Saona experience - Wonder beach , Island beach was quite the experience. It should be a be a way to transfer people to the Catamaran that particular system needs improvement. Other than was superb. Great vives and wonderful memories.

Read now, thank me later. - Finding this excursion through the online review/booking website I use frequently proves how important reviews are. Let's start by saying I am a 40-something man I have traveled to many major beach destinations in the Caribbean and Mexico, over the years. I love a boat excursion and thought I had done my due diligence. The night before our excursion, I received a Whatsapp message the night before the excursion detailing pickup time of 07:50am and procedure. I responded to the message the following morning looking for an update, however, there was no response. The driver was right on time and he actually came to the door of the hotel, when the message indicated that we would have to go to the hotel's front entrance. We then took a relatively short trip to a gas station/coffee shop for us to be loaded onto another bus to get to the port for departure. Once at the port, we were then accosted by multiple people selling bags/hats/etc. Now here comes the part that I didn't care for and reminded me of the boat getaway scenes prevalent in every episode of "Miami Vice" (again, millenials and Gen Z, look it up). Overall, there was about an hour to 90 minutes of bumping and jumping over waves, while the "captain" maniacally laughed and the 20somethings seemed to be thoroughly entertained. At one point, it started to rain and so the raindrops stung my head as he plowed into the rain, at full speed. The rollercoaster-style driving of the boat ended momentarily at the "Piscina Natural" (Natural Pool) for about an hour. There was a photographer taking photos in the water; my friend lived his photoshoot and I declined and swam around taking my own selfies and the coastline. After the hour was done, we jetted down the coast for more swashbuckling bumps and cringeworthy speed. We stopped once for those who chose to take a dip, then off again. We came to a stop just off the coast of Saona and made our way to the shore. We were fed (rice, chicken parts, cucumber, fruit) and then given the opportunity to take advantage of massages, lounging, frolicking on the beach or any combination of these activities. I believe we had about 2.5 hours on the beach and then we made our way to a catamaran to take us back to the port of Bayahibe. The catamaran was fun - there was dancing, audience participation contests and limited drinks were served (beer and rum?). This was a welcome break after the speedboat situation. My friend was shown his photos and negotiated a better price than they wanted him to pay. We were asked to trade a tip for a Dominican flag 'do rag which we gladly did. By this point, there were some boat guests who overindulged and I wish they had been cut off, 10 drinks earlier. We arrived back at the port and made our way home after we were asked to buy a souvenir "mamajuana" bottle (with the dry ingredients) with your picture affixed to the bottle. We declined because the recipe seemed a little overwhelming. About 90 minutes later, we arrived back at our hotel and the excursion came to an end; from door-to-door RT was about 11.5 hours for this trip. **SUMMATION** *Eat a hearty breakfast because there is only one opportunity to eat on Saona Island *Wear your bathing suit/swim trunks under your clothes to ease your transition to the natural pool and beach *If jumping waves a la Evil Knievel (millenials and younger, Google it) sounds less than ideal to you, then this may not be your thing. *bring paper money (PESOS) for the photos in the Natural Pool if you want to buy them OR for Saona Island for activities (massages, souvenirs, etc.)