Saona Island Catamaran Adventure with Free Food and Transportation
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
- 9 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Explore our promoted experiences
What's Included
- Private transportation
- Lunch
- Alcoholic Beverages
- Soda/Pop
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Pickup details
They have to be ready 10 minutes before pickup.
Start time.8:00 am
Itinerary
1
Isla Saona
3 hours • Admission Ticket Free
2
Isla Saona
6 hours • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 100 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.0
based on 64 reviews
Worst Catamaran Excursion We’ve Ever Done
I’ve done many catamaran excursions all over the world, and this was by far the worst experience I’ve ever had.
It started off well when we were picked up in a nice coach bus, so we thought we were in for a comfortable trip. After stopping at several hotels, however, we pulled into a gas station where they transferred us into a very old, extremely small and cramped bus. The seating was so tight that I was practically sitting half off the bench. After about 1 hour and 20 minutes of pure discomfort, with my back killing me, we finally arrived.
From there, we had to walk for another 20 minutes in a large group just to reach an already crowded boat. When we finally arrived at the island, the beach was covered with shells and rocks, making it very uncomfortable to even walk into the water.
The food was horrible, and the drinks were even worse.
Afterward, another boat took us to an old catamaran. Different boats kept arriving and dropping more and more people onto the same catamaran until it felt completely overcrowded and chaotic. It felt more like being transported from one place to another than enjoying a relaxing Caribbean catamaran excursion.
The whole experience was disorganized, uncomfortable and nothing like what we expected. After doing catamaran tours in many countries, I can confidently say this was by far the worst one.
Absolutely ridiculous experience. I would never recommend it.
The excursion was beautiful! The staff were not polite, helpful or kind to English speaking customers. The worst staff I have ever had! Take another tour! Danny Boy is not a great tour guide!
1. misleading pick up time - it states clearly on your itinerary that pickup was 8am but reminder was sent for 7am. When I asked , you said it has to be between certain time.
2. late pickup-After complaining, you confirmed pickup for 730 but driver came around 741, we had to wait standing outside the hotel.
3. Sizes of transport- The first minivan was already kind of full, and then it picked up family of
4. it was too crowded and uncomfortable. why didnt you manage according to traveller group size?
5. Bus switch- We already ran late bc of this schedule and then randomly got dropped off at a petrol station without any notice- why wasnt this mentioned in the itinerary?
6. language barrer- it was also said the tour would be in english, but most of your staff didn’t know how to speak which made it even more difficult to understand situations.
7. Catamaran schedule- in your description it was supposed to be Saona Island first, THEN the natural swimming pool. But we were droppd off at the pool first. We had to wait for lunch until 2pm
8. limited time ar saona- in your description it says 3 hours, but we were asked to leave at 320- which means only 1.2 hours were given at the island. We travelled almost 7 hours just for less than 2 hours.
9. Quality of food/drinks- The buffet was not traditional dominican lunch as mentioned in your description ,bc it literally had spaghetti with tomato sauce. The open bar ONLY served rum/coke which should’ve been mentioned
10. No space in speedboat- on the way returning from Saona, our tour guide (Boack Banana) did not take us in their speedbot. Instead we were put ina. smaller boat with a separate group and the boat went extremely fast, and even faster than our assigned speedboat. It made us almost sick, and we had to wait for black banana’s boat to come.
11. Returning bus chaos- and still the bus played music SO loudly- the driver couldn’t hear anything the passengers said- annoying after 10hr trip.
We are a family of 4 with 2 kids. The transportation was a disaster, being picked up to meeting in a gas station where you are transferred to another van. Then a 25 mins drive passed the port to use washrooms & go to a gift shop to drive back and then finally arrive. The guides were super nice and friendly. At last, we got on a speed boat with a 25 mins stop at a blue lagoon which was a beautiful sight to see. From there we went to Saona island. We were under the impression we could snorkel like the add said but nope and really it’s just another beach to sit at. Lastly we boarded the catamaran with the already drunk passengers for a 50mins party boat ride back to shore. We picked this as we were under the impression we could snorkel and it was family friendly. The guides were great however had we known about the party boat and no official excursion, we wouldn’t have gone! If you want a party boat and just play in the water/beach this is the experience for you!
They never showed up to pick us up for the trip, I reached out multiple times and got no response from the company, currently waiting for a refund from Viator.
Saona Island was gorgeous but the throngs of people ruined it. Packed and felt like cattle. Long, hot day and 40 min drive back to Bavaro.
Response from Host, May 2024
gracias por su comentario
The bus transportation from resort to the harbor was disorganized & chaotic. The speed boat ride was fast & loud, booming music. The blue swimming hole was amazing & a welcome break from the boat. Many boats here. Again loud booming music, & open bar. This is a definite party boat atmosphere. On to Saona Island, just beautiful. Recommend water shoes. Buffet style lunch with open bar. The catamaran ride back was like the wooed boat ride, just slower.
Response from Host, Jul 2023
Gracias por su comentario
Out of the 12 hour day we only had around 3 hours between both stops
And a hour back on the catamaran far to much waiting around!!! Picked up at 7 did not reach the harbour until 10.30am then waited 45mins there to get the first speed boat. Not a good trip for me
Response from Host, Nov 2022
I'm very sorry, but you paid for a shared trip, it wasn't private. When it is shared, you have to pick up all the customers and wait for your turn because you work with the people who arrive first. When the package or excursion is VIP I deprived then it takes you only to the island but you bought the shared economic package. Thank you for your opinion
What a total rip-off!
I should explain that I don’t normally write reviews but I feel compelled to warn any other tourist of making the same mistake as we did taking this excursion with this tour operator.
The beginning of the trip included a pick up from our hotel for the 6 of us in an air conditioned mini van. As pleasing as this sounds, the mini van was filthy inside and the air conditioning was not adequately working.
The mini van proceeded to drop us off at a gas station with other seemingly confused tourists as to why they were also there. After 30 minutes of standing around, a guide finally arrived to usher us into a small bus from the 1970’s to continue our journey onwards…….to another gas station!
At the second gas station we had the opportunity to use the facilities before continuing onto Saona Island. The guide advised us to take advantage of these facilities as he described the toilets at Saona Island as a ‘no go area’ due to the sheer amount of human waste deposited in such a small amount of time.
After another 30 minute stop we were finally on our way…..to Bayahibe to catch a speedboat. This meant another wait of 45 minutes waiting for a speedboat to whisk us away.
From leaving our hotel to boarding the speedboat, it had taken 3 hours!
The speedboat carried us along to a natural blue lagoon where we were told to be sure to look out for starfish…..not one was seen. It could be that the multitude of other boats and thousands of tourists had scared them all away? The 45 minute stay at the lagoon was pleasant made even more so by the offering of free rum and coke at least to the brave soles that got off the boat and into the lagoon. If you decided to stay on the boat, no drinks were offered to you.
Back onboard the speedboat after the stop, we headed for out final destination….Saona Island. We finally set foot on the beach at 12:50pm after being picked up from our hotel at 7:45am……already 5 hours traveling!
We were then led to a location on the beach which seemed to be reserved for our tour operator and were told a lunch buffet would be served at 1pm….just 10 minutes after arriving. We headed directly to a table to ensure at least we had somewhere to sit to eat our traditional Dominican Republic buffet lunch. The food arrived and en mass everyone leaped into action to form an almighty long queue.
The food itself was edible (just) and consisted of cold pasta, cold rice, shredded salad, noodles which you could help yourself to. The meat was served to you and consisted of a chicken drumstick and a small pork chop.
After lunch we went in search of sun loungers but were unable to find any free ones as there were far more tourists than there were loungers. We resorted to taking the chairs from the table with us so we had somewhere to sit.
At this point in the review, I would like to confirm what the tour guide mentioned earlier in regard to the toilets at the island. They were horrendous and overflowing.
At 2:50pm, everyone was herded back to a location on the beach to get on a speedboat to take us out to a catamaran moored up just off the beach. There was much confusion as to who should be on which speedboat. We had spent a total of 2 hours on the island……
On the catamaran, rum and coke was offered as was music so loud that our kids had to have their hands over their ears for almost the entirety of the journey back to Bayahibe.
Arriving back at Bayahibe, there was another wait on the catamaran for over 1 hour for a speedboat to take us back to the beach. Some of us were green due to motion sickness due to bobbing around for this amount of time. The final leg of the trip was another jaunt in a mini van back to our hotel.
To summarize, the island itself is beautiful but the sheer amount of tourists there and the amount of time it takes with a disorganized tour operator made it a place where we would never venture to again and would advise others not to also. It was a 12 hour day for 2 hours on the beach.
Response from Host, Aug 2022
Buenos días , los comentarios de los otros cliente dicen todo lo contrario. Yo estuve ahí personalmente y todas las personas la pasaron bien. Gracias por comentar
Member Pricing
From
$71.25
per personWas $75.00(-5%)
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
Compare Similar Experiences
Current
Member Pricing
Saona Island Catamaran Adventure with Free Food and Transportation
64
9 hours
Free Cancellation
From
$75.00
$71.25
5% savings
Customers Who Bought This Tour Also Bought
Explore Similar Things to Do
- Full-day Tours
- Bus Tours
- Historical Tours
- Tours, Sightseeing & Cruises
- Private and Luxury
- Cultural Tours
- Punta Cana
- Full-day Tours - La Romana
- Bus Tours - La Romana
- Historical Tours - La Romana
- Full-day Tours - Rincón
- Bus Tours - Rincón
- Historical Tours - Rincón
- Full-day Tours - Samaná
- Bus Tours - Samaná
- Historical Tours - Samaná
Attractions in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
- Bavaro Adventure Park Tours & Tickets
- Saona Island (Isla Saona) Tours & Tickets
- Hoyo Azul Lagoon Tours & Tickets
- Hard Rock Casino Punta Cana Tours & Tickets
- Cocotal Golf and Country Club Tours & Tickets
- Macao Beach (Playa Macao) Tours & Tickets
- Coco Bongo Punta Cana Tours & Tickets
- Higuey Tours & Tickets
- Catalina Island (Isla Catalina) Tours & Tickets
- Juanillo Beach (Playa Juanillo) Tours & Tickets
- Bavaro Beach (Playa Bavaro) Tours & Tickets
More attractions near Punta Cana, Dominican Republic