Calle El Conde pedestrian shopping district. The well-lit cobblestone streets and centuriesold facades of the Colonial City house scores of picturesque cafes and bars, small hotels and well-established restaurants. In the expansive Plaza de España framed by the Columbus Alcazar, the Casas Reales Museum and the quaint XVII century sundial, you will find sidewalk cafes and area restaurants that while open for lunch come to life after dusk offering an intimate, yet informal rendezvous for locals and visitors alike.

   A green oasis in the heart of the city, this plaza groups the Modern Art Museum, the Museum of Dominican Man and the National Theater. Frequent national and international performances amidst the galleries or on the plaza grounds, such as the National Book Fair that is held in April.

   On the eastern bank of the Ozama River, this vast mausoleum in the form of a cross houses the mortal remains of the Great Discoverer, as well as exhibits from Spain and almost every American country.