Getting to Santiago de los Caballeros

Cibao International Airport (STI) is about 15 km from downtown Santiago de los Caballeros, 20 to 30 minutes depending on traffic. Santiago is the country's second city, capital of the Cibao region, with the Monument to the Heroes of the Restoration, cigar factories and big-city life, without a beach.

STI has many direct flights from the US, especially from cities with large Dominican communities. Puerto Plata (POP) and Santo Domingo (SDQ) are alternatives 1.5 and 2.5 to 3 hours away.

Nearby airports

Which airport to fly into

Fly into Cibao (STI). It is east of Santiago and has frequent direct flights from New York, Miami and other US cities. From the terminal you reach downtown and the Monument in 20 to 30 minutes, and Los Jardines or Cerros de Gurabo in 20 to 35.

Puerto Plata (POP) gets more flights from Canada and Europe; from there it is about 80 to 100 minutes on the mountain road across the Cordillera Septentrional. Santo Domingo (SDQ) is the option for most flights from South America and Europe: 2.5 to 3 hours on the Autopista Duarte, a four-lane toll highway, longer if you leave the capital at rush hour. La Isabela airport (JBQ), north of Santo Domingo, saves some traffic but has few flights.

Transfer routes to Santiago de los Caballeros

• Cibao Airport (STI) to Santiago20 to 35 min · US$30 to US$50
• Santiago to Puerto Plata1 h to 1 h 30 min
• Santo Domingo to Santiago2 h to 2 h 45 min

Areas and transfer times

Downtown, around the Monument and Calle del Sol, has city hotels, restaurants and the walkable historic center, 20 to 30 minutes from STI. Los Jardines Metropolitanos and the area along Avenida Juan Pablo Duarte and Avenida 27 de Febrero, west of the Monument, have business hotels, malls and restaurants, about 20 to 35 minutes from the airport. Cerros de Gurabo, to the north, is residential with views, at a similar distance.

For a very early flight, hotels on the east side of the city, near the highway to the airport, save about 10 minutes.

Hotels in Santiago de los Caballeros

Pick your hotel to get a transfer quote from the airport.

Centro

• Hodelpa Gran Almirante Hotel & Casino
• Hodelpa Centro Plaza
• Hodelpa Garden Court
• Platino Hotel & Casino

Camp David

• Camp David Ranch

Getting around

Uber works well in Santiago, one of the three cities in the country where it operates according to 2025 guides, and it is the most practical way around town. inDrive also has drivers. Phone and stand taxis charge fixed fares by zone; confirm them first.

Carros públicos or conchos (shared cars on fixed routes, marked by letters or route names) and guaguas cover the main avenues for a few pesos, but you need to know the routes and speak Spanish. Motoconchos are everywhere; with Uber available, you do not need them. The historic center and Calle del Sol are walkable. Caribe Tours and Metro Tours have terminals in Santiago with frequent departures to Santo Domingo and Puerto Plata.

Tips

• Check the Uber pickup point at STI in the app when you land; if none appears, use the official terminal taxi.
• Santiago has no beach: the nearest coast is Puerto Plata, about 80 to 100 minutes away.
• Avoid the Autopista Duarte toward Santo Domingo on Friday afternoons and Sunday return traffic.
• For a day in Jarabacoa, allow 1 to 1.25 hours via the Autopista Duarte and La Vega.

• Beaches in the area on Beaches.dobeaches.do