The Dominican Republic is unusually smoker-friendly at its biggest tourist gateway, partly thanks to architecture: Punta Cana’s terminals are open-air, palapa-style (thatched-roof) structures, so smoking happens at open-air spots airside rather than in sealed lounges. DR law also explicitly permits designated airport smoking areas.
Dominican Republic Airports Compared: Before and After Security
Before security, you can always smoke outside: at a designated smoking area where there is one, or outside the airport property, beyond the terminal kerb and car parks. After security, Yes means there is a smoking area past security and a dash means none is listed. Each airport’s page has the details.
| Airport | Before security | After security |
|---|---|---|
| Puerto Plata (POP) | Yes | – |
| Punta Cana (PUJ) | Yes | Yes |
| Santiago (STI) | Yes | – |
| Santo Domingo (SDQ) | Yes | Yes |
For international travel through the Dominican Republic, Punta Cana (PUJ) is the busiest gateway; Santo Domingo (SDQ) is the capital’s airport, and it too keeps airside smoking options.
How Dominican Airport Smoking Works
The Dominican Republic’s tobacco law bans indoor public smoking and explicitly permits designated airport smoking areas:
- Open-air airside smoking spots at Punta Cana (its terminals are open-air, so no enclosed indoor room)
- Enclosed indoor smoking rooms airside at Santo Domingo, near the A gates, plus a Sala Caribe lounge smoking room
- Outdoor smoking landside
- Vaping is not clearly regulated; travellers describe it as tolerated in the same open-air spots
- Vape devices must travel in carry-on, never checked
The Hub
Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ). The country’s busiest airport and a major resort gateway, known for its open-air thatched terminals. Travellers describe airside open-air smoking areas in both terminals: in Terminal B between gates 25 and 26 and above Gate B32, and in Terminal A near gates A8 and A16 and around the food court, with the VIP lounges in each terminal adding their own open-air spots. Exact positions shift — ask staff.
Las Américas International Airport (SDQ). The capital’s Aerodom-operated gateway takes the opposite approach to Punta Cana: conventional air-conditioned terminals with enclosed indoor smoking rooms airside near the A gates — travellers describe a Camel-sponsored room and a tapas-bar room — plus a smoking room in the 24-hour Sala Caribe lounge and outdoor areas landside.
Cibao International Airport (STI). Santiago’s airport and the country’s second-busiest. Smoking at Cibao is outdoors, landside only — both of its lounges, Sala Zafiro and the Turquesa Lounge, explicitly rule out smoking, and no airside facility is published.
Gregorio Luperón International Airport (POP). The gateway for the north-coast resorts around Puerto Plata, Sosúa and Cabarete. Smoking at Puerto Plata is outdoors, landside — the airside Sala Ambar lounge is explicitly no-smoking, and the airport does not list whether the landside Larimar Lounge has a smoking area, so ask lounge staff before paying for entry.
Tips for Smokers at Dominican Airports
- Punta Cana’s open-air terminals mean you can smoke at open-air spots airside — handy for a resort departure
- Look for the Terminal B area between gates 25 and 26, or the Terminal A spots near gates A8 and A16 and the food court
- Carry vape devices in your hand luggage, never checked
- Exact smoking spots move around — ask an airport employee