Cayo Levantado (Bacardi Island) Tours and Tickets

There are plenty of ways to experience Cayo Levantado. Looking at ratings and reviews previously given by customers, these are the best tours available right now:

• Bacardi Island Excursion with Catamaran, Beach, and Lunch

• El Limon Waterfall and Bacardi Island Tour from Punta Cana with Lunch Included

• Excursion Los Haitises and Cayo Levantado (Bacardi Island) from Santo Domingo

• Samaná Full-Day Bacardi Island, Limon Waterfall, and Horse

• Punta Cana to Samana: El Limon Falls and Bacardi Island

There’s no admission fee to visit Cayo Levantado off the coast of the Dominican Republic; however, as you must get there by boat, you’ll have to factor in the cost of transportation. Guided excursions, which typically include catamaran rides, snorkeling, and visits to the island’s other attractions, cost from around US$65.

Yes. Cayo Levantado, known more familiarly as Bacardi Island, is a great place to spend an afternoon when you're in Samaná. Known as Bacardi Island because it was used in Bacardi advertisements, this spot is now popular for its seemingly endless sandy shores, clear Caribbean waters, and swaying palms. As you need to get there by boat, it's easier to opt for a guided catamaran tour, which will typically include lunch, snorkeling time, and possibly even a visit to El Limón Waterfall and horseback riding.

Per one customer who booked the Bacardi Island Excursion with Catamaran, Beach, and Lunch, "Nacho was a great tour guy, and our boat captain found the whales quickly in the bay and kept positioning the boat for everyone to get a good look at them. We then went to Bacardi Island for some beach time and a Dominican buffet lunch."

You don’t need a ticket to visit Cayo Levantado, but the only place to stay is a 5-star resort, which costs upwards of US$450 per night. Guided tours to Cayo Levantado start at around US$75 for a half-day tour. A return trip in a taxi boat from Samaná costs around US$4.50 per person.

Cayo Levantado is .3 square miles (.8 square kilometers), or about 250 acres (101 hectares). The 219-room Cayo Levantado Resort occupies most of the island, but a beach in the west is public. Most of the island is rainforest. Its highest point is 85 feet (26 meters) above sea level.

Owned by the Spanish hospitality company Grupo Piñero, the Cayo Levantado Resort occupies most of Cayo Levantado. The rest of the island, including one white-sand beach, is open to the public. Resort rooms start at US$450, or you can visit the public areas on a day trip from Samaná.

Cayo Levantado means “raised key” in Spanish, likely a reference to an uprising by English pirate Joseph Bannister in the late 17th century. Cayo Levantado got the name Bacardi Island after the famous rum brand filmed an advertisement on the island in the 1980s.

The small island of Cayo Levantado is located in the northeast of the Dominican Republic. It's about 3 miles (5 kilometers) off the coast of Samaná, a popular town on the Samaná Peninsula. Cayo Levantado is in Samaná Bay, a warm, sheltered part of the Caribbean that faces the Atlantic.

Some cruise ships dock at Cayo Levantado, and the 5-star Cayo Levantado Resort provides free ferry transfers to guests. Otherwise, take a guided tour or a taxi boat from Samaná. As the upmarket Cayo Levantado Resort is the only accommodation on the island, don't miss your return taxi boat.

There are tons of things to do when you're done visiting Cayo Levantado. According to travelers, these are some of the top attractions in and around Samaná:

• Los Haitises National Park

• Samaná Bay

• El Limón Waterfall

• Rincon Beach

• Las Galeras

View Viator's guide to all the best attractions in Samaná.