Punta Cana Airport to Punta Cana

Punta Cana is the original. Long before it was a brand name, it was a stretch of coastline called Punta Borrachón, bought up in the early 1970s by Dominican businessman Frank Rainieri and New York attorney Theodore Kheel, who set out to build a resort and residential community without paving over the land's ecology. In 1997, they brought on two new partners: fashion designer Oscar de la Renta and singer Julio Iglesias, both of whom still own homes on the property today. Together they built Puntacana Resort & Club — thousands of acres that now include Tortuga Bay, The Westin Puntacana, a full-service marina, an ecological reserve with natural freshwater springs, and two championship golf courses, including Corales, which has hosted PGA Tour events. Their airport, Punta Cana International (PUJ), opened in 1983 and was the first privately owned international airport in the world — and it's exactly why so many travelers assume every hotel on this coast shares the Punta Cana name.

That name got borrowed everywhere, but the real Punta Cana looks nothing like the resort strip most people picture. There's no sprawl of mega-resorts here — Club Med, the French all-inclusive brand, is essentially the only all-inclusive property in the area. The rest of Punta Cana is a quieter, upscale residential community where people actually live full-time, built around golf, the marina, and a handful of beach clubs. There's exactly one supermarket, no nightclubs, and no bar strip — this isn't where you go to party.

The only way to know if you're actually staying in this Punta Cana is to check your specific hotel — we'll tell you which zone it's really in when you book. If it's nightlife you're after, Bavaro, a short drive north, is where you'll find it.