VIP tur til Paradise Island & The Mangroves

From start to finish this tour is outstanding! The island is tiny but the snorkeling is outstanding, best I’ve had. There are hundreds of species to see. The water is cristal clear and the temp is perfect. The bus ride is a bit long but I enjoyed seeing DR country side.

The trip was a bit long, the food wasn't good, the bus broke down on the way back and the snorkeling equipment needed replacing. When this was mentioned, the staff on site were annoyed. The island itself is very small, but really beautiful to look at. Drinks weren't provided on the trip until shortly before the end. The trip through the mangroves was also quite nice.

To get to punta rucia was like 1-1:30 hr ride then we got into speed boat 25min ride to paradise island (Cayo de arena) were we had some drinks snacks and we’re able to do some snorkeling and that on the way back we pass by the mangroves. Staff was great and snacks were good!

First you need to realize that it is about a 2 1/2-hour bus ride from Puerto Plata to the boat and an all-day trip. Leave your shoes behind and board and you get free drinks and snacks on a short ride over beautiful water to a sand bar where you can snorkel over reefs and see fish. The day we went the weather turned cloudy and the wind picked up and rained a little. Was pretty good, but I saw more fish at Turks and Caicos. Then more drinks and time on the beach before the trip back. Stopped for more drinks in the water at a shallow sand bar, which could have been better, because it was pretty windy by then and started to rain. Then cruise the mangroves looking for manatees (we didn't see any), before having lunch with lobster back at the Paradise. Then bus ride home. Definitely recommended.

We booked this tour through our resort, Cofresi Palm. This excursion DID NOT disappoint in ANYWAY! The bus ride to the excursion was a little over an hour, but was very scenic. The staff on this excursion were all AMAZING, Jose, the on board photographer took amazing pictures. You pay for them up front, then he sends you a link to download them later. VERY RELIABLE and TRUSTWORTHY!! Jason was our.. or should I say MY bartender!! LOL.. He was on the ball and quick to refill your drink and get you another one. He swam us around Paradise island, which is a natural reef. He had food in a bottle and was feeding the fish as we snorkelled along. I could NOT count the amount of fish. At one point he swam down a good 20 feet, and slowly came back up to the surface feeding the fish along the way.. IT WAS SPECTACULAR!! I highly recommend this. Once back on the mainland we were treated to an AMAZING lunch buffet. I am NOT a huge fan of lobster, never have been. The lobster they served at the buffet was mouth watering and this comes from a guy who isn't crazy about lobster!! jussaying. thank you for an amazing day and thank you to my new friend Jason for taking care of us... MUCHAS GRACIAS AMIGO!

The knowledge of our host!! Loves what he is doing!! The island was absolutely AMAZING!!!! Thanks Richard.

Besides the beauty of this place, the service we received was amazing! My group and I unfortunately missed our pick up for the VIP tour. I was sure that we had missed out opportunity to make it there but Lotta contacted me and was kind enough to get us on a different tour time. Just when I thought our money was lost, they made sure to take care of us. The bus driver and tour guide were excellent!

The tour was amazing, but even better is the whole team! Thank you so much for being there with body and soul! Everything was explained, we laughed, we just had fun together all day. Since we thought the VIP tour was so awesome, we booked the contrast program - a buggy tour - right after. Again everything was perfect! THANK YOU

Richard and Michael organized the perfect tour. Great tour, great information, so much fun. Both personal and professional. We got to see the manatees witch was one of my dreams. Came to the snorkling island before all other tourists so we had it to our self. When we left 800 people in big boats came, great move by Richard to make it a early tour so the experience would be perfect.

our second day in Cabarete started at 6 am when Richard came to pick us up to make this excursion; in Puerto Plata another Belgian couple was picked up, and then a beautiful day started; first a coffee with a croissant, then driving on and stopping regularly at a beautiful spot; then with a boat to Paradise Island - nice and early so that almost no one was there yet; snorkeling, feasting on freshly cut fruit, drinking nice cocktails, and then returning by boat to enjoy a delicious buffet; then sailing through the mangroves and much more, too many to mention! It was super organized and if we come back within a few years, we will definitely do this excursion back.