Full-Day Tour Isla Bonita Deluxe

Isla Bonita Excursion from Puerto Plata

We enjoyed our excursion and didn't feel that it was a scam. The pictures clearly show that it's a sandbar in the middle of the ocean (yes, there are some rocks here). The excursion takes you through the rural towns in the north coast. Yes, the roads are rough and the 70ish km will take some time to get through as the bus navigates over the bumps on gravel roads. We loved the catamaran ride out to the natural pool at first then to the island. You will get wet on the boat. They fed us fruit salad, boiled eggs and sandwiches, this was included as well as champagne and all other alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. At the sand bar, snorkeling equipment (mask and life vest), were included. You cannot bring towels or shoes because they do not want to remove any more sand from the bar. We swam for just over an hour. The only downfall was we had to wait a long time for our boat to return. Had we known, we would've just stayed in the water longer. Once we returned back to Paradise Island resort, we had a lobster lunch and then headed back to our resort. It was a long day, but I feel we got value for our money.

via Tripadvisor

If your are coming from...

If your are coming from Cabarete Its a 45 min ride to the bus and than another hour and a half to get to the boat so it was a long ride. We had to leave at 630 in the morning which was hard. So just a warning. Other than the extremely early pick up time the beach was amazing the natural pool was nice. My son had a ball going off the slide. The snorkeling was amazing my son and husband saw a bunch of different fish and turtles.

via Viator

Beautiful

We loved our day. Departure around 7:10 from our resort, some stop to welcome other travelers to the excursion. About 3 hours bus (comfortable and air-conditioned) with a guide who informs us about the surroundings and the history of Puerto Plata to Isla bonita. Departure by catamaran with bite, aperitif, sparkling wine and music. Snorkeling on the island and drink included. Stop in a natural pool and again, music and aperitif are served in the water. Before returning to paradise island where a lobster dinner with pina colada we stopped to visit a mangrove. After the meal we had some time to relax. On the way back, we stopped at a souvenir shop and they explained how cigar making is with demonstration. We arrived at our resort around 18:00. A beautiful and full day.

Response from the operator: Bonjour, Merci pour votre avis. Je suis ravi que vous ayez apprécié. À bientôt. Cordialement. Camel

via Tripadvisor (translated)

Lonnnng bus ride, sand bar was a great time

This one is hard to give a star rating for a review. The bus ride is far to long and wasn't discussed with when booking. It was a nice way to see the countryside, but we spent more time going there and coming back then we did on the boat. When we did arrive to the beach it was definitely 5 star from that point, the boat staff were awesome and service for drinks or food was great. We had a younger child with us and it was fun for her also but our group was mostly adults and the atmosphere was more a party. Everyone was very courteous about our child on the boat. I dont think it stopped anyone from having a good time and she still had fun also. I think we got to the boat around almost 11. Went to the shallow spot for a 15-20 minute swim which was nice cause it was pretty hot so it was a good cool down time. Slid off the top deck slide a few times which was a fun feature. Loaded up then took another ride to the sand bar. Was 2 other boats with people that were there over the same time period so got a little crowded. The snorkeling was the highlight of the trip. Seen lots of neat fish but only did that for about 20 minutes then sat on the sand bar and had a couple drinks and some fruit for snack, not much for shade so lots of people were huddled around the shacks to get out of the sun after swimming. It was a very neat place and cool to see but definitely got busy with other boats. The mangroves weren't really much just pulled into a bay gave a little speech about the ecosystem and the importance of the Coast Guard, (aka the mangroves). Then worked our way back to a spot further down the beach then we arrived at, which was an excellent late lunch of chicken, rice, lobster, and some sort of fried fish. Everything tasted great. Was a short time to eat then back on the bus for the long ride back to the resort. Loaded on around 3:30-4pm. The ride back was quicker even with the stop at the little store on the ride back. Got a couple items and worked our way back to the resort. It was a funtime on the ocean and snorkeling but definitely be prepared for the journey there. There was a photographer there taking pictures the whole time on the boat, we bought the photo package off of him because we wanted some great memories from the trip and we think his prices were reasonable and we got alot of great photos, he did a great job and really appreciate it. If it weren't a family thing for us we probably wouldn't of bought the pictures but he took some awesome shots and will have them to look back on. We could tell lots of people weren't interested in buying the pictures but for us it was worth it. We got over 100 pics and a 15 minute go pro video as part of what he took of us.

via Tripadvisor

Snorkel day trip

The island and natural pool was incredible. Too many people on the island to really enjoy - snorkelling was quick and not a lot of fish - water was rough for us and tide was high. The mangroves were not a highlight but interesting to see. Lunch was incredible! Service on the boat was fantastic. Our bus guide was good but we didn’t realize we would spend 3hours on the way there without a bathroom break or refreshment. The way home was 2.5hours and better as they incorporated a stop at a cigar place with shopping and a bathroom! We were staying at the Be Live Puerto Plata.

via Tripadvisor