Is Bávaro in Punta Cana?
Yes, in the way the name is used, and on paper they share the same district. The Ministry of Tourism uses Punta Cana for the whole destination on the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic, with more than 50 km of white-sand beaches, and calls Playa Bávaro its main resort area.
Officially, Bávaro is a paraje, a named locality, inside the Verón-Punta Cana Tourist Municipal District. That district belongs to the municipality of Higüey, in La Altagracia province.
What is the difference between Bávaro and Punta Cana?
Bávaro is one place on the coast; Punta Cana is a place, a destination name and half of a district name at once.
The Punta Cana group says its founders, led by Theodore W. Kheel and Frank Rainieri, arrived in 1969 in an area then called Yauya or Punta Borrachón. Its airport opened in 1983 as the country's first private airport for international commercial flights, and it still gives its address as Punta Cana, Higüey.
Today the Ministry of Tourism applies Punta Cana to the whole resort coast. That is why a hotel in Bávaro, Uvero Alto or Cap Cana can call itself a Punta Cana hotel.
What is Verón-Punta Cana?
It is the official unit behind the name. Law 386-06 of 3 October 2006 raised the paraje of Verón, in the municipality of Higüey, to the Verón-Punta Cana Tourist Municipal District, and made Juanillo a section.
Senate documents describe the district as two sections, Juanillo and El Salado, each with its own parajes. The bill filed in the Senate placed Bávaro, El Cortecito, Cabeza de Toro, Arena Gorda, Macao and Uvero Alto in El Salado, and Cabo Engaño, La Salina, La Cuevita and Suero in Juanillo.
Verón is the working town that gives the district its first name, the one in the photo above. Most visitors only see it from the road between the airport and the hotels.
Which is which: the names side by side
| Name | What it is |
|---|---|
| Higüey | The municipality of La Altagracia province that the whole district belongs to |
| Verón-Punta Cana | Tourist municipal district created by Law 386-06, with two sections |
| Verón | The town that names the district |
| El Salado | Section of the district; the bill lists Bávaro, El Cortecito, Cabeza de Toro, Arena Gorda, Macao and Uvero Alto in it |
| Juanillo | Section of the district since 2006, and the name of Cap Cana's beach |
| Bávaro | A paraje of El Salado; the Ministry of Tourism's main resort area |
| Cap Cana | A private, master-planned development, not an administrative unit |
| Punta Cana | The founders' resort and airport, half of the district's name and the Ministry of Tourism's name for the destination |
Bávaro vs Cap Cana: how do they differ?
Bávaro is the open resort strip; Cap Cana is a private development. Cap Cana describes itself as a private, master-planned destination on the eastern coast, about 10 minutes from Punta Cana International Airport.
Inside it are Juanillo Beach, the Cap Cana marina and the Punta Espada golf course, and the Ministry of Tourism places Hoyo Azul there too. Juanillo is also the name of the section the 2006 law created, so the beach and the official unit share a word.
For a night out the difference is practical. Cielo Beach Club stands on Calle Chicago facing Los Corales beach, in Bávaro, so from Cap Cana you add a taxi ride each way.
Which name should you give a taxi driver?
The smallest one. The airport's 2024 taxi sheet prices Pueblo Bávaro at US$25, Cap Cana at US$30, Los Corales at US$35 and Macao at US$60 one way, so Punta Cana alone does not tell a driver where you are going.
Look for the beach or community in your hotel's address: Bávaro, Los Corales, El Cortecito, Cabeza de Toro, Uvero Alto or Cap Cana. Every fare on the sheet is in our Punta Cana airport taxi guide.
For the evening, the clubs are on our Bávaro nightlife page and the show-and-disco side is in Downtown Punta Cana at night. The party season returns in February 2027, and its nights appear on our 2027 season page.
