Punta Cana Airport to Uvero Alto

Calling Uvero Alto "Punta Cana" is more of a stretch than anywhere else on this coast. It's the northernmost resort zone in the region, sitting well past Bavaro and Arena Gorda, and geographically it has almost nothing in common with the area near the airport. For years, the road out here was unpaved and pothole-riddled, and the trip from Punta Cana could easily eat up two hours. It's paved now, which helps, but the tradeoff is a long string of speed bumps the whole way — and depending on which resort you're headed to, the drive can still run close to an hour.

The bigger difference is the water. Uvero Alto faces the Atlantic, not the Caribbean, which means rougher surf and sand that's a shade less white than what you'll find further south. It's also remote in a way the other zones aren't: there are no supermarkets, no bars or clubs outside the resorts, and virtually no one actually lives out here — it's resort development and little else.

That isolation cuts both ways. It also means the newest hotels going up in Uvero Alto are being built with a blank canvas, and several rank among the most impressive properties in the country, Cap Cana aside. Just go in with the right expectations: if you're staying in Uvero Alto, your vacation happens almost entirely inside the resort gates, because there's not much reason to leave them.