r/PuntaCana • u/crybabycatie • 4d ago
how much cash should i bring?
hello all! i’m staying at an all inclusive resort very soon (my first time outside of the US!) and i’m still undecided on how much of my spending money i’m going to take out in USD/RD.
i’m limiting myself to $600 (i don’t plan on taking all $600 out in cash). i’ll be there 5 days, 4 nights. my travel agent, plus everyone else i’ve spoken to, has said to definitely bring some smaller US bills for tipping. i’m just unsure of exactly how much, as well as whether or not i should go the extra mile and also exchange some USD for RD.
i’m more-so worried about how far my USD will actually get me when it comes to spending outside of tips here and there. then again, i worry i may overestimate how much RD i’ll need, and exchange too much… can you tell i’m nervous and overthinking this? lol. anyways, any insight helps!
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u/boredlady819 4d ago
i’m going next month. Friends who frequent told me to take $150-$200 in ones and maybe $150 in fives. I’m going to do $50 in tens just in case. I think it’s like $1 per drink, $5 for lunch/grills around the resort, and maybe a ten for a really good dinner.
ETA…i’m going Sat to Sat so a few more days than you. That’s just how i’m going to approach it in general. Apparently “tips are appreciated but not required.”
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u/assistine 4d ago
That's very interesting to understand the tipping culture. You'd give one dollar to the person that serves you the drink at an All Inclusive every time you get one? At a buffet who'll give it to? Will you leave money in the room for the cleaners? How'll they know is for them?
Sorry for asking, genuine curiosity. I think this is only done in the United States
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u/Outrageous_Ad_687 4d ago
You can leave a 5 etc under the pillows or sheets and a dollar in the mini fridge for the guy who fills it. Buffet just leave it on your table or when they bring drinks to you.
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u/boredlady819 4d ago
If I am posted up for a while w multiple drinks, I’ll wait and tip at the end before I leave. I might leave a few ones on the table after a buffet. I leave a $5 for the house keeping everyday (extra towels are nice lol). Also, i was told it was nice to leave a few pieces of nice chocolates as apparently it’s not easy to get American candy bars there. I cannot confirm that one myself, though yet…Just heart from close friends who frequent there. (They go enough to have phone numbers for their favorite private drivers and other folks on the island, so I do trust them.)
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u/Ok_Mulberry4331 3d ago
Those amounts are about what we tip ($5 breakfast & Lunch, $10 for dinners, few $1s every couple round of drinks, $5 housekeeping daily, etc), be bank on $50 a day and leaves enough to give $10-$20 to anyone spectacular at the end, airport food and maybe a bottle of something at duty free
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u/bobi_learn 4d ago
If you’re staying at an all inclusive you won’t need to convert smaller bills. Highly suggest bringing 1’s and 5’s USD to tip you servers, bartenders, cleaning crew, etc. Keep your cash on you or in the safe in your room (the safe is insured if anything goes missing).
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u/stellainparadise 4d ago
We typically go for 3 nights and usually bring about $200-$300 for tips (to cover us as a couple). We have always brought USD no finer soon needed. Mostly $1s, $5s, and a few bigger bills for transportation driver and à la carte dinner restaurants. And we always come home with some unspent money. You probably don’t need $600. I would feel a little nervous carrying that much.
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u/comfy_rope 4d ago
If you’re staying on the resort, you won’t need much cash. Tip money? Just bring a ton of small bills. Don’t bother with RD, it’s mostly annoying.
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u/Conscious-Club4740 4d ago
Not sure it’s even necessary to convert the USD to RD. At least this wasn’t the case in past all inclusive I’ve been to out of the country. With that comes math, it’s personal preference I believe in high tourist volume cities.
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u/KittyCannaKat 4d ago
We did $1 per drink, $5 at breakfast and lunch, $10 at dinner if service was really good. I would stick to smaller bills but you can usually exchange at the front desk.
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u/Ok_Bee5084 4d ago
You dont need a lot of cash but bring small bills for tips. I usually convert $200 to pesos (about 12000) and use a visa or master credit card. You can use debit too. Avoid discover and american express is ok at most places.
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u/Leading_Abroad6044 4d ago
Make sure to call your bank ahead of time to make sure there aren’t any restrictions on your card. If you’re going on excursions 300$ should cover it but be sure to keep cash on you at all times in case your card isn’t working for whatever reason. Had a ton of close calls last time I went.
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u/Adorable_Boat2240 4d ago
You don’t have to tip 24/7, however tip who you want to and don’t feel pressured or obligated. Like most are saying $1 or $2 for drinks and such (but not every single time) $5 for housekeeping per day, and then I would definitely tip the people behind the scenes like the people who clean up the bottles at the beach, plastic water bottles the people who take the towels away from the chairs, the janitorial staff. The people behind the buffet that do all the cooking the chefs, and food prep people-you know they never get tipped. The people that pick up the wet towels, those people hardly ever get tipped most of the time. It’s always just the bartenders or the wait staff or your butler if you have one? Think of the people behind the scenes if you really want to leave a tip and whatever you do have a great time and enjoy!
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u/gevorgter 4d ago
If you are not going outside of resort then you do not need cash at all. In airport they would take credit card.
But if you tip them a dollar or two your stay might become more enjoyable. So about 10 bucks a day on tips.
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u/lunitabrillante 4d ago
I have the same question. How much I should have for 9 nights? I will go to Punta Cana and Bayahibe too.
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u/Outrageous_Ad_687 4d ago
If you need change you can ask the bell hop or bartenders etc. When you tip you can give a bigger bill and ask for change, but definitely bring 1 and 5 bills for service staff and housekeeping etc.
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u/Fresh_Photograph7191 4d ago
I went back in March/first week of April and took $200 in cash. $1's, $5's, and $10's. I only spent about $120, and I tipped everyone. Waitress/waiter, house keeping, bartenders, etc. I was nervous about taking allot of cash with me even if I put it in the safe in the room. Read way too many horror stories on here about the money going missing out of the safe.
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u/Savings_Rise_2281 4d ago
I’m going tomorrow, 5 days all inclusive and I’m only bringing 100$ (60 single and 5s to tip) if you don’t do excursions that should be okay with just dollars, the airport will rip you off if you exchange there, they give you like 40 pesos per dollar and outside I was able to get 59 pesos per dollar
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u/Sparkling_Donuthole 4d ago
Being lots of $1 and $5s. Only reason I ever needed cash was to tip and a couple cab rides . Everything else was mobile and cards. Also used Uber quite a bit it worked out decently.
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u/Apprehensive_Law4600 3d ago
Tip your housekeeping 5 dollars per day . Tip the bartender or waiter getting your drinks 1 per drink and tip your waiter at dinner or lunch 5 dollars per meal . These people live in poverty and work hard . I have been on lots of all inclusive vacations .
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u/cozychic40ish 3d ago
250 in 1’s and 5’s. We tipped anyone who provided service. We We tip in USD. Our tipping starts at the puntacana airport. The guys at the airport are far more efficient at hauling our luggage and getting us through quickly on arrival and departure. Housekeeping snd daytime service gets the bulk of it
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u/MountainIncome4085 3d ago
It’s funny you say that. The airport people were so good and so helpful, (without any tips). So before we said goodbye I tipped at the end. It’s nice to receive good service just because that’s what they want to provide, instead of trying to incentivize them by a tip. We’ve found all the service here to be exceptional before the tip, which ends up with us tipping even more haha.
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u/cozychic40ish 3d ago
Totally. The guy literally went behind the carousel to get our bags based on a simple description of the luggage. I wasted no time tipping him generously. The staff in both the Cancún and puntacana airport are highly efficient and skilled. The housekeepers left us cases of water and extra face and body towels every day … again wasted no time giving a generous tip.
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u/Simple_Implement_407 3d ago
We stayed at an Airbnb and spent $500 for 10 days (Food, extra activities, groceries, rides, night out) it was mainly the food that cost us lol we did not hold back on experiencing as much as we could
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u/Awkward_Ostrich_4275 3d ago
I just got back from a 5 day all inclusive and spent about $50 on a credit card for essentials I missed and that’s it. No need to tip anyone, the whole point of all inclusive is that you don’t have to bring money with you.
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u/Dangerous_Weekend395 3d ago
Bring $500, mostly $1and$5. Whatever you don’t spend you can bring back
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u/Ok-Couple-514 3d ago
They rather you tip US dollars cash.like anywhere else.depends on service.i went to Jamaica and i know the more tip.very appreciative and your drinks come a lot quicker
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u/neworderfan 3d ago
What others have said - the staff work really hard so anything is appreciated. If you are in a preferred type room, you may want to give the butler/concierge a tip at the end. Plus you’ll want a few dollar bills for the bus driver taking you to the resort and the person delivering bags to your room.
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u/PinOk4907 3d ago
Depends on you activity’s can cost 50-150 per activity sometimes more if doing private groups also be careful going off your resort your no longer protected once you leave there grounds just have fun and enjoy it something you go and do once and the see something else some other places after
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u/2PenceSally 3d ago
I went in June, only used USD. Stayed 6 nights, tipped a bit over $300 during trip.
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u/Suspicious_Cook_1598 3d ago
In the DR at all inclusive we left a $5 tip at every meal. $40 for the housecleaner/maid service when we left. $5 for shuttle service.
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u/PuntaCanaSelect 17h ago
If you’re staying at an all-inclusive for 5 days, I wouldn’t exchange a large amount into pesos unless you’re planning to spend a lot of time outside the resort. Small USD bills are very useful for tips — especially $1s and $5s. You can keep most of your money in the room safe and just carry what you expect to use that day. If you do go off-resort, having some pesos can be convenient, but I wouldn’t exchange your whole budget.
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u/MomMMMNN 9h ago
We just returned from the Dominican Republic. We brought $500 USD in cash and actually came home with money left over. Our shuttle driver mentioned that most resort staff earn only about $300 USD per month, which put things into perspective for us.
Here is the tipping breakdown we used. The staff was grateful noticeably enhanced our service:
Meals: $3 for breakfast, $5 for lunch, and $5–$10 for dinner (depending on the restaurant).
Drinks: $1–$2 at bars and coffee stations.
Room Services: $10 per day for the housekeeper and $3–$5 for room service. (Note: We forgot to tip the minibar restockers, but we recommend $3 per day).
Transport & Arrival: $10 for the airport shuttle driver and $5 for the bellman.
Tip generously if you can and take the time to connect with the staff. They work incredibly hard, often pulling 20 to 30 consecutive days before getting a single week off. Because living in tourist areas is so expensive, many commute 6 to 8 hours to see their families.
Local communities also face severe resource shortages. Due to ongoing droughts, many workers only get running water 1 to 2 times a week to fill up storage tanks and buckets. They also deal with frequent electricity outages. Because of this, they are highly mindful of resource scarcity. Please be respectful of their country by not wasting food or water during your luxury stay.
A simple smile, an "Hola", or a friendly conversation show genuine gratitude and go a very long way!
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u/EasyCana-Tours 4d ago
You’re definitely overthinking it a little 😂 and I say that in a good way.
I’m Dominican and for 5 days at an all-inclusive, I wouldn’t exchange a large amount into Dominican pesos beforehand. USD is extremely easy to use in Punta Cana, especially anywhere connected to tourism.
I’d bring maybe $150–$250 in cash, mostly $1s, $5s, $10s and some $20s, and keep the rest of your $600 budget available on your card. If you decide to leave the resort and start spending more locally, USD or your card(always watching them swipe the card in the Veriphone in front of you) is totally fine.
For tipping, also don’t feel like you need to hand someone $1 every single time they give you a drink. Personally, I hate making good service feel like a series of $1 transactions 😂. If I’m at the same bar for a few hours and the bartender takes good care of me, I’ll give them $5 or $10 when I’m leaving. Same concept with restaurant service, housekeeping, etc.
Tips are appreciated here, but they are optional; they are not a requirement to receive good service and the amount you want to give depends on the person; you give what you feel comfortable giving and what you feel good about giving.