There are still a lot of services that don't accept credit cards, so it's best to bring some cash for the trip. Neither do some of the smaller restaurants and food trucks. The currency of the Dominican Republic is the Dominican Peso (DOP). That said, US dollars are widely accepted and are in fact preferred to the peso.
Taxis, tour vendors, and restaurants accept USD and generally have the same rate as the bank. Tours can be paid for with credit cards; if you plan to go with Mike's Punta Cana Adventures, you can contact him in advance to find out if you need to pay cash for one of his excursions. And that's exactly why I would recommend going to an exchange office in Punta Cana or an ATM to get some local pesos, not the currency of Punta Cana. Last but not least, if you are planning a road trip in the Dominican Republic or just in the Punta Cana area, Dominican pesos are also highly recommended, if not mandatory.
Without counting them, I would say that there are at least 20-30 ATMs in Punta Cana, maybe even more. When you stay at an all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana, you basically won't see or experience the currency of Punta Cana and the Dominican Republic, the Dominican peso. Exchanging money at Punta Cana International Airport, or any other airport in the Dominican Republic, could be the first idea you have when thinking about where to get Dominican pesos. If you exchange your money in Punta Cana near tourist areas, such as Corales or Punta Cana Village, you will continue to pay higher prices, generally between 2 and 4% more than the interbank rate.
When you stay at an Airbnb in Punta Cana, you can use both currencies in Punta Cana: US dollars or Dominican pesos. In case you decide to buy some Dominican pesos, you might be wondering where you can find the best exchange office in Punta Cana. As mentioned above when talking about the “real life” of resort workers, both currencies are accepted in Punta Cana. We'll show you the difference between the U.S.
dollar and the Dominican peso, if you really need to go to an exchange office in Punta Cana, what's best for tipping at the resort, what exchange rates can be found in different places, and if it's cheaper to travel with the currency of the Dominican Republic instead of having just U.S. dollars. The official currency of Punta Cana is the Dominican Peso, which is also the national currency of the Dominican Republic. Punta Cana is my base of operations here in the country and I would love to tell you more about how to live Punta Cana off the beaten path and give you all the tips you want to know for your vacation in Punta Cana.
ATMs in Punta Cana are located at Punta Cana International Airport, in many all-inclusive resorts (but not all), in large shopping centers (Downtown Mall, Blue Mall), in Corales, El Cortecito, Friusa and Punta Cana Village and in all bank offices. As an Airbnb host, I schedule a lot of taxi trips in Punta Cana and the amount you pay for a taxi varies a lot depending on the distance of your trip. The following article will give you more details on when it is best to use the US dollar and when to best use the local currency of the Dominican Republic, the Dominican Peso, when paying in cash in Punta Cana.
