WORTH THE HASSLE---CONFIRM RESERVATION/PICK UP BEFORE AND DURING TRIP - RECOMMENDATION 10000%! But Would not recommend for families. Adults Only Excursion- Our only complaint is We booked this excursion with our Expedia package - unfortunately, arranging shuttle pick up is completed directly through Caribbean Route. The phone number that Expedia provided on the itinerary was invalid- and spent several phone calls and several hours trying to reach Caribbean Route -we weren't able to receive an affirmative pick up time the day before, however, I did receive an email at 1am the day of the excursion advising the time was 7am. Not specific of pick up time or tour time. We were in the lobby by 645am and I began reaching out to Caribbean route via whatsapp-texting - at 705 the tour guide advised that pick was was 620 and tour begins at 7am and we missed the shuttle but would wait for us at the rally point we just had to pay taxi fees ($50). While much of this was a hassle the experience was purely amazing and would completely recommend it. Also the picture pricing on Caribbean Routes website is not accurate as they hire 3rd party photographers for these tours as well - Pictures were amazing and not ridiculous like our other excursions. I wish they would have accommodated the Taxi fee and hassle for the pictures- (We still bought all the pictures).

Shame about the weather! - We booked the Saona Island tour via Viator. Our guide was Christian who was excellent and very informative about all things Dominican. We stopped at a little village and had 20 minutes to walk around and take photos of the amphitheater and church. From there we carried on in the coach to the fishing village where we were meeting our speedboat. The port was busy with people trying to sell you all sorts of things but within minutes we were on the speedboat and heading off towards the island. The weather on the day we booked was awful and made the speedboat trip very uncomfortable (driving rain pelting at you whilst speeding towards the storm!). We stopped at a shallow part of the sea to take photos with starfish and enjoy the run and coke being offered. From there we arrived at the island which was beautiful but would sooo much better in the sunshine!! After dodging the rain and having brief dips in the sea (wear shoes as the coral is sharp) it was time for lunch. We shared this experience with another group which meant the lines were long. Our trip back was on the catamaran and was fun with local girls dancing and rum flowing! Although the tour company was great, I was disappointed with a few things: the amount of sellers on the beach (when all you want to do is relax), the amount of rubbish on the island was heartbreaking - this is suppose to be a nature reserve!! And finally, the lack of soft drinks for those who can't drink sugary drinks.

FEW WHALES AT THIS TIME - The crew members drank alcohol throughout the excursion, music to the bottom and few whales to see. This tour is not worth the US$$ paid.

AWFUL communication! - Booked this excursion for clients, triple checked that they could be picked up at resort... tour operator cancelled excursion night before without reason or warning