Activities/ Excursions in La Romana

Id would like to hear from someone who has used them before. I cant really find much info on them.

When i last spoke to them it was

SunsetTour on luxury catamaran is $750 plus us$15 per guest for the cruise + drink/snacks option. And us$750 + us$22 for the cruise + cold buffet option.

Sunset Catamaran cruise to Saona. Price indication without the costs for the dinner: us$1400.

Sunset tour by speedboat to Saona:Price indication without the costs for the dinner: us$900.

Also i believe when you book certain tours thru the hotel you actually go with them. So it would be like cutting out the middle man.

Dolphinluck, do you have any idea how many can fit on a speedboat for that excursion? I can't gauge whether $900 is a good deal or not. lol

Wow! Those are pretty good quotes! Thanks. Wonder what it would be for food and drinks too. I'd love to do the catamaran but i know a few of us get seasick on them.

Just fyi for everyone, I've booked a full day trip that Alexander has put together the following schedule:

================================================== ==============

Private Charter Group Amy - 26th April 2010

A. The Tour:

A snorkel / snuba / leisure tour to Saona, the costs are approx us$60 pp incl. dinner. We have the same itinerary as the Saona Crusoe VIP (see: Saona Crusoe Excursion) but after the mangroves we go to catuano beach on Saona. The snorkelers can snorkel off the beach here (tons of tropical fish), the snuba-ers are taken with the boat to a great snuba reef and the leisure guests can relax on the beach chairs and enjoy swimming and sunbathing. Dinner is on the beach and at the end of the day we return via the piscina natural to have a toast on the newly weds. The tour is per speedboats.

B. The Schedule:

I suggest the following schedule:

09:30am: Departure from beach Dreams

10:00am: Rocks of Penon

10:15am: Mangrove

10:45am: Calderas - frigate bird colony

11:15am: Catuano Beach

12:00am: Lunch

1:00pm: Catuano beach (snorkeling, leisure, snuba)

3:00pm: Piscina natural (starfish and toast in knee deep water)

4:15pm: Back in Bayahibe

C. the Lunch:

the lunch is a typical Dominican buffet:

- pork chops

- chicken drum sticks

- Dominican rice (is delicious)

- pasta

- various salads

- local fruits (pine apple, mango, etc.)

If you want we can add fish but this is normally not included.

The lunch is served on the beach, long picnic tables.

D. The Drinks

We serve soft-drinks (coca cola, sprite, orange juice and water), and 'cuba libre' (rum-coke). We do not have beers on the boat, but beers are available in Catuano. A bottle will cost 60 pesos (us$ 1.70).

It's minimum 25 people and $60US pp, must be paid in cash on the day of.

I think it's a GREAT deal!

Wow Amy you guest will love the trip!!

All of my guests are coming and going on all different days, the only full day everyone is there is the wedding day, so I still have to figure out what we will do... ugh

Hi Ladies:

While I was there I actually did the Saona trip (parent's idea/surprise). Anyway, we went through the hotel $75 per person and we did have a WONDERFUL time.

The port where you will get onto the catermaran is walking distance from the Dreams resort...(facing the beach) you can just walk to your left and you'll be there in about 20 minutes!

That being said, here are my few words of advice:

1. The Catuano beach on Saona island is nice and you have lots (15) of little shack style shops to peruse through if you want to get some good souvenirs. (the prices were reasonable but I strongly suggest that you still negotiate)

2. If you or any of your guests choose to go into the water YOU WILL NEED WATER SHOES!! I cannot stress this enough! There are SOOOOOO many coral fragments at the shoreline and then from the shore all the way in are rocks (some quite large, more than a foot long!) If you are snorkeling you'll be fine but if your guests just want to hang out on the beach and play around in the water they WILL have really bruised feet without water shoes.

3. Amy, i know you've said you're a picky eater... please be careful with the BBQ on Saona. It's all open and the food is not covered so you will see flies on the food constantly. I did get a little sick the next day although I cannot say for sure that this was the cause. In any case, take the food that is covered by other food on the top! Oh, almost forgot... do NOT use the bathrooms on the island...use the facilities on the catermeran or hold it! (Trust me on this one!)

4. The natural pool was WONDERFUL....other speed boats would pull up about a kilometer away from us and the water was about 3 1/2- 4ft deep all the way across! The water is crystal clear and warm and best of all NO ROCKS!!! We even found a starfish but it was already dead (I think from too many people taking it out of the water)

5. The speed boats do hold around 25-30 people and they go FAST and at times very HARD! The speed boat ride back is not for the faint of heart, easily sea sick, or non-roller coaster lover!!!

6. The ride out to Saona island on the catermaran was SPECTACULAR---worth every doallar and perfect for a reception or day after treat for your guests. DO NOT do this trip the day before your wedding...guaranteed you will be EXHAUSTED the next day. HEAT + SALT WATER + 6 HOURS IN THE SUN = DEAD TIRED THE NEXT DAY!

My parent's loved the trip so much that they are gifting it to us for our guests $1000 for up to 80 ppl. is the arrangement they made with the owner of the catermaran. I don't really want to post pictures b/c they have a lot of people I don't know in them and I'm not sure how they would feel about being put on the internet!! Amy, Dolphinluck I can send them to your e-mail if you're interested (since I've known you ladies for so long!!)

It's a great trip...have fun!

Nadia

Seavis looks great! Sounds a lil more detailed than other companies I've seen.

The 25 min confused me, but I looked on the website and its 22 MAX and 8ppl min for 80 so you probably got a group rate, huh?

So will you be paying for your guests to go, or will they sign up on their own?

I don't think I'll be able to pay for everyone but I'd love to go so maybe I'll list it as an option event and they can sign up on their own.. is anyone else doing this?

Nadia, do you kno the name of the company you went with?

Has anyone been looking into Colonial Tours?