Isla Saona
Overview
Isla Saona is a protected island off the south-eastern tip of the Dominican Republic, inside Cotubanamá National Park, and it is the country's most popular day trip by a wide margin. Catamarans and speedboats run to it daily from Bayahíbe, and the postcard image of the Dominican Republic, palm trees leaning over white sand, is usually this island.
There are two small settlements, Mano Juan and Adamanay, and no resorts: the island is national park, and development is not permitted. What visitors see is a beach, a line of palms, a few painted fishermen's houses at Mano Juan, and the excursion infrastructure that arrives with the boats each morning.
The trip usually includes a stop at the piscina natural, a shallow sandbar offshore where the boats anchor in waist-deep water. That is part of the standard itinerary rather than somewhere you can reach independently.
Our current condition score for this beach is .
Photo summary of last month
Each photograph is published unedited and in date order, and is replaced as newer submissions arrive, so what appears here is the most recent view of the beach rather than a promotional photograph.
Position relative to the Atlantic sargassum belt
Sargassum drifts west across the tropical Atlantic in the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt, and the eastern tip of Hispaniola is among the first land in its path. The Punta Cana and Bávaro beaches face east directly into that arrival, which is why they run heavy through the season.
Saona sits on the other side of the corner. It lies off the southern coast, in the Caribbean Sea rather than the open Atlantic, with the mass of the island between it and the incoming belt. Material travelling west past Hispaniola tracks along the north and east coasts; comparatively little works around to the southern shore.
The island's own geography then divides it. The southern and western shores, where Mano Juan sits and where most excursions land, face the sheltered Caribbean and read well. The eastern end is more exposed, and Canto de la Playa at that end behaves differently from the main beaches, which is why we track the two separately.
The caveat worth stating is that most visitors see this island for three hours on a boat itinerary, at a beach chosen by the operator. A photograph of Saona is a photograph of one landing spot on a 110 square kilometre island, and the excursion beaches are cleaned before the boats arrive.
The sargassum season
On the Dominican coast the season runs from roughly March or April into August or September, longer and earlier than the Mexican Caribbean because the island sits so close to the belt. Saona and the wider south-east sit largely outside that pattern, which is why this corner of the country is the most dependable during the months when Punta Cana is at its worst.
We do not yet have a Dominican-specific season article; the reasons the belt has grown are set out in why sargassum is increasing.
Swimming conditions and safety
The water on the excursion beaches is shallow, warm and almost always flat, with a sand bottom and no surf, which makes it easy swimming and suits children well.
The hazards are the boats and the sun. Excursion craft come and go constantly at the landing beaches, and there is limited shade beyond the palms; the crossing itself is exposed and can be rough on a windy day in a speedboat.
This is a national park. Removing sand, shells or starfish is prohibited, and the starfish in the shallows should not be lifted out of the water, which kills them. That last point is worth stating because the practice is still common on excursions.
On sargassum: fresh weed in the water is harmless, if unpleasant to swim through. The sulphurous smell some visitors associate with it comes from material that has decomposed on hot sand for a day or more and is releasing hydrogen sulphide, so a strong smell indicates old weed rather than a fresh arrival.
Choosing a hotel on this stretch
Nobody stays on Saona in any conventional sense; the island is national park with two small fishing communities and no hotels. The question is where to base yourself for the trip.
Bayahíbe and Playa Dominicus are the departure points and the obvious choice, both a few kilometres from the pier and both on the same sheltered coast that reads well in our data. La Romana airport is close.
Excursions also run from Punta Cana, but that means two hours on a bus each way before the boat. Anyone whose main interest is Saona should stay at the Bayahíbe end rather than the east coast.
Access and getting there
Saona is reached only by boat, and in practice only on an organised excursion, since the island is national park and independent landing is not straightforward. Catamarans and speedboats depart Bayahíbe each morning; the catamaran is slower and calmer, the speedboat faster and wetter.
Bayahíbe is around 20 to 25 minutes by road from La Romana International Airport and about an hour and a half from Punta Cana International. Guaguas connect Bayahíbe to La Romana for onward travel.
We do not publish a car park for Saona, because there is no road access to the island at all. The relevant parking is at Bayahíbe, where it is informal street and private ground near the harbour.
Check live conditions before you go
Saona sits behind the island on the Caribbean side, which is why it and Punta Cana can be in different conditions on the same day. On the live map we track it alongside Bayahíbe, Dominicus and Canto de la Playa, so you can see the whole south-eastern corner before booking a trip.
See live conditions, photos & cams →