OK, it’s much bigger than it looks on the map. Puerto Plata population is about 250,000 and Santo Domingo is about 1 million. From Puerto Plata, it’s about a three hour drive to the Haitian border, assuming you don’t get lost or make a wrong turn. And that’s just to the border, It’s another hour and a half to get to Cap Haitian. From Punta Cana, don’t even consider a day trip … Oh, and last I heard you can’t take a rental vehicle across the border, but you can leave it and walk across.
$1 to get in and $10 US to get out …