Saona Island by Paradise Travel

Very Disappointing

We booked Paradise Travel Excursion for a trip for 4 of us to Saona Island. I booked a few week before we came down to the Dominican. I tried to message Claudia several times the day before to verify it was still a go. No response. Waited at the entrance at 7:30 per instructions. Nobody showed up. I had the hotel try to contact Claudia and no answer. I tried to call her 2x and again messaged her we must of been forgotten. Around 8:15 she called and had to send a driver to our resort to pick the 4 of us up and he had to race to get us hooked up to the bus that was stopped on the side of the road so we could travel the last leg to the beach where we took off from. The boat was so full that kids had to sit on their parent laps. Stopped to see the starfish but there was nothing there....so disappointed. Food was ok. Stayed another hour and then back on the catamaran. Not many spoke English for the whole trip so unfortunately I could not understand what they were saying. Claudia did discount our trip because she forgot about us but I will never take another trip with them again.

Response from the operator: Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. First, I sincerely apologize again for the initial pickup confusion that morning. As you mentioned, we did provide a discount at the time because we take responsibility very seriously whenever something does not go as smoothly as planned. Since 2021, we have implemented additional confirmation systems and stricter pickup coordination procedures to ensure this type of delay does not happen again. Regarding Saona Island, this particular excursion is a shared catamaran experience, which can be lively and full depending on the day and season. For guests who prefer a more private and spacious setting, we now strongly recommend our Private Exclusive Saona Island option. Starfish visibility and reef conditions are natural and can vary daily depending on weather and environmental regulations. Additionally, most shared boats in the region are operated locally, and English levels may vary among crew members, although we always aim to assist our guests as much as possible. I truly regret that this experience left a disappointing final impression of Punta Cana for you. We continuously evolve and improve our operations, and guest feedback has been instrumental in helping us grow over the years. Wishing you all the best in your future travels. Claudia Paradise Travel Excursions

via Tripadvisor

Stay away from this company!

Very disappointed in both of the excursions I booked. The first excursion I booked was the Saona Island full day excursion and upgraded to the lobster lunch and premium drinks. They make it sound like you have a full day on this island but that isn't the case. They picked us up at 7am at our hotel...3 hours later we were at the marina. When we get to the boat they didn't advertise that it was a party boat (hey I like party boats but I didn't book a party boat for this excursion, I wanted to sit on the beach and relax) We were on this boat for another 3 hours. We finally get to the island and was told we only have 2 hours on the island (after eating lunch that gave us only 1.5 hours). The boat guide (who called himself sexy yellow banana...barf) was very mean to me. I simply asked about our lobster upgrade and what was included in the premium drinks and he yelled at me saying he had no idea what the tour company sold me and that I needed to pay $10 like everyone else for the frozen drinks. He tried to make it up to us by bringing us a bottle of wine with our lobster but then yelled at us again when we brought the glass up to the bar. I then tried to order a coconut drink and again, he got mad and me and said I needed to buy drinks from his friends at the other side of the beach in the pineapple. F U dude... It was just a really crappy experience, I would have rather sat at my resort, the beach and ocean is just as beautiful! 2nd excursion I bought was 2 solo ATV tours. When we got to the shack, they had dune buggies for us. I had a feeling they would mess that up. So I let it go and proceeded to get in my own dune buggy and the guy said that we had to share 1 buggy. I explained to him that I bought 2 ATV tours for a reason and we each wanted our own...he said we had to share. So basically I paid more for 2 solo ATV and I didn't want to do dune buggies. I'm still waiting for my refund from this company. They also fail to mention that you have to pay to do the cave swimming. We were completely covered with mud and they had no water at the shack to wash off with. I would definitely stay away from this company!

Response from the operator: Dear Guest, I am surprised to read your comments as we thought we resolved this matter while you were on the country . We did our best to contacted our buggie supplier and request a refund, this take few days to be effective, the moment we realized they provided you the wrong machines, they apologize and give you a buggie and approved a compensation for any inconveniences Again, we truly regret the error. Feel free to contact me directly if you wish to discuss further. CService@paradisetravelexcursion.com Regarding the Saona Island we did not have any Information of your bad experience, as you express Claudia on the private party boat your group did that excursion were great but would love more time on the island, however we will be happy to hear more about this experience so we can learn by mistakes and provide future customers a better service Thank you so much for sharing your experience, we love to be at your service Best Regards Roy Ramon

via Tripadvisor

Brilliant service and excellent trips

We booked 4 excursions through this company via the excellent Claudia. First trip we did was Saona Island, what a trip😁 brilliant party on the catamaran, the island was fantastic and brilliant trip back on the speedboat. Second was Polaris buggies, again well organised and brilliant service. We then did Coco Bongo, amazing night out Lastly we did Bavaro Runners, probably the best of the lot. All trips organised by Claudia who was always happy to help😁

Response from the operator: Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We truly value all feedback, as it helps us continue enhancing our Saona Island experience for future guests. Punta Cana and Saona are natural destinations, and we always aim to provide the best possible day on the water. We appreciate your support and hope to welcome you again in the future. Claudia Paradise Travel Excursion

via Tripadvisor

Fabulous service

We booked this company for private hotel transfer and they were prompt in both directions and had lovely friendly staff. We also liased with Claudia Bailon through Facebook to book trips. We told her our interests and she reccomended the best trips. We booked two with them. Catalina Island which was just beautiful. My husband was able to scuba dive whilst I snorkelled. The pick up was prompt and we were dropped off at a service station to get onto another bus. Claudia even made a special trip to the meeting point to introduce herself to us and explain they send lots of buses to the different hotels then meet centrally at the service station to get on one bus to save travel time instead of going round every individual hotel and making the day longer which I thought was a great idea. Also it was lovely she made the effort to meet us. The second trip my husband was ill in the morning so I had to message Claudia to let her know. She was my only point of contact and the office wasn’t open yet. Despite having just had her new baby the day before she replied promptly and very kindly rescheduled our trip for a few days later so we didn’t miss out and at no extra charge. ( I’m so sorry I had to contact you Claudia when you had just had your baby but like I said we had no other point of contact) This went along way in our book and again another fabulous boat trip with great staff. It was to Saona island where we went by speed boat to sand banks. Swam in the beautiful water had our photos taken with star fish then onto the island for a bbq. We paid to have the massages and as I walked to the area there were hundreds of beautiful butterflies flying around. It was stunning as was the island. Then a lovely catamaran trip back with drinks and music and dancing. Both Catalina Island and Saona island are lovely. I can highly recommend this company for service reliability and a great day out. We will certainly use them again when we next visit. Thankyou Claudia and your team. Also we hope you and your new baby are doing well. All the best from Laura and Gary Atkinson

Response from the operator: Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We truly value all feedback, as it helps us continue enhancing our Saona Island experience for future guests. Punta Cana and Saona are natural destinations, and we always aim to provide the best possible day on the water. We appreciate your support and hope to welcome you again in the future. Claudia Paradise Travel Excursion

via Tripadvisor

WORST EXCURSION EVER

This excursion is the worst you can book. Pick up horrible (you are visiting during 3 hours all the oil stations) boat is ridiculous and you are loosing your time you are on the worst part of the island and don't even expect to do snorkling you are 2 hours on the beach the spead boat didn't have enough oil on the way back!!! total : 5hours of transport from punta cana / 4h30 of excursion SHOULD BE REFUND

via Viator