What To Expect

What‘s Included

Reviews

• A sandy beach at the island

  Anastas Z,,Jan 3, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  4.00

  A catamaran transportation to the island, the food is provided at the beach, we stayed there till 3 o’clock and we returned back. The beach is sandy but the sea not so incredible

• TRUST ME - Do Not Book This Experience

  Maria G,,Jan 2, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  1.00

  I feel forced to give this experience 1 star, but the saving grace was our driver, Daniel. His professionalism at the start made me feel this would be an amazing day on a picturesque beach. My joy ended upon arriving at the port. The barely "English" speaking guide, Chocolate greeted everyone and gave nicknames to each group. And that's where this comical trip begins. We boarded a small boat to board a catamaran, which took us to a "hustling party boat". The open bar was - rum and 2 liter of coke. Water was in a large jug. The hustle for tips was consistent throughout the entire journey. Beware of the photo sessions (you'll be asked to pay for it). Our "party boat" waited for over 20 minutes for another catamaran of "victims" to board, and then we headed to Saona Island. The island is beautiful, but nothing about the experience is. The bathrooms are out houses with toilets that do not flush. No soap or hand sanitizer. Appartenly 2 things are the responsibility of the customer - hygiene and gas for the boat. We left the island with too many people on the boat. Halfway on the journey back to the port a boat met ours in the middle of the ocean to offload some of our passengers onto that one, I should have gotten on that boat. We continued on to the area to see turtles, which sadly were not visible. They were probably avoiding our boat like I should have avoided this experience. We depart the turtle area and run out of gas. How does this happen? Chocolate waved down another boat, which was able to take some passengers, while others like myself, young children / families and elders were left stranded waiting for a miracle to get us back to the port. Finally another boat came and we made back to the port where our driver Daniel brought us to gas station to use a proper bathroom and grab some snacks. If you want an experience that lacks communication about your itinerary, a sense of hygiene, and customer safety, this is for you.

• Overpriced

  SteveB319,,Jan 1, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  2.00

  Paid $140 and they ran out of protein: chicken and fish. On top of that, took forever to leave waiting on people from other boats to join us. Overpriced and didn't deliver

• Horrendous experience, do not book

  Jona B,,Dec 31, 2025

  - Review from Viator

  1.00

  Summary: 9 out of 12 hours you are in transit and you only spend 2.5 hours on the beach. The staff is unprofessional, the experience is not in English, and you will be asked for tips left and right. Our speed boat ran out of gas in the middle of the sea, with no explanation as to what was happening. Beach was crowded and with foul, unhygienic bathrooms. Do not recommend, @Viator, I want a full refund. Details: This experience is the most disappointed I've ever been with Viator. I use Viator regularly and am shocked at how horrendous this boat day was. I do want to acknowledge that the only good part of our experience was our driver Daniel. He was extremely professional; punctual, polite, and communicative. I have never seen such a blatant lack of professionalism, especially while using Viator. For context, we first boarded a speed boat, that drove us to a catamaran, that then dropped us off at a beach (where lunch was served), and then we were supposed to take a speed boat back to the port. First, this experience was supposed to be offered in English. The 'lead' gave instructions in Spanish, and there was no translation. Second, it was outrageous how the MINUTE we boarded the boat, the staff was either trying to sell something or ask for tips. This behavior should not be allowed. For instance, the staff asked for tips for simply POURING SODA into a plastic cup. Plus, the promise of an 'open bar' was highly oversold. The only apparent alcohol was a bottle of rum that kept rolling around the boat when empty, which is very dangerous when everyone is barefoot. Third, the staff had no idea how to manage the boats. For instance, at one point while we were heading back to the port on a speed boat, we were told that people had to get off the boat IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEA because there were too many passengers on the boat. But the joke was on my friends and I because we should have gotten on the boat that came to take off the excess passengers: the boat we stayed on ran out of gas in the middle of the sea!!! We weren't even told directly what was happening, we had to ask why suddenly we had stopped moving. Eventually another speed boat showed up to pick us up. Mind you, there were elderly people and children under the age of 7 on this boat that were visibly uncomfortable (as was everyone else). And the cherry on top was that the 'lead' asked us to tip the captain (the person who should have known that we didn't have enough gas). Everyone glared, no one tipped, and we got onto the new speed boat as soon as possible. Lastly, but very important, the bathrooms at the beach have no running water, no soap. They are simply disgusting and unusable. I would NEVER recommend this experience to anyone. It was a complete waste of time and money. To be in transit for 7.5 hours (4 hours in the car to and from the port, and then 3.5 hours on a dirty, terribly managed catamaran) for a whopping 2.5 hours at the beach is simply not worth it. Save your money and sanity and skip this scam.

• Chaotic - not worth the money

  manueljh2020,,Dec 31, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  2.00

  Looong trip by land from Santo Domingo to a port near Punta Cana (2 hours). Then we waited hour and a half at the port to get into a big catamaran with a whole bunch of other people that weren’t even in our tour. Another long trip in the catamaran to make it to a natural pool full of other boats and people to stay there only 20 mins/30 mins max. Then another 30 mins to make it to Saona. By the time we got lunch was 2pm after being picked up at 6:30am. Lunch is disorganized and you just get in line with a bunch of other people from other tours. Our guide was not even that helpful or stay with the tour, so we were lost about where we were supposed to go or what to do. Then, we stayed on the beach for like an hour or hour and a half before heading back. So, you’re actually in the island for a very short amount of time considering how long the whole tour lasts. The driver who picked us up was not the same driver who took us back, and you don’t meet your tour guide until you’re at the port. The tour guide would only appear from time to time to tell us where to go or how much time we had but other than that, he was pretty much out of sight. I do not recommend this tour. It’s not worth the price for the poor service, disorganization and poor communication you get. Positives: Beautiful sights still, and you come back in a fast boat to the port from the island. Also free drinks in the catamaran. That’s it

• Worth the wait

  Erica M,,Dec 9, 2025

  - Review from Viator

  4.00

  Included pick up from my hotel. I was traveling solo and had a blast. Made friends quickly with another group of friends. It’s lots of people that come together and get taken out to the island. I would’ve given 5 stars but there’s lots of waiting for the people to arrive so the trip can begin. The water was beautiful and the food was good. They do offer massage on the island. And I bought a package of photos they took during the duration of the trip. Overall I had a great experience my driver kept the party going on the ride back to the hotel with more drinks 🤭

• It was a long travel day,...

  Makayla B,,Dec 7, 2025

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  It was a long travel day, but the journey was worth it! The island is beautiful. All of the staff were nice and very helpful with the boat transfers to and from the island.

• Lots of travel in on land and sea for a beach and ordinary food.

  BKCanada,,Nov 26, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  4.00

  A lot of time wasted boarding and disembarking shuttles and catamaran in addition to the drive to the port of Bahibe. Long trip by catamaran to get to, boat not comfortable. Site is ok, the beach/sea where we are docked were nothing special, maybe we hit it wrong because there is a fairly long part of the island where boats stopped. The very short and medium snorkeling , the stop at what they call the natural beach (a shallow place offshore where the water is beautiful) was ok.

• Poor communication

  jessicavV7748RX,,Nov 24, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  1.00

  They claim to pick you up at 0600 but we were not picked up until after 0800. They also neglect to inform you of the over two hour drive to the port to begin the excursion. You do not sail out of Santo Domingo. Better communication on what to expect is definitely needed.

• Rum Sun & Saona

  Rasheedah A,,Nov 17, 2025

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  It’s amazing ! The driver reached out the night before to tell me what time they would be arriving to pick me up at the Airbnb. They were prompt and friendly. They took us to the beach where we met the captain and they gave us a green colored string to wear which I loved so you know who is with who . We then boarded a smaller boat to get onto a catamaran. On the catamaran we were given rum and coke and there was music and dancing. We arrived at a first island where we got off to swim And enjoy for a bit - we saw a leatherback turtle While here which was an absolutely amazing experience.. We then went on to Saona - we got smaller boats to take us on land - there again we had free drinks and a delicious lunch prepared for us. Saona island was absolutely beautiful and we spent the entire afternoon swimming and drinking. We got onto smaller speed boats to return to The mainland and again more rum and coke lol . On getting back to shore the driver was waiting for Us. An amazing experience overall and I would highly recommend.

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