Full-Day Catalina Island Scuba Diving Tour from La Romana





Description
Welcome aboard and scuba dive two "must see" dive sites and the most beautiful underwater ecosystem of the Dominican Republic with a full day, all inclusive tour to Catalina Island. Experience clear turquoise waters, incredible coral formations, fish life and ultimate relaxation in paradise on a private beach. Enjoy the cool breeze and selection of refreshments at our bar overlooking the ocean and a Dominican feast prepared by local renowned chef ‘Miguel’.
Tour Options
Itinerary
You arrive at the marina, where you will be welcomed aboard for your Catalina Island snorkeling experience. We then set sail towards Catalina Island, where you will enjoy an hour of snorkeling to discover the true beauty of ‘The Wall’. You can expect clear turquoise waters, incredible visibility and an amazing underwater ecosystem. Once finished snorkeling we will set a course heading to the west side of Catalina Island. On arrival you will be taken by ‘Eileen’ (speed boat) to our beach on the island. Then our chef will be busy in the kitchen preparing an incredible Dominican lunch. You can expect to taste fresh lobster caught that morning (only available with our Premier VIP package), pork, chicken, salads, pasta and local fruits all prepared in a hygienic kitchen. We highly recommend you save space for the local fruits. After lunch you get to enjoy some free time to Snorkel or just relax and enjoy the beach. At around 3pm, Our speed boat, ‘Eileen’ will ferry you to our catamaran ‘Paradise’. We will set a course for the marina, where you bus will be waiting to take you back to your hotel.
You arrive at the marina, where you will be welcomed aboard for your Catalina Island snorkeling experience. We then set sail towards Catalina Island, where you will enjoy an hour of snorkeling to discover the true beauty of ‘The Wall’. You can expect clear turquoise waters, incredible visibility and an amazing underwater ecosystem. Once finished snorkeling we will set a course heading to the west side of Catalina Island. On arrival you will be taken by ‘Eileen’ (speed boat) to our beach on the island. Then our chef will be busy in the kitchen preparing an incredible Dominican lunch. You can expect to taste fresh lobster caught that morning (only available with our Premier VIP package), pork, chicken, salads, pasta and local fruits all prepared in a hygienic kitchen. We highly recommend you save space for the local fruits. After lunch you get to enjoy some free time to Snorkel or just relax and enjoy the beach. At around 3pm, Our speed boat, ‘Eileen’ will ferry you to our catamaran ‘Paradise’. We will set a course for the marina, where you bus will be waiting to take you back to your hotel.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We offer pick-up services from all locations in Punta Cana, Bavaro, Ulverto Alto, Cap Cana, La Romana, Casa de Campo, Boco Chica, and Juan Dolio. All you have to do is provide us with your hotel name and room number.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Travelers should have a high level of physical fitness
- Minimum age is 13 years
- Minimum drinking age is 18 years
- Evidence of dive certification is required from all divers wishing to participate in a certified dive
- Diving within 48 hours of flying is not recommended. All participants will be required to complete a health questionnaire prior to diving. Some pre-existing medical conditions (eg asthma, heart conditions, etc) may prevent you from diving, please consult your doctor
- Your pickup time will be confirmed after booking
- Please note that there are no refunds for cancellations of less than 24 hours notice, or if you do not turn up at the pick-up point at the specified time
- Can accommodate passengers with disabilities. Please contact local supplier to make all necessary arrangements.
- It is recommended that you bring a bathing suit, sunblock, sunglasses, comfortable shoes, cash and a camera
Reviews(23)
Dismal experience from start to finish. I do not recommend this agency in any way. The tour started very badly: we waited almost two hours on the boat before leaving, without explanations or organization. From that moment on you could see the total disorder. They separated my family into two different boats, supposedly one for snorkeling, but nobody explained anything and there were people who didn’t understand what activity I was doing. Everything was confusing and chaotic. Because of that same mess, the people who went snorkeling never snorkeled and took them directly to the island. The island was dirty, without infrastructure, abandoned, and to top it off there was no food, even though the excursion was sold as if with food included. The most serious thing was diving. The tanks were losing air: they changed them three times because everyone was losing, and yet I ended up coming down with a tank that kept losing oxygen, which was really dangerous. It is a total irresponsibility to play with people's safety like this. Also, you could see absolutely nothing, we didn't see a single fish, so the experience was completely frustrating. The equipment was in terrible condition: the diving suit was broken, old and unkempt. During the whole excursion, which lasted about eight hours, there was no bath at any time, something totally unacceptable for a tourist activity of that duration. To complete the disaster, the collectives that transported us were badly destroyed and broken. Even when the street was wet, the water would enter the bus and wet us inside. Bottom line: bad organization, bad communication, bad equipment, promises that they don’t keep and, worst of all, a total lack of security. A dire experience. I would never come back and I don't recommend it to anyone.
There is no difference between VIP and standard package- no wine at all Pick up was 1hr late Diving infra structure (boat, docking, equipment) are barely acceptable or safe. Catalina island logistics is chaotic, total mess! Food is really bad in all different counts (sanitary, quality, taste and all) Diving is a must do now, as due to uncontrolled littering the site is dying. HOWEVER!!! The reef coral is still gourgeous and our dive master Joel and William were FANTASTIC and they deserve all the stars! 5 are not enough!
The captain and the duck hands and the scuba diving guides were awesome. Everybody was super friendly very helpful. Genuinely cared about our safety and that we were having a fun time. Noa and Pablo were my favorite dive masters.
The Catalina island was beautiful. The scuba diver instructors were great. Got great pictures and videos. The food on the island was delicious. I would definitely do this again but I would not book with this company. I rather do a private tour and pay extra. For starters, I booked the vip all day scuba that starts at 930 a.m. The night before I get a random text message stating pick up is at 710 am. No introduction on who it was especially since I have several things booked. So communication can be better. After pick up we get dropped off to another pick up spot who is picking up everyone else from the nearby areas. This process was over an hour just standing around. Then we drove over an hour to LA Romona were we finally boarded a catamaran to the island. The scuba and snorkeling was nice. Those that didn't want to participate got to go to the beach so i left my husband and headed to the beach and got a nice massage while he did scuba. By the time my husband arrived to the island most of the food was out. We paid for Vip so you get a chance to eat wild caught fish or shrimp from the grill which he did but got no side options besides salad because they were out. No wine which was included in the Vip. The return home was chaotic. The main turn off for me is transportation. There has to be a better way to do it. Some suggestions should be to have a worker with the name of hotels that the buses are going to. People were boarding the wrong busses including us after being instructed to do so. This delayed the process. Left at 7 am from the hotel arrived a little after 7 pm. Spent more hours traveling than anything else. Will do private next time.
I never dove in DR and after reading some of the reviews I was pleasantly surprised. I was by myself.. Transportation to and from the hotel was great. The trip was organized, staff was great, dives were good, food was good. Met some great people, got some good pictures and overall had a wonderful day.
Thanks for a great time and Joel was kind, helpful and made my day ! The island and dives were both beautiful. See ya next time !
We loved the boat trip, the stay on the private beach, the food and the return trip on the catamaran. The pick-up at the hotel was on time, although the transfer to La Romana was a bit chaotic with several vehicle changes. At the reef the water was choppy and there was zero visibility for snorkeling. This cannot be chosen and is a matter of luck. The best, above all, is the constant attention and dedication of the entire crew, pending at all times. Fantastic Pedro's Family!!! The correct price for the service received.
My husband and I had a fantastic time on this trip. Couple hiccups - My husband is not an experienced diver (which was known to the guides). Our guide did not speak English so the guide was deflating his vest and essentially pushing him under water while he was explaining that he wasn't comfortable yet. My husband ultimately did not dive either dive and he's not one to quit out on stuff like that. So we wasted money where I felt like had we had a guide that we could have communicated with, he would have been able to taken some extra time to get him comfortable. The equipment wasn't great. My respirator broke in my mouth mid-dive so i had to bite down extra hard on one spot or hold it in place to give my jaw a break. I saw rips and tears in numerous wet suits and had a couple people point out broken fins. Ultimately the tanks and vests seemed to be in good condition because no one died ;) but it was a little disconcerting. Our tour had a lot of non-divers that were just snorkeling. We did two dives, but they were only able to snorkel at one site. So my husband missed the first site because of our diving issue and then couldn't even snorkel at the second so he missed all of it. All that being said, I would recommend for experienced divers. The guides were nice, Catalina Island was beautiful. There were free booze on the island and on the boat ride back.
Joel was fantastic at showing us everything along the reef for both dives! He was friends with all the fish! We went through the dive plan for a dive at the Catalina wall and Aquarius and both were incredible spots.
This was the most chaotic diving experience I have ever had. There were 50 people cramped on this boat with families with little kids as well as drunk adults there for a good time- some staying on the boat, some going snorkeling, some just there for the beach on Catalina island. When putting on my diving gear I was genuinely concerned that I would mistakenly knock a child out with my tank. There was 0 safety in terms of the diving- they didn’t check our padi certifications, there was no safety stop after diving to a depth of 20 meters, the dive leader was so focused on 1 client that he barely turned around to check on the rest of us, the equipment was old and worn out (no way to see time under water). The dive leader was interrupting/disturbing the marine life for us to interact with them, which I was also not comfortable with. I do not recommend this to any diver, especially if you have recently gotten certified or are not super comfortable diving without support.



