Are you flying to Santo Domingo and wondering if you can buy a sim card for Dominican Republic on arrival at Santo Domingo airport? The answer is yes!
This is a complete guide for buying a sim card at Santo Domingo Airport in Dominican Republic including where to buy a sim card, up to date prices as per June 2024, my recommendation, the best e-sim cards for Dominican Republic and everything else you need to know before buying a sim card when traveling to Santo Domingo.
Traveling with a working data connection on your phone is so much more convenient. Therefore looking for the best way to stay connected when traveling abroad is one of the first things I do. To save money on high roaming costs you can order a sim card for Dominican Republic on the internet and arrive prepared or buy a Dominican Republic prepaid sim card at Santo Domingo Airport on arrival.
E-sim cards are super convenient, but also much more expensive. From my experiences I can already tell you that it is worth looking into buying a prepaid sim card for Dominican Republic on arrival at Santo Domingo Airport.
Traveltomtom is on a journey to travel to every country in the world and everywhere I go I write sim card guides for other travelers to find the best way to stay connected. That is why on Traveltomtom you can already find more than 200 sim card guides from all over the world: Jamaica, Mexico, Mexico City, Guatemala, Honduras, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, USA, Miami, New York, Newark, Canada, Toronto, Europe, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, Asia and many more.
Traveltomtom also wrote an extensive guide for the best Dominican Republic sim card for tourists in 2024, including 4G/5G coverage maps, all about e-sim cards for Dominican Republic and everything else you need to know.
So next time you are planning your trip abroad come check out Traveltomtom for the latest prepaid and e-sim card advice for your holiday destination. Bookmark me!
My recommendation
Traveltomtom recommends buying a Claro sim card at Santo Domingo Airport. For around $6 USD you get 8 GB data.
Local prepaid sim cards are easy to get on arrival, but if you rather arrive prepared then get yourself an e-sim card for Dominican Republic on the internet. E-sim cards for Dominican Republic start from $9.5 USD. See below for more info.
If you are traveling to multiple countries on your trip to the Caribbean then check out some of the international prepaid sim cads for traveling. These physical prepaid as well as e-sim cards are valid in multiple countries around the world, so they could be great for your next trip.
Be aware that the prepaid sim cards you buy in Dominican Republic, e-sim cards or international sim cards only work in unlocked phones. If your phone is locked make sure to unlock your phone before your trip to Dominican Republic. Contact your mobile internet provider in your home country if you are not sure about this.
Best e-sim cards for Dominican Republic
The easiest way to stay connected when traveling to Santo Domingo in 2024 is an e-sim card. No need to visit a sim card store anymore on arrival in Dominican Republic and no need to buy a sim card at Santo Domingo Airport. As soon as the plane lands you are already online. An e-sim instantly connects to an available network when it is installed on your phone.
You can order an e-sim card for Dominican Republic directly online, you receive a QR code, you scan it, follow the instructions and instal the e-sim card in a couple simple steps. You are all set in less than 2 minutes.
The sim card shops at Santo Domingo Airport have limited opening times, so then an e-sim card for Dominican Republic could come in extra handy.
Airalo
Airalo is a trusted e-sim card provider and Traveltomtom has used them in more than 50 countries around the world. Check out the Airalo e-sim card plans for Dominican Republic in 2024:
- 1 GB data for 7 days = $9.5 USD
- 2 GB data for 15 days = $18 USD
- 3 GB data for 30 days = $25 USD
- 5 GB data for 30 days = $39.50 USD
Click here for more info or to order an e-sim card for the Dominican Republic via Airalo.
This Dominican Republic e-sim card from Acuntel operates on the 4G/LTE network of Claro and is a data-only e-sim. Incoming and outgoing phone calls are not supported. Claro has the best 4G/5G network coverage in Dominican Republic.
SimOptions
SimOptions offers different e-sim card plans for Dominican Republic and in fact offers the best e-sim card deal for Dominican Republic.
- 1 GB data for 7 days = $17.90 USD
- 3 GB data for 15 days = $34.90 USD
- 6 GB data for 15 days = $39.90 USD
Click here for more info or to order an e-sim card for traveling to the Dominican Republic via SimOptions.
Before ordering an e-sim card for Dominican Republic make sure your phone is first of all unlocked. E-sim cards only work in unlocked phones. Second, make sure your phone is e-sim compatible. Pretty much all newer smartphones are e-sim card compatible.
Arrival at Santo Domingo International Airport
Santo Domingo is the capital city of Dominican Republic and most international flights arrive at Santo Domingo International Airport. The Santo Domingo Airport is very easy going and not too big. There is free WiFi at Santo Domingo Airport and it actually worked pretty good.
After you go through passport control you are guided into the Baggage Claim Hall with on your left hand side the luggage belts and on your right hand side the Duty Free shopping.
In the Baggage Claim Hall there is some advertisement from Altice as well as Claro, the two main mobile internet providers in Dominican Republic, but there is no sim card shop yet. There is an ATM and a money exchange.
After you picked up your luggage you have to go through a last customs check and then follow a hallway that will lead you to tour operators and car rental companies.
When you passed them you will walk through the sliding doors into the big spacious arrival hall where you will find pretty much everything you need like: banks, ATM’s, restaurants, coffee places, bar, tourism information and also sim card shops.
Where to buy a sim card at Santo Domingo Airport
It is very easy to find the sim card shops at Santo Domingo Airport where they sell tourist sim cards for Dominican Republic. As soon as you pass through the sliding doors and walk into the Arrival Hall you will see a Claro and an Altice store on your right hand side. It is impossible to miss these phone stores.
Both, the Claro as well as the Altice sim card stores have limited opening times. On weekdays they are open from 8.00 am to 9.00 pm. On Saturday from 8.00 am to 7.00 pm and on Sunday from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm.
It is very likely that you arrive at Santo Domingo Airport outside these hours, just like me. Then there is no other option then buying a sim card in Santo Domingo city center the next day or get an e-sim card for Dominican Republic. Check out my guide for buying a sim card for Dominican Republic in 2024 and I will tell you where to go exactly in Santo Domingo city center.
Both sim card stores at Santo Domingo Airport accept Visa and Mastercard as well as Dominican Republic Pesos and USD.
Prices prepaid sim cards Santo Domingo Airport
All the information below is updated in June 2024 and prices are in Dominican Republic Pesos and $1 USD = 59.1 DOP and 100 DOP = $1.69 USD.
Prices for prepaid sim cards at Santo Domingo Airport are the same as anywhere else in Dominican Republic, so no tourist prices for sim cards at Santo Domingo Airport.
Both Altice and Claro charge 100 DOP ($1.7 USD) for activating a tourist sim card. Also, none of them sell e-sim cards. Altice and Claro only offer physical prepaid sim cards for tourists, no e-sim cards at Santo Domingo Airport.
Claro
A Claro prepaid sim card comes with a little bit of credit for making a couple phone calls. But for internet you will need to add one of the following data packages:
- 3 GB data for 3 days = 95 DOP - $1.7 USD
- 5 GB data for 3 days = 120 DOP - $2.2 USD
- 5 GB data for 5 days = 145 DOP - $2.6 USD
- 8 GB data for 5 days = 170 DOP - $3.1 USD
At the Claro store at Santo Domingo Airport they only offer physical prepaid sim cards, e-sim cards for tourists are not available.
Altice
Altice offers the following prepaid sim cards plans for tourists:
- Unlimited data for 1 day = 49 DOP - $1 USD
- Unlimited data for 3 days = 99 DOP - $2 USD
- Unlimited data for 5 days = 139 DOP - $2.5 USD
Altice also offers a tourist sim card for Dominican Republic which also includes calling minutes:
- 15 GB data + unlimited calls/sms + 300 DOP extra credit = 550 DOP - $10 USD
At the Altice store at Santo Domingo Airport they only offer physical prepaid sim cards, e-sim cards for tourists are not available.
Best sim card at Santo Domingo Airport
Prices for prepaid sim cards at Santo Domingo Airport are more or less the same and compared to e-sim cards it is an easy conclusion that local physical prepaid sim cards that you buy at Santo Domingo Airport are much cheaper than e-sim cards for Dominican Republic.
Unfortunately prepaid sim card plans in Dominican Republic are pretty short and after 5 days you will have to top up again or instantly put double the credit on it, so as soon as you run out it automatically renews your package.
Given the fact that Altice and Claro offer pretty much the same prepaid sim card plans for tourists Traveltomtom concludes that Claro is the best sim card for traveling in Dominican Republic and recommends therefore to buy a Claro sim card at Santo Domingo Airport. This due to the fact that Claro has a much better 4G/5G mobile data network coverage around the country, and a stronger signal means faster data speed.
Traveltomtom does recommend e-sim cards of course for its convenience, but they are more expensive. The best value e-sim card for Dominican Republic is an AIS e-sim card from SimOptions with 6 GB data for $39.90 USD.
The 4G/5G network coverage in Dominican Republic differs per mobile internet operator. However, in pretty much all the popular tourist destinations in Dominican Republic you will find a 4G/LTE signal, regardless if you have an Altice or a Claro sim card.
However, if you are on a road trip around Dominican Republic, just like Traveltomtom did, and are visiting more off the beaten path places to see in Dominican Republic then it is recommended to buy a Claro sim card.
If you are looking for unique places to stay in Dominican Republic I can totally recommend you to check out staying at Chocolate Mountain. Click on the link to read what it was like staying up in a cabin in the rainforest in Dominican Republic.
For more info about the best 4G/5G network in Dominican Republic check out my complete guide for buying a sim card in Dominican Republic in 2024.
Order a sim card for Santo Domingo online
Remember that e-sim cards can only be used in e-sim compatible phones. If your phone is not e-sim compatible and you want to order a sim card for Dominican Republic on the internet then you have to look into international prepaid sim cards for Dominican Republic.
Arrive prepared in Dominican Republic with an international prepaid sim card. You order them online and a physical prepaid sim card will be delivered to your home address. You put this sim card in your phone and it automatically connects to an available network upon arrival in Dominican Republic, basically when the plane lands you are instantly online.
- 10 GB data for 14 days = $49.90 USD
Click here for more info or to order an international prepaid sim card for Dominican Republic via SimOptions.
Also a last reminder that if your phone is e-sim compatible you can order an e-sim card for Dominican Republic via SimOptions or Airalo.
My experiences buying a sim card at Santo Domingo Airport
As mentioned before on my second trip to Dominican Republic this year I landed in Santo Domingo Airport outside the sim card shop opening times and was not able to buy a sim card at Santo Domingo Airport.
For doing my research and shooting a vlog for you guys I came back. However, the next day I already bought a prepaid sim card in Santo Domingo city center. When I came back to the airport I figured that prices are the exact same as what I paid in the city center.
Buying a sim card at the airport is much more recommended though, just because it is convenient, is done fast and the staff at the airport speaks much better English. For the rest it is pretty much the same.
Because I did a scenic flight around Dominican Republic I also was at Santiago de Los Caballeros International Airport as well as Punta Cana International Airport and found out that there are no sim card shops at all, so when flying to Santo Domingo consider yourself lucky you can buy a local prepaid sim card for Dominican Republic rather than an expensive e-sim card for Dominican Republic.
I am sure some of the above tips on how to stay connected when traveling to Santo Domingo were helpful. If you have any additional questions then please leave me a comment below or reach out to me on social media.
Curious what the road to 197 / visiting every country in the world looks like then head to my Instagram @traveltomtom and follow along. As of June 2024 I have visited more than155 countries, so still more than 40 to go.
Enjoy your trip to Santo Domingo!
Some links in this article about the best sim cards at Santo Domingo Airport are affiliate links. If you buy any of the products after using an affiliate link I will earn a small commission. This is at absolutely no extra cost to you.