Saona Island lies off the southeastern tip of the Dominican Republic. With beautiful turquoise waters, white sand beaches and tall coconut filled palm trees, this is the island you want to visit when you come to the Dominican Republic.
***
Anytime I go on an all-inclusive trip, I always make sure to go on a day trip or two.
While I love lounging around on the beach or by the pool of the resort getting that much needed R&R, I still love to venture out and explore a little.
This trip to the Dominican for my co-workers’ wedding was no different.
On day one right after we got settled into our room, Yann and I went over to the activities office to find out what different excursions were being offered.
After hearing all the options, we decided on 2 different excursions. One we would go on before the wedding and the other one after.
First up was a trip to the beautiful Saona Island.
This was one of the Islands that the Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed on. While it was a very cool piece of information, it was not the reason we decided to choose this day trip. We saw photos of the Island, heard the itinerary, and were like ” Yup, sign us up”.
What’s better than lounging on the beach of your resort? Taking a speedboat to a secluded island and lounging on the beach there!
One hun-ed.
Getting there
The day started early with a coach bus coming by to scoop us up from in front of our resort.
The pickup was scheduled for 745 am but the bus never came till about 830. It was a little bit of an annoying way to get the day started but nevertheless, we were happy to finally get going!
We stopped at a few other resorts picking up some more party people looking to have a good time on the Island along the way.
Our host /guide had the most chill vibe ever and he talked with the most amount of swag I’ve ever heard. It was almost enchanting. Oh, and he also spoke 3 languages (that I knew of), talk about impressing.
He filled us in on how our day would go and what we would be doing at each stop.
Once the bus pulled up, we all descended and walked a short distance to where we would be hopping on the speedboat that would take us to our destination.
The Speedboat ride
The boat ride was so much fun!
It started off slow and as we sailed further from the shore, the boat picked up the pace.
Speeding over the waves, I felt like I was going to fall off my seat the majority of the time but that kinda just added to the fun.
It was exhilarating.
As we sped along, I took in the beautiful sights around me, the amazing blue of the water and the brilliant sky dotted with white puffy clouds, and thought “ This is what it’s all about”.
The boat slowed down and our guide started feeding us some more information on the island we could see off in the distance.
We’d reached our first stop: Snorkeling.
Whoever wanted to take part in the festivities were given snorkel masks and fins and hopped into the somewhat cold water to swim with the fishies.
Having not yet mastered swimming with flippers on, my time in the water was short-lived.
I just couldn’t figure out how to kick my feet properly with them on and maintain enough energy to really go anywhere.
So while Yann enjoyed himself finding colourful fish in the water, I opted to hop back on the boat and take pictures from there. Not the same as being in the water but I was content.
After about 15 minutes, everybody hopped back on board and we continued on.
Chilling in the water
With the island still a little bit of a ways away, we came to our second stop.
Everyone descended from the boat this time. We stopped in a pretty shallow spot with the water only coming up to my waist. Here, the water was a little bit warmer too, so that was a bonus.
This time in the water was to simply relax and enjoy the rum punch being served off the back of the boat. As we indulged in the beverages included in our day trip, there was also a photographer going around taking pictures of the various couples and groups.
After downing our two cups of rum punch (your girl does not know how to sip), and frolicking in the water a little, the call came for everyone to get back on the boat so we could journey the rest of the way to the Island.
Saona Island
Arriving at the Island, I was in awe of just how beautiful it was. It was exactly how they described.
Staggering turquoise water lapping at the shores of an amazingly beautiful white sand beach that was lined with tall coconut filled palm trees.
My eyes floundered trying to take it all in at the same time.
Once everybody was off the boat, we were given a brief “tour” of the Island and then we all ventured off to do our own things for the next 2 and a half hours or so.
Yann and I hurried off to grab some beach chairs and then once settled, headed to the bar.
*Don’t judge me now! It’s all-inclusive, I gotta get my money’s worth ya know!*
We proceeded to spend the next little while exploring a little and snapping pictures of our surroundings.
After a few more drinks, lunch was finally ready and we each took a plate full of delicious tasting food… well, I’m not sure if it was actually delicious or if it just tasted that way because we were more on the tipsy side….
The rest of our time on the beautiful island was spent lounging around, walking along the water and in the water soaking up the sun rays and taking in the views.
We (or I should probably say I) was hustled into paying for digital copies of the photos that had been snapped of us earlier on in the water. It wasn’t expensive, about $6 USD for 5 photos, so I thought why not.
Now either the rum punch was way stronger than it tasted or maybe just maybe I had one too many, but I started feeling a little more than tipsy, so I opted to lay down and take a little nap.
Before I knew it, they were calling out for everyone to gather up their things to head out. This time we boarded the catamaran instead of the speed boat.
A nappin’ time
The boat ride back was to be a leisure one with music playing, people dancing, and more rum punch being served.
Because of how I was feeling, I opted out of it all.
I did not want to be one of those people that embarrass themselves by throwing up all the contents in their stomachs and showing that they cannot hold their liquor.
I decided to lay down on the mesh part of the catamaran and nap it out.
It was either that or blow chunks on the good people. I was having none of that, so off to sleep I went. Yann ended up dozing off with me at some point too haha.
I’ve been on several catamaran day trips, I usually take one each time I go on an all-inclusive, so I didn’t feel like I totally missed out.
My nap ride was actually super rejuvenating.
I ended up sleeping the entire ride back but I woke up feeling refreshed, so I didn’t mind at all.
As we neared the shore, we transferred one by one back onto another smaller speedboat that would take us the rest of the way in.
The bus ride back was a little faster than the ride in the morning had been, so we arrived back at the resort pretty quickly.
In conclusion
Yann and I decided to take it a little easy the rest of the evening as the day had been pretty eventful and your girl started feeling a tad bit off… We’ll save that story for another day though.
All in all, I had an awesome day. If you’re planning on visiting the Dominican and are looking for a day trip either with the resort or on your own, Saona Island is definitely a place to check out.
The island has such a nice, peaceful, and chill vibe and the white beach and coconut trees offer up some incredible views.
Until next time, Stay blessed ♡
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
I followed my heart and it led me to the beach.
Liked what you read? Pin me!
