Small Group: Saona Island Full Day Tour
Recommended by 98% of travelers
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
- 9 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Head to the sparsely inhabited Saona Island on a full-day trip from Punta Cana. Join a small group and visit the town of Mano Juan, home to a turtle conservation area. Then, spend the rest of your day exploring a secret beach as well as Abanico and Palmilla beaches, each with its own charm. Your day trip includes a simple breakfast and a hearty, buffet lunch on the beach.
- Learn about turtle conservation from a community leader
- Search for starfish and marine life with a provided snorkel
- Hassle-free transfers from select locations
- A small group means more attention from your guide
What's Included
- Lunch
- Breakfast
- Alcoholic Beverages
- Bottled water
- Soda/Pop
- Use of Snorkeling equipmentUse of Snorkelling equipment
- Air-conditioned vehicle
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Pickup details
Thanks for reserve our experience Please write to us: your full name your location name where do you need to be pick up We provided pick up and drop off from Punta Cana to Bayahibe Port and back to Punta Cana. The experience is for a small groups of 14 pax. Limited 2 groups. We develop the entire excursion over speed boat in Saona Island. Punta Cana to the Port of Bayahibe by Bus. Bring swimming suits, towels, sun block, bugs repellent, money. We provided breakfast and lunch if you have any food restrictions or you need information about the food we provided feel free to contact us. We served for breakfast sandwiches with cheese and tomatoes and cheese and turkey ham with do natural juiced and a fruit salad. For lunch with provided a buffet with traditional Dominican lunch( rice with vegetables, mash potatoes salad, green salad, fruits salad, bread, pasta in tomatoes sauce marinate with lobster, grilled chicken, grilled pork chops. We do one stop in a convenient store 10 minutes before the port where you can buy anything of your preference. You are free to bring to the trip drinks or food of your preference if you need it. Thanks again for reserve with me your experience to Saona Island. Best Regards Melvin Duran +18293707381
Start time.6:00 am
Itinerary
For this Saona Island small-group tour either head directly to the meeting point on Bavaro Beach, or if you’ve requested pickup, get picked up from your Punta Cana location. This tour has a maximum of 12 travelers for an intimate full-day experience.
First your group makes your way to Mano Juan, home to a turtle conservation area. Breakfast is included, too. After a short time in Mano Juan, continue to a secret beach for stunning views and a swim.
Next, visit Abanico Beach on Saona Island for a delicious lunch buffet and free time to spend on the beach as you please.
Lastly, visit Palmilla Beach, where you can search for starfish before making your way back to Punta Cana for drop-off.
First your group makes your way to Mano Juan, home to a turtle conservation area. Breakfast is included, too. After a short time in Mano Juan, continue to a secret beach for stunning views and a swim.
Next, visit Abanico Beach on Saona Island for a delicious lunch buffet and free time to spend on the beach as you please.
Lastly, visit Palmilla Beach, where you can search for starfish before making your way back to Punta Cana for drop-off.
1
Isla Saona
3 hours • Admission Ticket Free
2
Parque Nacional del Este
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Punta Cana Excursions & Tours
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
4
Parque Nacional del Este
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
5
Parque Nacional del Este
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Most travelers can participate
- 0-5 not allow
- Pregnant not allowed
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 14 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Hands down, the best part of our trip to DR was this excursion!! Melvin & Natalia were wonderful and provided such a beautiful experience! Book this excursion, you won’t regret it!! Saona Island is amazing, and the little touches that were put into this day did not go unnoticed.
Reviews
4.9
based on 1,557 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Fantastic day from start to finish Melvin kept us well informed about every detail of the trip after we got on the speed boat we headed to have breakfast on the beach followed by learning all about the turtles even got to see some baby turtles after that we headed to sonoa island and arrived before anybody else and it's like paradise the lunch on the beach was good and food was delicious I would highly recommend anyone do this small boat tour it was so good we have booked to do it again this week
We did the Saona Island tour with Melvin and honestly, he was truly amazing! Everything went exactly as described in the itinerary. If they tell you they’re picking you up at a certain time, they will be there on time. Melvin was very organized, attentive and thoughtful with everyone in the group. The breakfast sandwich was good, and they also had juice and coffee available. But lunch honestly surprised me the most! It was absolutely amazing. I fell in love with the Dominican spaghetti and the chicken. They had other options as well but those were definitely my favorites. They also offered fruit and they set up a really nice table for everyone. Melvin himself was walking around making sure everyone had drinks and was taken care of. I’m sometimes picky with food so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but lunch ended up being such a great part of the experience. We had such a nice moment together. I also loved the timing of everything. We finished lunch and left around 1 PM for our next stop, right before the beach started getting more crowded. I honestly wasn’t sure how this tour was going to turn out, especially because we were doing it for my boyfriend’s birthday and I wanted everything to be perfect. And it truly was! Everything went so smoothly, and we had such a great time.
100% recommend this tour. Melvin was amazing, the experience was well organized, and I would definitely do it again! 🇩🇴❤️
Amazing tour top notch Melvin is the best!!!! After the bus ride we loaded into boat smooth ride over… baby turtles… beautiful waters and no crowds were the highlights
We had an absolute blast on the Saona Island Full Day Tour with Visita Republica Dominicana Tour Operator! From the very beginning of the trip, everything was seamless, well-organized, and incredibly enjoyable. Our tour guide was exceptional—he was exceptionally professional, attentive to all our needs, and remarkably knowledgeable. Throughout the journey, he enriched the experience by sharing fascinating historical context about the Dominican Republic, the history of neighboring Haiti, and interesting facts and stats about the broader Caribbean islands.
One of the main highlights of the day was visiting the turtle sanctuary, which was an awesome and unforgettable experience. On top of that, the food served during the tour was absolutely delicious and freshly prepared. This trip exceeded our high expectations in every possible way, making it a standout memory from our time in Punta Cana. If you are looking for an engaging, informative, and truly top-tier excursion, I would highly recommend booking this experience with Visita Republica Dominicana Tour Operator!
Amazing and informative experience. The entire staff go above and beyond for the entire duration of the trip
Amazing experience. Our tour guide was elite. Must do activity and visit this place. Wonderful time.
Great experience! Melvin was awesome and very knowledgeable. Had a great time and created long lasting memories.
Booked this excursion for my 20th wedding anniversary and me and my husband loved it! Melvin and as our tour guide and he was great! Very knowledgeable of the island and its history. He made sure everyone was taken care of and explained so many things. One of his boat helpers Diego was great too. They both were able to answer any questions we had and guided us through the experience well. The island was beautiful! The ONLY complaint I have is that when on the island the workers were very persistent in trying to sale you a massage or any of their items and it got kind of annoying. It’s a full day excursion and you are on a boat a lot of the trip but once on the island I feel it was worth it. I give not only the experience but Melvin and Diego 5 stars!
I see now why this excursion is highly rated. Everything from booking and confirmation to pick up and transportation and the excursion itself was fantastic. Our tour guide Melvin was extremely friendly and knowledgeable and made sure we had the best experience. The island is absolutely beautiful, the little side trips were a bonus and surprisingly the lunch was very good. The only downside to the entire trip was the AC in the van that took us to the marina did not work well. We sat in the back and on the way to our hotel the sun was beating down on us and we were pretty uncomfortable. Other than that, we only have good things to say. We almost canceled the excursion at one point because we didn’t want to leave the resort for the entire day. We are so glad that we did not do that because this excursion ends up being the best part of our trip to the Dominican.
Melvin and Pedro were amazing. Both were very informative and attentive the whole time, and they made sure everyone in the group was looked after. Waking up very early in the morning was completely worth it. Highly recommend this experience!
Small group was so much better than a large group He took us to the small village to see the turtle sanctuary. He made it very personal. The Beach chairs were reserved and lunch was very good. Getting there early was key to fewer crowds. Excellent experience overall. Melvin was so kind. Give him a raise.
Absolutely amazing. Melvin made it a top notch experience. There were little extras the whole time. He gave an optionalchistory lesson about the Dominican Republic and Haiti that was honestly one of the best history lessons I've ever heard. He was so knowledgeable and passionate. He took us to a town that most tour guides don't take groups to, including visiting a turtle sanctuary. Amazing beach time and lunch, grilled by him. Then fantastic snorkeling. He explained everything so well and treated both the guests and his employees superbly. He took photos throughout that he shared at the end. Can't recommend him enough.
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Good morning
Thanks for your words regarding our experience to saona island in small groups over speed boat was very nice to meet you and share some history of the island with you it’s great to see that you enjoy and learn about our country.
Thanks for reserved with us, thanks for coming.
Best regards
Melvin Duran
Great trip with a great guide in Melvin, early start but this was in no way a negative, first at the only inhabited part of island, tour of rural area and a visit to local who rescues turtle eggs and releases them when they hatch, then first again at next beach for relaxing and lunch, speed boat in both directions with small group of 14,this is the 3rd time we have done trip up saona and this was by far the best, no banging music just a very informative guide, would def recommend this trip
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Good evening David
Thanks for your words, thanks for wrote your review. As you can see our program is create for enjoy the beaches not too crowded.
Thanks for be on time for enjoy your day, was nice to meet you
Best Regards
Melvin Duran
Amazing Saona Island Small-Group Boat Tour headed by Melvin.
We had a fantastic experience on the Saona Island small-group boat tour! From start to finish, everything was well organised and enjoyable. The crew were friendly, professional, and made us feel welcome throughout the day special shout out to Melvin and Diego!
Visiting Saona Island was definitely the highlight. The crystal-clear turquoise water, stunning beaches, and relaxing atmosphere made it an unforgettable experience. The smaller group was a big plus, as it felt much more personal and relaxed than a large group tour.
We really enjoyed visiting the turtle sanctuary and the stops for swimming and snorkelling for starfish and the food was great!
A big thank you to the fantastic crew for making the day so special. I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone visiting the Dominican Republic. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Good evening Lesley
I just need to say’s thanks you thank you what a nice review, really thanks.
Any other time around we will be glad to receive you. It’s important for us to support the locals specially the turtle sanctuary at Mano Juan, Saona Island running by Pelagio Paulino “Negro Tortugas”, he is a legend.
The best wishes in life.
Best regards
Melvin Duran
It's a great experience really worth it....
Melvin and the crew are very experienced and very informative
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Good evening Ahmed
Thanks for wrote your review
Was nice to meet you and show you the Saona Island in Small Groups over Speed Boat.
The best wishes
Best regards
Melvin Duran
We are so glad we booked this tour.
Melvin is clearly a passionate man when it comes to the heritage, history and conservation of Sanoa Island and has crafted this experience for those that want a small dose of that along with a small group day excursion to Sanoa Island.
As per all the other reviews you get to the main beach long before the party boats so can soak in the idyllic picture perfect Carribean Island vibes and grab all the pictures you want long before the beach gets overcrowded and overrun with the masses.
Lunch is a traditional beach bbq and you find yourself heading off to seek Turtles in the clear mangroves as the masses start to land on Sanoa. We were lucky enough to see several turtles before boating off for some swimming on another picture perfect spot (a sandbar) between Sanoa and Biyahibe. Think clear crystal turqoise waters where you can stand up 2 miles out!
Can’t say we were bothered with the final spot near the harbour for snorkelling as didn’t see many fish and the water was very choppy here but overall a fantastic day out we would highly recommend to those that don’t just want to get drunk on a boat full of 50+ people with boomy music blasting out.
Melvin takes loads of pictures throughout the day and sends these on to you for no extra costs. Indeed there are no pushy sales at any time on this trip and Melvin is also good enough to help you haggle any items you may want to buy on the beach from sellers so that you don’t get ripped off. Plenty of rum provided throughout the trip but do recommend buying a pina colada in a pineapple on the beach as was lovely.
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Good morning Daniel
Thanks you very much for wrote such a nice review
Was very nice to meet you and enjoy the island with you
Thanks for coming
Best regards
Melvin Duran
Our tour guide Marvin was the stand alone reason we will be coming back and bringing our families just for his tour. There is not enough room to explain the level of exceptionalism for Marvin and his crew.
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Good morning Hadley
Thanks for wrote your review.
Was very nice to meet you and have you in our experience for saona island small groups.
It’s was nice to share some history with you about the Dominican Republic and the saona island.
Sorry take me so long to answers back your review, as you know it’s only my wife and I running the company, thanks for your patience we respond each review by yourself, Thanks for coming.
Best regards
Melvin Duran
We absolutely loved this tour and would 100% recommend it. It was one of the highlights of our holiday.
The small group made such a difference – it felt much more personal and almost like having a private tour rather than being part of a large organised excursion. Our guide was excellent: friendly, knowledgeable and made the whole day really enjoyable.
The beaches were absolutely stunning. One of the best parts was arriving early enough to enjoy an incredible beach while it was still peaceful and virtually empty – turquoise water, white sand and no crowds. It really did feel like we had our own private piece of paradise.
There was also a great variety throughout the day, including visiting Mano Juan, learning about the turtle conservation project, snorkelling, seeing starfish and spending time swimming and relaxing on the beautiful beaches.
Everything was well organised without the day feeling rushed. If you’re looking for a Saona Island tour, I would definitely choose this small-group experience over one of the large boat tours. Absolutely amazing day and highly recommended.
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Good morning Neelma
Thanks for your words really big thanks you make me day, sorry I haven’t be able to answers you back before.
Thanks for reserved with us really thanks you.
Feel free to contact me if you need anything from Dominican Republic, was nice to meet you.
Best regards
Melvin Duran
This is an excursion that is highly recommended to everyone looking for something to do in Punta Cana! Melvin and his crew were amazing and Melvin himself was exceptional. He was an excellent tour guide, he made sure his guests were comfortable and the food served was truly Dominican food. If your looking to enjoy arguably the best beach in DR with peace and tranquil, then you will not be disappointed.
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Good Morning Cristian
Thanks for wrote your review, thank you very much.
It’s was very nice to meet you, thanks for reserved our Saona Island full day small groups excursion on Viator.
My apologies i couldn’t answer before very busy over here and I like to respond personal to my guest than become families.
Thanks for coming
Best regards
Melvin Duran
My husband and I attended the Soana Island small group tour and one word that comes to mind is AMAZING!!!! Melvin and his team literally treated us as his kids. Made sure we were educated and safe. From pickup to drop off they were professional, kind, informative, protective and they made sure we had an amazing time. I can’t say it enough. If you don’t go with Melvin And his team you’ve made a bad choice. The lunch provided was delicious and tasted as if Abuela cooked it. I must say that my absolute favorite part was the sandbar stop to see the starfish. I can’t say enough to make this excursion stand out. Trust me and try it!!!! Melvin GRACIAS!!!! Quedamos super agradecios por el servicio Y la experiencia.
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Good morning Erick
Sorry, I haven’t be able to answer you back this review, brother thanks you, really thanks. We try to do our best everyday and keep our team motivated. It’s great to see you enjoy the experience and you get the feeling behind, thanks for reserved our saona island small group excursion.
Best regards
Melvin Duran
It was awesome!! I loved that it was a small group and our tour guide Melvin was very knowledgeable. I highly recommend if you want more of an intimate experience versus a large crowd. The boat is a little rough going out but that’s expected. Overall 10 out of 10.
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Good morning Loren
Thanks for reserved our Saona Island Small Groups Excursion was nice to meet you and have you in our experience.
As you can see the personal services and the itinerary make our program very unique.
Thanks for take your take and wrote your review in behalf of Pedro, the boat staff and me, we send you a big hug.
Ps: Sorry for the time take me to answer you back, you know I personal response each review we don’t pay for community manager or IA for answering review we do everything like the all time, thanks again for coming.
Best regards
Melvin Duran
Great excursion. Guide was fantastic Great beach location.small group is the way to go. Well worth the money. Stopped for breakfast at turtle exploratory and saw how the help hatch the turtles and protect them from their predators. Saw mango trees in the water and large turtles. Stopped at Sandbar and saw two starfish. They only reason I didnt rate it a 5 was the van used needed to upgraded
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Good afternoon Larry
Thanks for wrote your review.
Was very nice to meet you and your wife very nice people.
We are arranging with our transportation supplier for upgrade the van for the next high season. We agree with you it’s need to be upgrade and we will do it, thanks for your advice.
Best regards
Melvin Duran
Will recommend to all who vacation in the DR. The street was very knowledgeable about where to go and the timing of the itenerary ran like clockwork
Wow, absolutely amazing trip. The crew work so hard. You learn a lot about the turtle rescue and the local history.
This is definitely the trip to do, a small group. You get up early to get to the island before all the big boats.
We had a great time 👍🏼
Highly recommend
This excursion was the absolute highlight of our trip! We would highly recommend this trip to anyone wanting to see Saona Island. The early wake up call was totally worth it to have the beach to ourselves before all of the large groups arrive. We loved all of the details included in this trip and enjoyed Melvin's excitement in sharing the history of the Dominican Republic. Melvin and his crew thought of everything, including many group photos, saving us beach chairs on the beach, a family style lunch on the beach, drinks, going to a baby turtle sanctuary, learning about the mangroves and seeing more starfish that we could have imagined. All of the stops were thoughtful and gave us a wonderful sampling of Saona Island. Great day!
Thanks to Mr Melvin's insider knowledge and the early start, we had the island just to our small group, very peaceful and beautiful experience. The buffet lunch on the beach was on white table cloth, very nice, unexpected touch. We left right when the large herds of tourists flooded the shore.
The powerboat ride was quite bumpy, so if you are seasick, make some preparations in advance.
There were quite a few rocks when getting off the boat and making our way onto the island, so a heads-up to wear water shoes would have been very helpful.
That being said, all of the stops were absolutely worth seeing and learning about! We especially loved the hands-on experience with the starfish and the snorkeling. The guides were very pleasant, knowledgeable, and helpful throughout the excursion. Overall, it was a fun and memorable experience!
Waking up early pays off. You get to enjoy the island before it gets crowded. Everyone is very friendly and nice!
What an incredible excursion! A huge shout out to Melvin (tour guide) and his staff. We had the most incredible day. Pick up was prompt at 6am and we arrived back safely at our hotel at 4:30pm. It was so worth the early pick up, as we were able to enjoy a few hours on the stunning Saona Island beach before hundreds of tourists arrived around midday. The excursion was only 12 of us on a speed boat, which made the experience a whole lot better. We couldn’t have asked for a better day. We had the opportunity to visit the local turtle sanctuary (even saw some hatch), see the only part where people live on the island, before heading to the main beach for a few hours and lunch, then visiting the mangrove (seeing the sea turtles) and having the opportunity to swim with star fish. I could not recommend this excursion enough!
Wonderful trip which i and family (wife and two teenage girls 13&16) would recommend.
Melvin and crew are great and trip is perfectly timed to show you the most possible and avoid the crowds. Melvin is knowledgeable and a nice guy and while keeping our group of twenty continually happy also found the time to help others not in our party.
Highlight of the trip for us were the starfish snorkeling!!
Be warned though it is a long day....and bring water shoes as beach can be rocky
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$156.75
per personWas $165.00(-5%)
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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