Saona Island Discovery

The excursion was great.Thanks to Toni we had a great experience and everything was amazing.We had a lot of fun.

I booked an excursion to Saona Island for the 27th February and was told the evening of 26th that it was cancelled (and rescheduled to the following day 28th Feb) because it was a national holiday (on 27th) and the Department of Tourism had cancelled all holidays for the 27th Feb. I thought it was a bit strange (given that the said national holiday, 'Independence Day', occurs every year!!) but I gave them the benefit of the doubt, and as we were free, by pure chance, the following day (28th Feb), we decided to accept their offer to go on 28th Feb instead. When I purchased the excursion I had specified that my friend was disabled and had mobility issues and difficulty climbing stairs but did not receive any communication from 'Punta Cana Trip' informing me that the excursion was not suitable for disabled persons with those kind of impairments. The day of the 28th we got picked up by van and taken to a meeting point where we waited for almost AN HOUR for another bus to collect us. Once on the big bus it took us an hour and a half to get to the small harbour where we got the boat from. Stops were made on the way and people got on and off and joined different excursions, the guide who had shortly briefed us on the bus disappeared and other staff took over to look after us once we got to the small harbour. It took ages to board the boat! It was absolute caos! We then reached Saona Island where we were told we would have stayed for 2.5/3 hours. After just 2 hours we were told to leave. We got on the same boat we came with and then transferred onto a Catamaran. I still do not know how they managed to lift my disabled friend and transferred him from one boat onto the catamaran. We then reached the small harbour we came from and we were transferred onto another boat as the catamaran could not reach the shore, therefore my disabled friend had to be lifted again. They staff on the boat/catamaran were amazing and the star goes to them. How could the people in charge fail to mention that the excursion would have been so arduous for a disabled person with mobility issues?? Last but not least it took us over 3 hours, from the small harbour, to get back to the hotel. They were again picking up people at different meeting points and basically prioritising their own business to the expenses of customers! We felt as if we were cattle being transported from place to place!! To sum up the excursion lasted 12 hours of which only 3 were actually spent enjoying the sites (including lunch)! I am very disappointed with Viator. I have been using them for years all over the world and always have positive experiences with the tour companies they select. I think they should vet tour operators better in the Dominican Republic (we had another excursion cancelled (on 29th Feb) but that was with another tour operator)!! I would avoid 'Punta Cana Trip' as a tour operator.

Unos excelentes tour lo que nos brindaron: de calidad. Les recomiendo muchísimo, lo tomé en el mismo aeropuerto, no se dejen engañar afuera, por ser competencia tratan de convencerte que lo que pagaste es mentira. Soy de Perú y me voy muy contenta y satisfecha con este tour que tomé. Conoci lugares mágicos.