Way there: We were picked up in a minivan at 7:00 AM. After that you indeed have to wait for everyone to get on a big bus. According to the guide, our bus driver had "overslept" us, so we waited a little over half an hour for both the bus and other people. Once arrived at the Bayahibe, the activity loses its structure for a while. All the people are there waiting to be called to their speedboat. In theory you could go for a drink, but if they leave without you then of course you have a problem. We had to wait here for almost an hour (despite a long wait for the driver) to get into a motomaran and sail towards the natural pool, which is certainly a nice experience. Island itself: due to the wait in the morning we could only stay on the island for 2 hours, which was a shame. The island is beautiful. The buffet was also great! Conclusion: are you not a difficult person and do you have a little patience --> Highly recommended

Saona Island is just exceptional. I give 4* for the frame only. The bus transfer is very long one way, driver slightly late, 20min, passes again but then we make a stop to exchange travelers, we wait for ages, in short. The speedboat ride well, the stop at the beautiful natural pool!!! Upon arrival on the island, we are amazed! The meal is passable, but everything is served in disposable plastic and some very disrespectful tourists, to be polite, leave waste on the beach, too bad! Return by catamaran good but too crowded and little space. In summary it is an island to see absolutely and no other way to access it than in a group because it is a "protected" site. Plan water because you receive drinks (at will) once you arrive on the island so more than 2 hours after your departure from the hotel...

We did this trip and overall it was a good experience however, a couple of things meant that it didn’t quite reach very good/ exceptional for us. Our transfers came on time and we were picked up in a nice, large, private taxi. It started off slightly disorderly as we were stood around waiting for a speed boat ride. Eventually I pushed the situation and we were soon moved onto a speed boat. The speed boat was good fun, you’re loaded onto a large speed boat at full capacity, where you stop off in a wonderful natural pool/ shallow blue waters, just before the island. We then moved on and reached the island. The lunch was ok, quite limited but it was what we expected. There is a guy with coconuts who was very nice and charged cheap prices. The island itself and the waters were exceptional and I’d highly recommend. There’s an option for a photoshoot, which we did, however it was very expensive and didn’t expect it to be. The catamaran back was fun and there was singing & dancing.