Bayahibe · Dominican Republic
A flat, palm-fringed island in Cotubanamá National Park, just off the Dominican Republic's south-east coast. Wade waist-deep among red starfish in a sandbar pool far out at sea, eat lunch under the palms, then sail home by catamaran.
Independent guideTickets and experiences hand-picked by our editors.
Tours
In the centre, the classic speedboat-and-catamaran day with the most bookings. Either side, the cheapest full day and a quieter small-group catamaran from Bayahibe. Every card opens a full tour page.
Lowest price
★ 4.48 to 8.5 hoursFree cancellationThe cheapest full Saona day here, with the same shape as the classic: natural pool, beach and buffet, then a catamaran back with music and an open bar.
Most booked
★ 4.48 hoursFree cancellationThe classic Saona day: speedboat out with a stop at the starfish sandbar, about three and a half hours on the beach, then a catamaran home with music.
Quieter day
★ 4.710 hoursFree cancellationA smaller catamaran that sails the whole way: snorkelling at the old Catuano pier, a quiet beach corner, lunch on board and a long swim at the natural pool.
Most stops
★ 4.77.5 to 11 hours
Four beaches
★ 4.510 hours
Max 20 guests
★ 4.810 hours
Cruise port
★ 4.79 hours
Private boat
★ 4.710.5 hours
Classic route
★ 4.010.5 hours
From the capital
★ 4.09.5 hoursCompare
Three questions sort it out. Where are you sleeping? Do you want a party boat or a quiet one? And how many of the day's hours do you want on the sand rather than on a bus?
| Tour | Starts from | On the island | Best for | Trip | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saona by Speedboat & Catamaran with Buffet | Pickup in Bávaro or Bayahibe | About 3.5 hours | The classic day, most booked | 8 hours | Book this |
| Saona Catamaran Day with Food & Open Bar | Pickup in Punta Cana or Bávaro | About 3 hours | The lowest price for the full day | 8 to 8.5 hours | Book this |
| Small-Group Saona Day on a Luxury Catamaran | From Bayahibe and Dominicus | 1.5 hours ashore, plus the pool | A calmer boat, snorkelling | 10 hours | Book this |
| Beaches, Mangroves & Natural Pool by Speedboat | Bayahibe office, pickups across the east coast | Lunch stop, plus the pool | Mangroves, a snorkel stop and the pool, all by speedboat | 7.5 to 11 hours | Book this |
| Saona VIP: Four Beaches, Mano Juan & Canto de la Playa | Pickup in Bayahibe and Punta Cana | Four beach stops | Canto de la Playa and a route run in reverse to dodge crowds | 10 hours | Book this |
| Saona in a Small Group of 20, Speedboat Both Ways | Pickup across Punta Cana and Bayahibe | About 4 hours | About four hours on the beach, no party boat | 10 hours | Book this |
| Saona Crusoe for Cruise Passengers | La Romana cruise port | Village, beach and pool | Mano Juan village, the turtle project and Canto de la Playa | 9 hours | Book this |
| Private Speedboat to Saona for Two | Pickup in Punta Cana or Bayahibe | Your own pace | Your own boat and your own pace, priced for up to two | 10.5 hours | Book this |
| Full-Day Saona Excursion with Catamaran Party | Hotel pickup, boats from Bayahibe | About 3.5 hours | The busy classic route at a budget price | 10.5 hours | Book this |
| Saona Island from Santo Domingo with Lunch | Calle El Conde, Santo Domingo | About 3 hours | Staying in the capital or Boca Chica, not the resorts | 9.5 hours | Book this |
Transport from your area, lunch and drinks are included on every tour above, and every one cancels free up to 24 hours before. The private speedboat is priced per group of up to two.
Before you book
Almost every Saona tour follows the same shape. A bus collects you from your hotel and drives to Bayahibe, the fishing village turned boat harbour on the edge of Cotubanamá National Park. A speedboat runs you out along the coast, stops at the natural pool, a waist-deep sandbar in open water, and lands you on the island for lunch, a swim and the hammock. A catamaran brings you back with music and rum.
What varies is where you start, how many people share your boat and which beach you get. From the Bávaro and Punta Cana hotels, an hour or more of each way is road. From Bayahibe, it is a short walk to the pier. The classic tours share one long, busy stretch of sand; the small-group and VIP days head for Canto de la Playa, Mano Juan or a quieter corner, and some skip the party boat entirely.
Hours, roughly, that most group tours give you on Saona itself. The rest of an 8 to 11 hour day is the bus, the speedboat, the natural pool and the catamaran home.
Most boats leave from Bayahibe. Staying in Punta Cana adds 1 to 1.5 hours by road each way.
Usually both: speedboat out, catamaran back. A few small-group tours use one boat all day.
At the natural pool, most days. Touching or lifting them is not allowed.
Pregnant travellers, and anyone with back problems: most listings rule them out because of the boat.
Your day
Eight to ten and a half hours from a Punta Cana hotel, less from Bayahibe. This is the shape of it.
A bus or minibus from your hotel to Bayahibe, often with a coffee stop on the way. Pickups start early.
1 to 1.5 hoursA fast run along the national park coast, then a swim at the natural pool, waist-deep, with starfish on the sand.
35 to 50 min, then 40 minBeach time, a Dominican buffet, cold drinks and a palm to lie under. Some tours add Mano Juan or Canto de la Playa.
About 3 to 4 hoursA slower sail back to Bayahibe with music and an open bar, then the bus to your hotel.
About 1.5 hoursPlan your trip
Season, what is included, who can go and what to pack: one tab each.
Where it happens
Boats: Bayahibe harbour, La Romana province. Pickups: your hotel in Punta Cana, Bávaro, Bayahibe or Dominicus
Saona sits off the south-east tip of the Dominican Republic, across the narrow Catuano strait from the mainland. There is no bridge and no ferry for visitors. Tour boats run from Bayahibe, along the coast of Cotubanamá National Park, and the hotel transfer is part of every tour here. Cruise passengers start from the La Romana port instead.
Around your trip
Timing, what guests wish they had known, the wildlife and the fine print.
Cotubanamá National Park
Pick where you start, then pick your date.
Book nowGuest reviews
★★★★★One of the highlights of my trip!
★★★★★The meal was fantastic, and the natural pools were superb, enjoyed in a small group!
★★★★★Isla Saona is a MUST! Probably the most beautiful beach on Earth!
★★★★★Activity was amazing, beautiful place. Definitely lives up to expectations.
★★★★★Excellent day trip start to finish. Beautiful island, guides were amazing, friendly party vibe and very helpful!
★★★★★Trip was as advertised and exceeded expectations by a mile.
★★★★★We are so glad we booked this tour, specially with this company. Christian and his crew were amazing from start to finish.
★★★★★Very well organized. Punctual pick-up. A wonderful, unforgettable day! Great team
★★★★★Mama Yaris was very friendly! I would definitely recommend this excursion :) The view were incredible
The other island
Snorkelling matters more to you than starfish and long beaches? The smaller island off La Romana has a reef by the shore.
Catalina is a different island, off La Romana, with a coral reef close to the beach. It suits snorkellers better than Saona does, and one guest noted far fewer people than on Saona. You give up the starfish pool and the long palm beaches.
Reef snorkelCatamaranBuffet lunch
The guide
Saona is the most sold day trip in the Dominican Republic, and the tours look alike in the photos. They differ in the parts the photos leave out.
Saona is about 25 km long and 5 km wide, a low island of white sand, coconut palms and scrub inside Cotubanamá National Park. The park was declared in 1975 as Parque Nacional del Este and renamed in 2014 after Cotubanamá, the Taíno chief of Higüey, who was captured on Saona and executed in 1504. The Taíno called the island Adamanay; Columbus, who landed in 1494, named it after Savona, home of his friend Michele da Cuneo. There are no hotels to speak of and one village, Mano Juan.
That status is why every tour runs as a day trip from Bayahibe, and why the beaches stay wild beyond the stretches the boats use. Most of the coast you see from the speedboat has no one on it.
The "piscina natural" sounds like a lagoon. It is a sandbar in open water off the island, waist-deep and pale turquoise, where the boats anchor and everyone climbs out to stand in the sea. Most tours give it about 40 minutes, often with drinks passed down from the boat. The cushion sea stars on the sand are the draw. Photograph them where they lie: lifting them into the air harms them, and the better operators say so before you jump in.
The big group tours land on the same long stretch of the south-west coast, with buffet tents, loungers and vendors. It is beautiful and busy. The VIP and small-group days look elsewhere: Canto de la Playa, a quiet beach further east; Mano Juan, the fishing village with its pastel houses and a turtle sanctuary; or a reserved corner with fewer people. Read the itinerary before you read the price.
Saona is the country's most important nesting beach for sea turtles, and Mano Juan's small sanctuary moves at-risk nests and incubates the eggs until they hatch. A few tours, like the cruise-port day, walk you through the village and the project. The palm-over-the-sea look that made the island famous came from the Bounty chocolate adverts of the 1980s, and you will recognise the angle the moment you land.
Guides
In-depth guides to the questions people ask most before booking. See all guides.
Best excursionWhich Saona tour suits which traveller, and why.
What's includedWhat each Saona tour includes, and what costs extra.
Is it worth it?Why Saona is famous, and the downsides nobody photographs.
Punta Cana to SaonaDrive times, the boat ride and what to pack.
Saona or CatalinaTwo island days from Punta Cana, and who each one suits.
Snorkelling at SaonaWhere you can snorkel, which tours lend gear, and the starfish rules.From the blog
Season news, rule changes and what is new. All posts.
FAQ
Straight answers to what people ask most about Saona Island excursions.
It depends on the format. Classic group days with pickup, lunch and an open bar cost the least. Small-group and quieter catamaran days cost more, and a private speedboat, priced per group of up to two, costs far more. Each tour shows its current price on GetYourGuide. What is included and what is extra is in what a Saona trip includes.
It depends on what you want from the day. For the classic party-boat day, the speedboat-and-catamaran tours are the most booked. For fewer people and more beach, pick a small-group day such as the luxury catamaran from Bayahibe. Our best excursion guide sorts them by traveller.
Tour boats leave from Bayahibe, about 1 to 1.5 hours by road from the Bávaro and Punta Cana hotels. From Bayahibe the speedboat takes roughly 35 to 50 minutes, so plan on two to three hours of travel each way. See Punta Cana to Saona.
About 35 to 50 minutes by speedboat from Bayahibe, with a stop at the natural pool. The catamaran ride back takes about 1.5 hours, and that slower ride is where the music and open bar happen.
Yes, if you go in knowing the shape of the day: eight to eleven hours door to door, with about three hours on the beach. The water and the sand are the real thing. Busy beaches and long bus rides are the price. Read is Saona worth it.
On some tours. The small-group days stop at the old pier at Catuano and lend you a mask, but the classic tours have no snorkel stop, and one small-group listing bans snorkelling outright. Details in snorkelling at Saona.
No. Look, photograph, but leave them in the water: lifting a sea star into the air can kill it, and several operators forbid touching marine life. The pool is a shallow sandbar in open sea, about waist-deep.
Saona is best known for the 1980s Bounty chocolate adverts. It is also said to appear in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. The 1980 film The Blue Lagoon, often linked to it, was shot in Fiji.
Not on any tour listed here. Saona is part of Cotubanamá National Park, and its only village, Mano Juan, is a small fishing community. Day trips return to Bayahibe in the late afternoon.
Saona is bigger, with long palm beaches and the starfish pool. Catalina is smaller and better for snorkelling, with a reef near the beach and fewer people. Compare them in Saona or Catalina.
Every tour on this site cancels for a full refund up to 24 hours before the start. If the sea is too rough, operators change the route or cancel, and you get a refund or a new date.
Ready to book
The most booked day: speedboat out, catamaran back, lunch and drinks included. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
More: the budget catamaran day · a small group of 20 · a private speedboat
Some links are affiliate links; see our disclosure.
