INFORMATION ABOUT SAONA ISLAND
BAYAHIBE, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
SAONA ISLAND DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Saona Island or Saona, located 12 kilometers from the coast of the Dominican Republic, has a position of the 5 most requested excursions in the country. the climate is very stable, totally sunny and a numerous beach that surrounds this island with beautiful palm trees. Within the National Park of the East, in the Dominican Republic, there is a small paradise called Isla Saona. It has been chosen as one of the eight dream islands of the Caribbean by the well-known Caribbean Travel & Life Magazine. And with good reason. It is one of the largest islands in the country, with 110 km2 of palm groves and long, quiet beaches with white sand and crystal-clear, turquoise waters. Its fame has increased for some years and it is now one of the most visited places by tourists in this country, so it is not surprising the fact that organized groups come every day from the closest tourist centers to enjoy its beaches
HISTORY ABOUT SAONA ISLAND
The Spanish admiral Cristobal Colon and his crew arrived on the island of Saona on September 14, 1494, during their second trip. He named it "Bella Savonesa", in honor of Michele da Cuneo, the first person to realize that it was a different island from "Hispaniola", the current Dominican Republic. For the indigenous people, who always called it Adamanay, this name was difficult to pronounce, so it ended up being called Isla Saona. Cotubanamá, the indigenous leader of that region, is said to have tried to hide from the slaughter of the Spanish conqueror in one of the caves on the island. Unfortunately, they finally found it. Although the indigenous essence is almost lost on this island, the place is still as virgin and authentic as it used to be and its inhabitants have preserved their environment in an enviable way. Let's see what is special about this island.
WHAT TO DO IN SAONA ISLAND?
There are various options to do on the Saona island, at the end you can see the options for this excursion and it also includes sightseeing such as:
Visit the village of mano juan
Mano Juan is a small fishing village on Saona Island. It has just two streets with colorful wooden houses, some restaurants, and many tourist souvenir shops.
Visit the turtle recovery centre
It is a space dedicated to protecting local turtle species, preserving their eggs for 3 to 4 days before releasing them and conducting a study on them. Go hiking through the Laguna de los Flamencos. This lake is home to many species of native birds and is only 30 minutes from Mano Juan. The best time to go is early in the morning, at dawn, because that is when there are more birds.
Swimming in Canto de Playa
The best beach on Saona Island is in its southeast and, to get there, you must walk on a dirt road through a wooded area near Lake Canto de la Playa.
It is located a short distance (an hour away) from Mano Juan (the town), but you can also rent a motorcycle taxi driver, a faster and less hot option. This is a long white sand beach with a wonderful palm grove, perfect for sunbathing, snorkeling or reading a book in the shade of the palm trees.
Go Snorkeling
The Caribbean Sea stands out for its great marine appeal and for having the perfect water temperature. There is a wide variety of goldfish waiting for you under the waters of Saona Island; you just have to put on your snorkel goggles to enjoy its crystal clear waters.
Enjoy The Open Bar and Buffet Lunch
You can eat wonderful local food in one of the restaurants located on the beach: fish, chicken, rice, potatoes or coconut juice from the palm trees of the island. If you ask, they can also cook fresh lobster on the grill, just delicious.
The number of tourists that visit is more than 4 million visitors per year, most of them come from Punta Cana hotels, and a daily margin of 3,250 people in catamaran and speedboat, which is the only way to get there, another way Visiting the island is by helicopter from Bavaro, there are several types of excursions to choose from for this excursion, which are the following:
SAONA ISLAND REGULAR TOURS
This is the excursion that is mostly carried out daily which constitutes that arriving at the public beach of bayahibe, boarding a speedboat along the coast of the beach of bayahibe heading east of the map, on the way there is a brief stop in palmilla or natural pool, where toasts of rum with coca cola are made, you also have the opportunity to take photos with the starfish if you have a waterproof camera (there is also an independent staff that offers the professional photo service on the excursion , this is an extra cost of the excursion price). After staying on the island of Saona, we will board the boat again to stop at the fish sanctuary near the marina and close to the island, where they have beach chairs, a dance floor and music, open bars for rum, beer , soda, mineral water and coffee. You can continue enjoying the beach and at 12:30 pm. The restaurant will open a buffet lunch that contains chicken, pork chop, grilled fish accompanied by sautéed potatoes, spring rice, French bread, pasta with lobster sauce, vegetable salad and tropical fruits. When touring the adventure does not end there, we will board the cataraman (Sailing Boat) to make the ride on the high seas for a 1 hour and 20 minute tour of the Caribbean Sea with a party all the way with open bar, music and group dance until Reach your destination on the beach of Bayahibe.
SAONA ISLAND VIP
The routine is similar to the traditional Saona island, except that this occasion has a private transport and additional services such as 1 pound lobster per person, sparkling bottle service or white wine, and a VIP area with personalized attention throughout the tour. by catamaran and speedboat. In this way, you don't have to stop on public transport from hotels to hotels to drop off more people and save time.
DEEP SAONA
the saona island tour on this occasion we will depart earlier than the traditional ones by speedboat from the public beach of bayahibe with destinations to the natural pool with starfish photos and welcome drink, later we will also visit the hermitage beach singing beach, there you will have an abundant amount of sea stars, since this beach is rarely visited by tourists and is in the northern part of the island, there snorkeling and free time will be done, then we will tour the island bordering the coast until we reach the fishing village of hand juan, there we will visit the typical houses, the sourveniles store and the area of protection of endangered sea turtles and the incubators of eggs of this marine mammals, and remaining the day we will have lunch on the island with an open bar and at the end We will board the catamaran to finish the journey of the deep Saona Island.
SAONA IN HELICOPTER
This excursion is very special when visiting the island of Saona in a 35-minute flight from Punta Cana to Playa Tao (Restaurant Premium Class on Saona Island). This tour includes transportation pick up from your hotel in Bavaro, Capcana and Punta Cana. flight along the coast hotels to reach the island, VIP area on the island, lobster lunch, open bar, personalized attention and 1 hour of enjoying the island's beach, you can also purchase this tour in private and extra hour to consult it with your excursion sales agent.
BELOW THE OPTIONS TO GO TO SAONA ISLAND
