Worth the Price!! - We are so glad that we booked a small group excursion! We were able to spend a lot of time at various locations before it got packed and was able to spend more time at each location than if we were to book the standard Saona Island tour. I highly recommend this tour as Melvin is very knowledgeable, nice, and friendly.

Such a special day! - I could not recommend this trip more! Melvin is genuinely one of the nicest people I have ever met and goes above and beyond to ensure everyone has a memorable day. I was unwell at one point of the trip and Melvin and his team were so kind to me and did everything they could to make sure I was well for the rest of the day. Melvin takes photos as well including candid ones all free of charge so you have lifelong memories. We did other group tours whilst we stayed in Punta Cana and this one is by far the best one available!! Can’t say enough good things about how good this company is

Clear Waters and good company - This was a wonderful experience. Melvin and his team worked hard to make sure the day went smoothly. Great value for the money spent. Would only note that the boat ride is very bumpy so if you get motion sick easily, then it might not be ideal. Otherwise the boat ride was lots of fun with great company. Lunch was good! The early morning was definitely worth getting to the beaches before the crowds. Highly recommend this trip!

Amazing trip, Choose this one over the others! - I loved this excursion it was the highlight of my trip. Melvin was so informative and helpful. I loved the small group, got to the beaches before the other groups it was such a nice experience. I would definitely recommend this one over the others. I also loved how we got to learn and support the locals at our first stop.

Amazing from start to finish …. - Melvin our guide was such a lovely genuine knowledgeable honest and trustworthy gentleman. He looked after everyone in the group made sure we were all comfortable at all times. Food provided was excellent and his cooking skills at lunch were amazing. We are so glad that we choose to go in a small group at an early time as you see the real beauty of the places before the crowds arrive Thank you Melvin we will be recommending you to all our friend Love Rach &Clare (UK)

Great all day tour with Melvin and staff! - Me and my girls absolutely enjoyed this day tour! Melvin was wonderful and knowledgeable! You can tell he genuinely cares for the locals, the islands, the wildlife and us, to make sure we have the best experience. It was an all day tour and we were up at the crack of dawn, but so very much worth it, we got fed breakfast and lunch and the catch of the day at lunch was my favorite! We got to see sea turtles, learned a lot at the turtle sanctuary, stingrays, starfish, so many types of fish in the coral reefs, the wonderful people and children at Mano Juan town! So much to have taken away from this day to make it special! I am glad we did this excursion, so definitely worth your money! Thank you Melvin and your wonderful staff for taking such good care of us and making our trip very memorable!

The best excursions available on the island. - Exceptional excursion. There were 13 of us on the boat and we visited the most beautiful and isolated beaches on the island. The excursion is planned against the arrival of all the other boats which allows you to be alone on the beaches and the island of Mano Juan. MELVIN explained everything to us with great kindness and professionalism. Respect for fauna and flora, explanation of the turtle conservation center. He suggests going through a store that allows the center to survive but does not encourage consumption. We had an unforgettable day! VIP welcome

Lovely little tour -Do it! - This trip was overall very good for me and my family. We all collectively thought that this trip was a great long day out, and I personally loved visiting a variety of areas of Saona Island. All the parts of this island were outstanding and absolutely gorgeous. The buffet lunch provided also exceeded our expectations. They offered a variety of different foods such as fish, chicken, mash potatoes and pasta. Plenty of drinks offered throughout too. I would also recommend spending the little bit extra for this smaller group tour, as me and my family all thought that it was much more secluded, private and more enjoyable. Melvin even has sunbeds reserved for just his party to use. With an early start you arrive before all the bigger boats, which I should imagine would be carnage during peak season. This trip consisted of 5 different sections. We first arrived at the furthest beach on a speedboat. This is where we had a small breakfast consisting of sandwiches and juice. After this, we visited the second beach. We spent an hour here to test the waters and enjoy a small swim. Following this, we visited the 3rd beach where you have 2 hours to relax, have lunch and go for a nicer swim. I would say though that the amount of boats surrounding these beaches did take away some of the true beauty of this island. I found that it restricted us as we had to stick to a small area of the sea. I would also recommend wearing sea shoes at all of these beaches as there are lots of rocks near the shore. We proceeded to visit the second to last destination where you had the opportunity to see turtles and hold starfish. The tour guide was helpful and provided us lots of information throughout this whole trip. We should have visited a final reef to take part in snorkeling, but the particular day that we visited, the waves were too rough, so we headed home early. There were however some downers, which is why we have rated this trip 4 stars. Our boat's engine didn't work, so we transferred to another one, which also broke down, needing parts changing & delaying us by an hour. We personally found this quite frustrating and under prepared. These things happen and I wouldn't take anything away from Melvin as he is more than accommodating. We enjoyed our trip, and we would still recommend visiting this island. A nice final touch at the end of the trip was that they were able to AirDrop our photos to us free of charge.

Decent experience, too many things went wrong. - The day started with our boat propeller breaking down, we then went back to port and got on a different boat which also didn’t work. We were about an hour behind and sat on the boat for about 45 minutes. The breakfast sandwich’s also contained ham and wasn’t inclusive of what other people can eat. The views of the beach at the island were nice, but this excursion is not “private”. There were at least 10-15 other boats on the dock and they kept getting in the way while we were swimming. There was nearly 100 people on the beach and it was crowded. On the way back to the port, the boat ran out of gasoline as well. Overall could’ve been better if they were more prepared and included more privacy.

Read BEFORE you book! Don’t do it - Don’t book!! Most people won’t read this whole review, but here is a quick snapshot with explanation to follow. A/C on the van for 45 minute ride each way was terrible. When you get to the launch point, there is several people trying to sell you stuff and don’t take no for an answer. Our first boat broke down twice before we switched then it broke down and had to be repaired for 30 minutes before we even left. We did not get to see any of the turtle sanctuary and our breakfast was a homemade ham sandwiches from the guides wife. When we reach the second beach, there is a big group of women in blue shirts trying to sell you a massage and kept touching us saying one minute is free. The island and beach is beautiful but as more boats come in, it’s hard to swim and enjoy the ocean. Lunch was great Dominica food. This beach also had a lot of people trying to sell you cigars and jewelry and such with nobody making sure we were not bothered. The bottled water they say that comes with the trip is actually one bottle of water and then they fill an igloo cooler up full of water and just refill the same bottle. On the return, our second boat ran out of gas and another boat was filling up 2 L Coca-Cola bottles of gas and throwing it to us. They then made the decision that the water was too rough to go snorkeling. After all of this, the young captains of the boat asked for tips before we got to shore then again when we reached shore, then actually followed a group of us all the way up to the van asking if we were going to tip the captain. The guide said he was going to refund a one person charge from my three person group, but never did. We spent more time on the boats and in the vans than we did on the beach. In my opinion, it’s not worth the extra money for the “small group tour”