Catalina Island & Snorkling Tour Full Day All Inclusive

The excursion was fun, however be sure to bring your own snacks. There weren’t any snacks during the boat ride & we had to wait hour to eat (1pm) once we made it to the Island. The excursion started at 7am (p/u time) and it was an hour or so drive to get there (We stayed at RIU Palace). The food was 4 out of 10 but we also bought fish and lobster (paid out of pocket) which was pretty good.

We did the Catalina island and snorkelling tour. Really bad organisation and rude staff don't recommend at all.

Went on this excursion with 6 people total for the day. Pickup from the hotel was prompt and the driver was polite and helpful with minimal English. The ride was about an hour and a half including pickups which went smoothly … small van with about 10 people, good ac and clean. The marina experience was good and the boat was on time with staff helpful and friendly. The boat ride to the snorkel spot and Catalina Isle was fun and enjoyable with soft drinks served once. Once we arrived at the snorkeling spot equipment was handed out. No sign of the usual sanitizing solutions used for equipment when it is used day after day. It was in a big bag and randomly handed out. No fins were available and the snorkels and masks were very sub par. Most snorkels did not have clips to attach to the masks making it difficult for many people. Snorkeling was good with a nice variety of fish and coral and very clear water. The Catalina Isle beach area was beautiful with clear water and white sand. After off loading on to tender boats to reach the isle a short intro was given and time to settle in before lunch at 1pm included beach and relaxing time. Lots of loungers and shady areas were available. Beer and liquor was not served until the start of lunch. Lunch time was buffet style with long lines and a great assortment of food. Problems with food portioning were obvious when people had plates piled high with food leaving those at the ends of the line to be left with rice, macaroni salad, spaghetti and bread. This issue was very apparent when half eaten plates were taken away at clean up time. Portions could have been controlled if staff were serving portions. Staff were great at cleaning up tables etc but hygiene was questionable when there were not enough plates and utensils so they had to wash them for those without. There was no sign of hot water or soap for this process leading to questions about how much food prep hygiene was used in things we didn’t see. The return boat ride was fun with staff leading dances and serving drinks alcoholic and well as soft drinks … no beer was available. Although a great time on the return trip if you are not a fan of loud music this would not be for you. A fun day to a beautiful isle but certainly room for some improvement.

This experience was the worst one ever. DO MOR BOOK WITH THIS AGENCY. Firstly, the driver demanded more money for a child ticket (which was already booked and paid for online). The whole drive was very long and incredibly slow. The driver will take you to a gift shop on the way where the tourists are gathered like animals with the intention to rip off more money. It fees like everyone on this trip viewed us as money bags. We waited for more than an hour for the disgusting catamaran where again everyone was shoved on. We waited ok the heat with no water provided. The music was too loud. The personnel were not friendly. NOBODY EXCEPT A FEW TOURISTS SPEAK ENGLISH. Please don’t be deceived by a ‘guide in English’. It doesn’t exist. Noone will translate anything and there is the risk of being left in the water as no one cares or counts the people. The conditions are ridiculously bad. THE FOOD WAS GROSS WITH FLIES LANDING ON IT. It didn’t taste good. For the price you pay, they treat you like lowlifes and the price is way way too much for what you get. DISAPPOINTED IS NOT ENOUGH. These people don’t care about children or providing basic conditions for humans. This trip is why I consider the Dominican Republic worst destination visited. The snorkelling experience was ALSO DISAPPOINTING. The fish and coral do not match the pictures. Water was not clear and barely any colourful fish. THE PHOTOS ARE A LIE. Catalina is also incredibly dirty with plastic and rubbish on the beach everywhere. Incredibly lazy and careless people who just want money out of tourists but don’t bother to clean under their nose. This trip showcases the worst in the Dominican people and it will put you off travelling to the Dominican Republic. It is a SCAM -DO NOT BOOK. You will feel disgusted after.

Did not stick to the description and too much time lost waiting. It starts by climbing on a bus that takes you to the nearest gas station, which is in fact a gathering point for buses going different destinations. You wait 40 minutes or more until you sit on the bus that takes you there. Once there, you board the boat to the island. It was supposed to be 2 snorkeling spots, but we visited only one near Catalina. You stay 30 minutes in the water and then back on the boat to go to the lunch place. Food was OK. The boarding deck you see on pictures, we did not use... we used tinyer boat which took 3 batches to disembark everyone. Same story to go back on the boat.. 1h of waiting, pure waste of time. Then no other snorkeling spot. Music is always too loud on the boat... The crew is nice and friendly. That could be called a boating trip but the snorkeling is clearly not up to expectations.

Trip not as advertised . Didn’t go to the wall which was the whole point of the trip. Left abandoned at petrol station for 45 minutes and no one spoke English like advertised . Felt very sick afterwards for 2 days due to rockiness of the boat. Would not reccomend

The island is wonderful, there are very few groups that go, so the island is available without so many people. The buffet is delicious, tasty food and you can repeat yourself. The only bad thing is the agency that offers the tour on this platform, since they do not contact you to confirm the pickup time, we had to take the initiative. On the other hand, they picked us up and made us get off at a meeting point, where after 50 minutes they placed us on a new bus, only because we contacted the agency.

Booked a tour for $70 per person. We knew that’s quiet cheap in Punta Cana, but we gave it a try. At 7:45 AM we where picked up at the hotel. Once we were at the port to get on the boat, it was 11:30 AM. On our way, we had to step out of the bus because the driver said this is the wrong bus. We were dropped in the middle of nowhere, hoping another bus was coming. We wanted a the day to relax outside the resort. I can tell you if you are alone with two people outside 1,5 hour of the resort, it is not relaxing. It is very chaotic on the boat. You will get on a boat with at least 50 people and not everyone can sit. It is very busy. When you are close to the island, you have the opportunity to snorkle. You will not see a lot of fish. On the other side, the crew tried to make the best of it. They tried everything to make us feel better about what happened in the morning. But even if that would not happen, I think you can better spend your day in the resort en save the money then go on this tour.

I would not recommend this to anyone. There were several things that were awful. First there was miss communication about my transportation to the port where the driver thought it was canceled and there was no communication that it was cancelled, and a person that was cooperating picked me up in his personal vehicle. They should have canceled it because there was a storm making the water hard to navigate and large swells in the sea making several people on board sea sick. Once we made it to the island we did not dock, they pulled the boat to the beach and we had to jump out of the boat into the water. Then we had to walk .5miles to where the bbq was. It was a terrible experience and the people working on the boat were more concerned about making money than our safety.

Great Trip. It's a really beautiful island and we didn't see so much tourists as expectet. The food was great and we had some hours to stay at Catalina Island. Snorkeling was okay, because we had enough time but the reef is not that big.