Private Saona Island Boat Tour | No Crowds | From 165 USD pp

We booked the trip to Saona through Insidertrips and are absolutely thrilled! The excursion took place in a pleasant, small group of only six people, which made the day super relaxed and personal. Our tour guide Sonja provided us with a wonderfully beautiful day: We saw an incredible amount and were able to get to know a charming little village on the island. A real highlight there was the visit to the turtle rescue station, a truly wonderful experience! We also had a lot of fun while snorkeling, and the absolute cherry on top was when we later spotted real turtles from the boat! The whole experience was rounded off with a truly delicious meal. Conclusion: This trip is worth every euro and comes with a clear recommendation! Many thanks to Sonja and the team for this unforgettable experience!

It was magnificent. Dreamlike beautiful. We have never seen or experienced anything like this before. With just the six of us, everything was tailored individually, it was simply so dreamlike beautiful. We would book our excursions there again and again. The entire team is amazing, everyone is involved with so much love. We will never forget the time spent with you. Please stay healthy, everyone. And keep up the great work. See you soon

I wish I could give this excursion 10 stars. Vanessa and Ingrid with Insidertrips.Dr went above and beyond our expectations. They do things differently, and better! First off, they saved our trip from a huge disappointment. Our original tour operator canceled on us the morning before our tour. We were panicked to find something and we found Vanessa on Viator. She was able to get an excursion for us in less than 24 hours. We don’t speak Spanish, so it was very helpful to have Vanessa coordinate everything in English. She told us where to meet Ingrid the next morning. Most tours claim to offer private and customized trips, but don’t honor that. These two ladies know what they are doing. They do it better than the others. Our trip included only our family of 4, and we were able to pick and choose how we wanted the day to go. We had our trip in June 2026, low season. We were able to have a 9:00 am start and still miss all the crowds. Ingrid was our guide. She was WONDERFUL! So funny, personable, and knowledgeable about the history and culture. She interacted with our kids. We had so much fun with her and the captains. We took a 20 min boat ride to an area that had many starfish. After, we took a ride to the mangroves and got to look for sea turtles, then continued on to Saona Island. We stopped at a pier that had been partially destroyed from Hurricane George; it made for a great artificial reef which the wildlife had thrived. Many fish in the area with water about 20-25’ deep made for a great snorkeling experience. We then made our way to Mano Juan for lunch, explored the village and enjoyed the vibes. Lunch was authentic and delicious! We started our journey back to Bayahibe with a stop at Bay of the Bull, stayed there for about 40 min in waist deep water taking in the scenery. Hopped back in the boat and stopped at the pier one more time to snorkel again. Then went to a deeper area where the starfish were plentiful, you could see 6 starfish from the surface of the water. Snorkeled in this area for a bit and enjoyed the views of starfish and wildlife in area. Finally we made our way back to Bayahibe and stopped at a coral reef right near the marina. Snorkeled there, observed the wildlife in the area, saw a big spotted ray and other smaller fish in the area. Packed up made our way to Marina and said our goodbyes. By the end of the day, Ingrid felt like family. We wish we had more days to do more excursions with her and Vanessa.

I wish I could give this excursion 10 stars. Vanessa and Ingrid with Insidertrips.Dr went above and beyond our expectations. They do things differently, and better! First off, they saved our trip from a huge disappointment. Our original tour operator canceled on us the morning before our tour. We were panicked to find something and we found Vanessa on Viator. She was able to get an excursion for us in less than 24 hours. We don’t speak Spanish, so it was very helpful to have Vanessa coordinate everything in English. She told us where to meet Ingrid the next morning. Most tours claim to offer private and customized trips, but don’t honor that. These two ladies know what they are doing. They do it better than the others. Our trip included only our family of 4, and we were able to pick and choose how we wanted the day to go. We had our trip in June 2026, low season. We were able to have a 9:00 am start and still miss all the crowds. Ingrid was our guide. She was WONDERFUL! So funny, personable, and knowledgeable about the history and culture. She interacted with our kids. We had so much fun with her and the captains. We took a 20 min boat ride to an area that had many starfish. After, we took a ride to the mangroves and got to look for sea turtles, then continued on to Saona Island. We stopped at a pier that had been partially destroyed from Hurricane George; it made for a great artificial reef which the wildlife had thrived. Many fish in the area with water about 20-25’ deep made for a great snorkeling experience. We then made our way to Mano Juan for lunch, explored the village and enjoyed the vibes. Lunch was authentic and delicious! We started our journey back to Bayahibe with a stop at Bay of the Bull, stayed there for about 40 min in waist deep water taking in the scenery. Hopped back in the boat and stopped at the pier one more time to snorkel again. Then went to a deeper area where the starfish were plentiful, you could see 6 starfish from the surface of the water. Snorkeled in this area for a bit and enjoyed the views of starfish and wildlife in area. Finally we made our way back to Bayahibe and stopped at a coral reef right near the marina. Snorkeled there, observed the wildlife in the area, saw a big spotted ray and other smaller fish in the area. Packed up made our way to Marina and said our goodbyes. By the end of the day, Ingrid felt like family. We wish we had more days to do more excursions with her and Vanessa.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ An unforgettable day – an absolute heartfelt recommendation for Insidertrips Dom. Rep. We had the privilege to experience an absolutely dreamy day trip with Insidertrips Dom. Rep. and the owner Vanessa – and we can only say: That was one of the most beautiful experiences of our vacation! We started in the morning at the harbor of Bayahibe with a private speedboat. From the very beginning, everything was perfectly organized and at the same time incredibly personal and familial. Our first stop took us to Piscina Natural – a beautiful place with crystal clear water. Afterwards, we continued through the fascinating mangroves to the breathtaking sandbank off the island of Catalinita. Along the way, we were very lucky to observe eagle rays, stingrays, sea turtles, and many other fish and animals in their natural environment – a true highlight and an experience we will never forget. After that, we continued to Saona Island, where a delicious lunch awaited us. We spent the afternoon relaxing at a dreamy beach – with shallow, turquoise water and a Cuba Libre in hand. Simply paradise. We would especially like to highlight the fantastic team: our wonderful captain, the incredibly friendly waiter, and above all, Vanessa. With her impressive knowledge of the fauna, flora, and history of the country, she made this tour something truly special. You can feel in every moment how much heart and passion is invested in this small, family-run business. We are very grateful to have had this experience and would gladly travel with Insidertrips Dom again. Rep. on the go. Thank you very much for this perfect day!

We loved doing all three excursions with the lovely Sonja. Without mass tourism, simply in small groups, and individual wishes are taken into account. A fantastic team from booking to the end, simply excellent.

The day with Vanessa and her team was really great! I can just say THANK YOU! We were also a really great troupe, we were 8 people all about one age and got along really well, which made the trip even better right away. The day had everything, relaxation, fun and of course the most delicious rum on the island 😉 Thank you very much Vanessa!

Great boat trip to the island of Saona! Sonjia, our Francophone guide was very attentive to our well-being! She was perfect! Vanessa was also very responsive to the organization! The beaches visited were sumptuous, it is definitely worth it!

Unfortunately, we cannot recommend this tour. Little was kept of the description of the excursion! Starting with drinks. There was Coke, not Zero! Sprite and rum. Behind water you had to beg every time afterwards. We were on the speedboat with 10 adults! That's all that would have fit! Getting in and out of the water was always done. One should therefore already be somewhat articulated. Of course, always barefoot! Unfortunately, I hadn't read any of it in the description. You also have to like the speedboat ride. The surcharges sometimes go quite a bit on the back and the saltwater splashes in the face. If rum is served before the start, it will be distributed immediately! Who likes it ..... The delicious buffet “just for us” - is not true either! It was a mass handling with other groups and we had practically only one table “for us”. Again, you had to beg for Wasder. Was then bottled in a pot. We'd rather not have had it. The tortoise breeding sttion was not visited because there were no tortoises there at the time. You can't expect too much from the mangroves either. Starfish only hinted and the turtles were probably there the day before. The photographer was also incredibly annoying. He's been running after us all the time. Whenever we wanted to take our own picture, he was there. Real annoying. I read all the positive reviews before booking and was of the opinion that must be the perfect trip. Unfortunately, we were disappointed. For us it was the worst trip of the trip!

Our favorite day of the whole trip! Vanessa and our boat captains were wonderful. Very private and customizable as advertised. She brought us to incredible spots and avoided the crowds. From the snorkeling, to the starfish and turtles, to the oceanside lunch to the swimming and beaching, we and our kids loved it.