Austin. Detroit. Milwaukee. Hartford. Minneapolis. Providence. New Haven. What do they all have in common? It’s no secret that the largest source markets for Caribbean travel have been cities like New York, Miami and Chicago. In recent years, though, the growth of tourism has led airlines to tap into emerging source cities like these.

If you’ve been following the Caribbean, you’ve seen it: new Caribbean flights are popping up all the time from cities in Texas, the Midwest, New England. Even Los Angeles has been increasingly important for Caribbean travel, with new flights in the last two years to destinations like the Cayman Islands and Nassau, among others. 

And you can add another city to the list: Nashville. The music city has seen tremendous growth since the pandemic, and that’s now translating into more demand for Caribbean — and Mexico — trips. 

The newest addition? Punta Cana, thanks to a new route currently on the way on Southwest Airlines. 

Beginning in March of next year, Southwest will be kicking off a new weekly nonstop service between Nashville and Punta Cana, the Dominican Republic’s most popular place to visit. 

The new flight, which kicks off on March 8, 2025, will be Nashville’s second Caribbean route, joining an existing route between Nashville and Cancun in the Mexican Caribbean. 

Southwest Airlines has also announced plans to launch a new route to Mexico, with service from Nashville and Cabo San Lucas, also set to debut next March. 

Both routes are part of Southwest’s new flight schedule, which was released this week, and they’re already available for booking. 

So what will the Caribbean’s new Southwest Airlines flights cost? 

They’re not exactly cheap. Right now, a fare on Southwest booked for a March 10-March 17 itinerary shows prices starting at $1434.28 (with Business Select fares at another $80). It’s likely those fares will go down, however, as the peak March season winds down into April and May. 

The flights take about three hours and 45 minutes to Punta Cana, while return flights run about four and a half hours. 

Planning a visit? Check out the Lopesan Costa Bavaro resort, which has become a leading all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana’s Bavaro area. 

For more, book now at Southwest Airlines. 

CJ Expert Take: While Southwest Airlines hasn’t been expanding to the Caribbean of late as it was a few years ago, the carrier clearly seems to see the potential for the region, particularly in up-and-coming international travel markets like Tennessee.