Saona Island

Saona is a 110 km² island off the southeast tip of the Dominican Republic, inside Cotubanamá National Park, and over a million people visit it every year. The day trip is long: hotel pickup is early, the drive from Bávaro to the boats at Bayahíbe takes about 1 to 1.5 hours, and you are back 10 to 12 hours after you left. The classic format is a speedboat out and a slower catamaran back with music and an open bar, usually with a stop at the Natural Pool, a shallow sandbar where starfish rest on the sand. On the island you get 3 to 4 hours of warm, calm water on the sheltered Caribbean side, palm shade and a Dominican buffet lunch. The calmest seas and clearest water come from December to April, and Saona's west-facing beaches usually see little of the sargassum seaweed that reaches Bávaro from May to September. It is a protected park: starfish stay in the water, and nobody stands on coral. Our photographers ride along on the Saona day trips we work with and shoot the whole day, from the beach to the catamaran home.