Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, officially known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population.
Santo Domingo, officially known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. As of 2022, the city center had a population of 1,029,110 while its metropolitan area, Greater Santo Domingo, had a population of 4,274,651. The city is coterminous with the boundaries of the Distrito Nacional (D.N.), itself bordered on three sides by Santo Domingo Province.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Santo Domingo
10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01Fortaleza Ozama
The Ozama Fortress, also formerly known as the city wall's Homage tower, is one of the surviving sections of the Walls of Santo Domingo, which is recognized by UNESCO as being the oldest military construction of European origin in the Americas. It was built between 1502–1508 by the Spanish at the entrance to Santo Domingo's Ciudad Colonial, Dominican Republic, and overlooking the Ozama River.
5.9 km · early sixteenth-century fortress built by the Spaniards · Wikipedia - 02Alcázar de Colón
The Alcázar de Colón is the first fortified European palace built in the Americas. Located in the colonial area of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, it forms part of the Ciudad Colonial, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
5.9 km · first fortified Spanish castle in the Dominican Republic · Wikipedia - 03Basílica Catedral Metropolitana Santa María de la Encarnación
The Cathedral of the Americas, Cathedral of Santo Domingo, Cathedral Basilica of Santa María la Menor or Minor Basilica of Santa María de la Encarnación, officially known as the Minor Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady Saint Mary of the Incarnation or Annunciation, in the Colonial City of Santo Domingo is dedicated to St. Mary of the Incarnation.
5.6 km · catholic cathedral of Santo Domingo, Dominica Republic · Wikipedia - 04Columbus Lighthouse
Columbus Lighthouse is a mausoleum monument dedicated to Christopher Columbus, located in Santo Domingo Este, Dominican Republic. Construction began in 1986, based on plans drawn in 1931 by Scottish architect J.L. Gleave.
7.4 km · mausoleum, museum in Santo Domingo Este, Dominican Republic · Wikipedia - 05Palacio Nacional
Palacio Nacional is a building in Santo Domingo, that houses the offices of the executive branch of the Dominican Republic.
4.2 km · government building in the Dominican Republic · Wikipedia - 06Estadio Olímpico Félix Sánchez
Estadio Olímpico Félix Sánchez is an open-air multi-purpose stadium in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Opened in 1974 for the XII Central American & Caribbean Games and renovated for the 2003 Pan American Games, it is the largest stadium in the Dominican Republic.
2.7 km · multi-purpose stadium in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic · Wikipedia - 07Autonomous University of Santo Domingo
Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo is a public university system in Dominican Republic, with its flagship campus in Ciudad Universitaria neighborhood of Santo Domingo and regional campuses in many cities of the country.
1.9 km · public university in the Dominican Republic · Wikipedia - 08Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Temple
The Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. It was the first temple to be built in the church's Caribbean Area and its 99th worldwide.
2.1 km · temple of the LDS church · Wikipedia - 09Dominican National Pantheon
The National Pantheon was built from 1714 to 1746 by the Spaniard Geronimo Quezada y Garçon and was originally a Jesuit church. The structure was constructed in the neoclassic-renaissance style.
5.8 km · monument in Santo Domingo · Wikipedia - 10Monasterio de San Francisco
Monasterio de San Francisco in Santo Domingo de Guzmán, Dominican Republic, is a monastery that was built between 1508–1560, with the arrival of the Franciscan fathers. The ruin is one of the most important of the city.
5.6 km · 16th century monastery in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What Wikivoyage says to see
Despite boasting a rich cultural, architectural and artistic heritage, Santo Domingo has not been exploited for all its tourist potential. You're pretty much on your own to discover this fascinating city. Make the most of your time there. Colonial Zone. Santo Domingo was the first major European settlement in the New World. Christopher Columbus walked these streets!
From Wikivoyage: Santo Domingo, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Things to do
Santo Domingo is an excellent place to study Spanish off the beaten track and get immersed in the language.
From Wikivoyage: Santo Domingo, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Where to eat
Santo Domingo offers a variety of cuisines from around the world from Chinese, Italian and Mediterranean to Brazilian. You can also find the main fast food franchises like McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Wendy’s, and Taco Bell.
- 01TGI Fridays
Av.
- 02Tony Roma's
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- 03Outback Steak House
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- 04Hard Rock Cafe
If you have to ask how much, you can't afford these places.
From Wikivoyage: Santo Domingo, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Santo Domingo
- Airports
- Las Américas (SDQ), 28 km · Casa De Campo (LRM), 108 km · Cibao (STI), 126 km
- Stations
- Herrera International Airport, 3.7 km · Port of Santo Domingo, 6 km · Juan Pablo Duarte (Santo Domingo Metro), 3.1 km · Máximo Gómez (Santo Domingo Metro), 5.4 km · Gregorio Urbano Gilbert (Santo Domingo Metro), 9.2 km
- Santiago → Santo Domingo5775 km · quickest by air, 14h 57m · CLP$471,370–730,650
- La Romana → Santo Domingo98 km · quickest by road, 2h 19m · $9–12
- Punta Cana → Santo Domingo157 km · quickest by road, 3h 11m · $15–20
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Santo Domingo
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Santo Domingo. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Get inOr, go up to the second floor at the Arrivals (at the very end), where a minivan will accommodate up to 8 passengers for a ride for RD$70 (pesos) for 1/2 hour to the Zona Colonial (only).
- Get inThere is ferry service to and from Mayaguez as well as San Juan, Puerto Rico.
- Get inThe former company, Ferries del Caribe is now out of business and the new provider is called America Cruise Ferries.
From Wikivoyage: Santo Domingo, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-09.
- 01476 km
- 02560 km
- 03714 km
- 04788 km
- 051,355 km
If you know how people move in Santo Domingo – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.
Next door to Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo is 8 km from Santo Domingo Oeste, the nearest large city, whose note carries the wider picture.
- Santo Domingo Estemunicipality in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic7.1 km
- Puerta del CondeMain gate to Colonial City Santo Domingo4.8 km
- Arroyo Manzanohuman settlement in the Dominican Republic6.5 km
- La Juliahuman settlement in the Dominican Republic6.5 km
- Palma Realsector in the National District, Dominican Republic6.5 km
- Villa Franciscahuman settlement in the Dominican Republic6.5 km