Dominican Republic

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Full-Day Excursion in Saona Island

Dominican Republic

10 hours
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Take a break from the beaches of Punta Cana and spend a day on Saona Island. Board a catamaran for the journey, stopping at a natural pool along the way. Once you arrive, you have hours to spend on the island as you wish; swim, sunbathe, or enjoy a stroll around the reserve. End your day with a party right on the catamaran as you make your way back to shore.

Take in the views of the coastline from the boat
Enjoy lunch and non-alcoholic drinks included
Spend a day immersed in pristine nature
Hassle-free transfers from your Punta Cana hotel

What's Included

Air-conditioned vehicle
Lunch
Alcoholic Beverages
Soda/Pop

Towels

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to your preferred meeting point, or request pickup.

Meeting points

Select a meeting point

Type to search

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

07:00 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

We offer pickup and drop off in Punta Cana/Cap Cana/Bavaro/ Uvero Alto/ Cabeza de Toro and Bayahibe

What To Expect

Saona Island

4 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Natural Pool

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Infant seats available
Not recommended for travelers with back problems

Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 150 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.0

343 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 343 reviews

Not your tour operator.

Hristian_B, Jan 2024

The experience left much to be desired. Upon our arrival at 13:10 on Saona, we encountered a significant delay in accessing the food queue. Regrettably, by the time it was our turn at 13:40, all advertised meat, chicken, and fruits were depleted, leaving only dry white rice – a stark contrast to the promised offerings. The food on the island resulted in severe discomfort for me, as I experienced diarrhoea shortly after consuming it Moreover, the duration of our stay on Saona Island fell considerably short of the advertised 3 hours and 30 minutes. Instead, we were there from 13:10 to 15:20, totaling only 2 hours and 10 minutes. This discrepancy was particularly disappointing, as we had previously enjoyed an exceptional experience with another tour operator last year. Additionally, the extensive 12-hour duration of the entire excursion, from the 7:20 pickup to the 19:30 return, felt excessive and contributed to an overall sense of dissatisfaction. Furthermore, during the trip, we encountered an unpleasant incident with the photographer who aggressively insisted on taking pictures of our group. Despite our refusal, he was insistent, stating that it was a mandatory part of the trip. Our guide, unfortunately, did not assist us and was unable to communicate in English, leaving us feeling unsupported in this uncomfortable situation. To add to our disappointment, at the trip's end, the photographer printed our photos on bottles of Mama Juana without our consent and demanded $20 for each bottle. This unexpected and forceful attempt to sell us souvenir bottles was both intrusive and unacceptable. My advice is to choose another tour operator and you going to be fine.

Same tour at half price

Peter_N, Jan 2024

Our tour for $62 was basically the exact same tour as others for $120. There is no need to pay the extra unless you get to travel to isolated beaches. Basically all tours go to the same beach.

A beautiful place, ruined by a bad operator

silviagraciela_p, Dec 2023

I always buy from Viator and I have been very satisfied with the operators they use. But in this case the operator is very bad, disorganization, they did not meet the deadlines, they picked us up at the hotel at 7, they changed us to an old and uncomfortable bus. It was agreed to go see the stars before the Island and return in a catamaran and they turned the excursion, we went for two hours in a catamaran, we arrived at the island to eat. It was the only time you could go through the food table in a long line and there was rice, noodles and some chicken. It's really NOT worth what they charge, it should be a 20 dollar excursion On the way back, as it was 4 pm, we ran through the stars. We couldn't take a photo and they left us in the water for 10 minutes, because at that time it was already cold and the sun was going down. The way back at 6 pm on the same bus, taking alternative routes because I did not have credit for tolls. Terrible, gentlemen, you should evaluate your operator in the Dominican Republic

Saona island trip.

Steven_W, Nov 2023

Trip was excellent, tour guide was first class. The island is amazing, and swimming in the lagoon was a great experience.

Paradise

Daisy_R, Sep 2023

The Island Saola was amazing and Jose the person in charge was amazing. The only negative item was the driver was not on time to pick us up. We were waiting for him from 4 pm until like 6:30 pm that was not nice because it was raining and families with little kids.

Coming back the driver...

Adriana_M, Aug 2023

Coming back the driver left us the in the middle of the forest while it was raining at night even when my friends and me asked the driver to stop at our drop off place multiple times and didn’t he just kept driving

Fun but lots of pointless waiting around

Josh_B, Aug 2023

Lots of waiting around, it was a good trip over all, but it took from 7am to 12 mid day to get to Saona island, and we would have loved to of spend more time there instead of stop before hand. But getting back was a party boat with lots of loud Caribbean music and drinks which is just rum and mixer. This was fun but we must have waited nearly an hour from when we got to shore to when we actually walked on land again as the third shuttle boat just didn’t show up for us. Then we had to wait on the bus as more people tried to sell us stuff while we just wanted to get home. We left our hotel at 7:10am and got back just before 8pm. It’s an incredibly long day, out of the hotel for nearly 13 hours just to spend 2/3 hours at Saona island??

Living life like a Dominicano

Samantha_w, Aug 2023

I had the most amazing time! The team was great and made great accommodations when needed. I’m looking forward to booking again!

Fun Day

Patty_R, Jul 2023

We met group at a meeting point. The coach bus to Bayahibe was comfortable and had good AC. We went on a speed boat towards Saona (47 people) and stopped at “natural pools” which is sand bar. It was amazing water and very refreshing. We made it to island around 12pm. The beach was not crowded in the sense that each tour group had their own space. The water was very rocky and not deep making it difficult to enjoy. I had some seaweed but not terrible. We waited to eat at 1pm. “Buffet Lunch” was ok. Limited meal option (rice, chicken, pasta, fish, cabbage salad, stewed potatoes and watermelon). Flavor was good, I guess I was just hoping for more options. We stayed at the beach until about 3pm and then headed back to Punta Cana on a Catamaran that added two other speed boats filled with people. Because we didn’t get on first, we got stuck sitting in sun. The ride back with music was fun. Open bar offered in all areas is rum and coke/sprite and water. Although, at the beach they had coffee and beer as other drink options. Our guide (Francisco) was entertaining yet not too informative about our surroundings or what we were passing (history). I would definitely do this trip again. I give it a 4 because of limited options in food/drinks and overcrowdedness.

GREAT excursion for the price, good food options for vegetarians

Priyal_S, Jul 2023

This excursion was well worth the money! We started off with an early pickup at the hotel (right on time!) and the. transferred to a bigger air-conditioned bus. The drive was long but bus was very comfortable. Our guide, Jose, had the genius idea of giving our group colored yarn to keep our group together. This was very helpful later during the excursion. Once we arrived to Bayahibe, we got on a speedboat to the natural swimming pool. We spent about 30 mins there (more than enough time to enjoy the beautiful scenery and take photos). Just know that the open bar is mainly coke, rum, water, and sprite. After the natural swimming pool, we made our way to Saona Island. We were given 2 hours there (LOTS of time). We spent the first 30 minutes in the ocean. Beware that the beach is made up of lots of sharp rocks (not the fault of the excursion people, but something to watch out for with little kids). We then had lunch. We were very impressed with the quality of the food we received. We are vegetarian and there were SIX food options (vegetables, bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, and fresh fruit). Lots of other food options for non-vegetarians. The food quality was pretty decent too and we had a good lunch with the drinks provided. Then we found some time to relax on the beach.You can get a massage or just relax on one of the hammocks. Lots of places to sit in the shade as well. After our two full hours on the island (again, this is the perfect amount of time for the beach), we took the catamaran back to Bayahibe (1.5 hrs). We sat in the front of the Catamaran on our towels. If you are interested in doing this, we recommend you sit on the right side because the sail blocks most of the sun on this side (less chances for sunburns!). We took a nice nap, but there was the open bar and lots of music for kids and adults to dance to. After the catamaran, we got back into the large air conditioned bus to go back to our hotel. The viator page says this excursion is 9.5-10 hours, but we were with the group for a full 12+ hours. We left at 7 in the morning and returned around 7:30-8 pm. WELL WORTH the price. Overall, the tour was very well organized and entertaining. They give you exactly what is mentioned and we were really impressed with the quality of the excursion and the places that we went to. This one was the cheapest one we found and it deserves all the hype. True to its word and would GLADLY return and do this excursion all over again.

This day everything went wrong

Candace_G, Apr 2023

Drunk guests, we lost 3 guests and had to turn around twice. Our boat wasn't working, the guide said. So we had to split the group up and had to wait a long time for the new boats. The Island was spectacular. But Very little time on the Island, like 1.5 hours if that.

Awesome

Davina_G, Feb 2023

Awesome trip. Beautiful island. Jordan (aka Michael B Jordan / snoop dog) was lovely. Although there was a push to sell photos at the end but otherwise a lovely experience. Well worth going. Lunch was nice too. Time on the island awesome. Highly recommend the tour.

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Hello, we are glad that you enjoyed our activity and we appreciate that you allowed us to be part of your vacation. We will do our best to keep improving.

Far too little time on...

Jenny_J, Dec 2022

Far too little time on the island, only about 1,5hours including lunch. Stressful, felt like most of the time was spent waiting, being shipped between boats and buses.

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Hello, we value your opinion and thank you for the comments. We will do our best to keep improving our service.

Wonderfull experience

julie_D, Dec 2022

Very nice experience. We had good weather but not good enough for the snorkeling unfortunately. The 2 Islands are worth it. Clear water as expected. You can also see a few animals in contoy Island. The team was very nice. big up to Moises our French guide.

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Hello, we are glad that you enjoyed our activity and we appreciate that you allowed us to be part of your vacation. We will do our best to keep improving.

Amazing staff and beautiful island

Johanel_C, Sep 2022

The staff was amazing. Chocolate and Snoop Dog (nicknames) are amazing photographers. Kind and loving people. The food was amazing. The trip is an all day event and they did a fantastic job keeping us entertained. We will be going back to DR and visiting our friends from the trip. I highly recommend you use this company to go to the isla of Saona

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Hello, we are glad that you enjoyed our activity and we appreciate that you allowed us to be part of your vacation. We will do our best to keep improving.

Excellent

Maitri_S, Jul 2022

Catamaran ride was great. Whole atmosphere was just great. Beautiful white sandy beach food and drink. Also, natural pool was just as beautiful.

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Hello, we are glad that you enjoyed our activity and we appreciate that you allowed us to be part of your vacation. We will do our best to keep improving.

Paparazzi, Snoop Dogg and Rileigh where amazing.

Heather_M, Jul 2022

Paparazzi, Snoop Dogg and Rileigh where amazing. Everything was picture perfect. We would definitely go back again

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Hello, we are glad that you enjoyed our activity and we appreciate that you allowed us to be part of your vacation. We will do our best to keep improving.

Plan to spend your day waiting

Anthony_V, Jun 2022

Doesn't more than half of the day waiting at hotels for other guests and driving. Then waited in street for am hour to be harassed to buy items from the locals. We were led around like cattle the entire day and only spent 2.5 hrs at island

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Hello, we value your opinion and thank you for the comments. We will do our best to keep improving our service.

Over 6 hours of bus ride and waiting for boat!

Anthony_V, Jun 2022

First you sit on a 2 hour bus ride to get there. You stop at several resorts to pick up other parties and gas stations to transfer guests to other excursions. A large group was not ready so we went back to pick them up which added another 45 minutes. When we arrived, we waited over an hour on the street in the sun, for our boat to arrive. When returning home, the driver told us we were the first stop since we spent almost 3 hours on the bus that morning. We didn't even request this but He just lied and still dropped us off last. Book a private charter so you don't spend a total 6 hours of your day on the bus and waiting on the street. We did this excursion on 2 different trips and both were the same poor experience. You get a total of 2 hours at soana out of a 13 hour day. Catamaran is nice but be prepared to spend hours with extremely loud music. We were ok with this but older people on the boat were complaining about how loud the music was turned up. I definitely recommend using another excursion if you want to experience Soana.

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Hello, we value your opinion and thank you for the comments. We will do our best to keep improving our service.

It was a great experience

Divine_O, Jun 2022

Soana Island, natural pool and Catamaran was great. Google how to take nice pictures and where to take them, you don’t need the professional photographer but pictures are very beautiful. Don’t drink to much-people puked when they were on the Catamaran. Take lots of sunscreen you will be fried. It’s cheaper to book with your resort or people selling on the coast.

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Hello, we value your opinion and thank you for the comments. We will do our best to keep improving our service.

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