Saona Island is surrounded by nice beaches and history and is one of the most demanded spots in the southeast of the country. Located to the south of the East National Park, it is inhabited by numerous birds, turtles, dolphins, whales, and manatees, and it is visited each day by tourists who arrive to its coasts to discover the mysteries it hide.
It is inhabited by only 1200 persons that live in huts made of palms and herbs, as it is prohibited to built there. The main occupations of the inhabitants are tourism and fishing. Agriculture is not a way of living for them, as the ground is quite rocky, making the task harder.
Saona Island is rocky and has quite many grottoes and caverns on its northeast, it is a very interesting area due to the great amount of indigenous relics found in there. The coast has low rocky edges with sandy coves, and is the only place in the island with a slight elevation above the sea level, known as Punta Roca.
Find this part of the island where sheltered the indigenous that in times of Cotubamaná had to run away from the troops of Juan de Esquivel under the command of Nicolás de Ovando. The well protected and difficult to access caves where their shelters, saving their belongings until 1912, when the North American archaeologist Theodore de Booy found them.
In the rest of the country, a string of endless white sanded and crystalline waters beaches show their several blue colors, being mixed with the sun. Coconut trees, Mahogany, Logwood, Cape gooseberry, Palos de yayas, Yayas bobas, Guarana and Guarea guidonia accompany visitors on their trips in Saona Island.
Numerous kind of birds can be seen in the island: Parrots, ravens, seagulls, gallaretas, gallitos, Dendrocygninaes and wild doves (also known as “cachito blanco”). Doves were an important problem some time ago due to their large amount, so local farmers used them to feed their pigs. Nevertheless, this habit was eradicated during the regime of Trujillo.
The island is rich in fishes, being possible to find large shoals of lobsters and mollusks like the Queen conch.
In the evening, visitors go back to their hotels, but if you still prefer to spend the night in the island, the organization offers tents.
It is part of the Cotubanama National Park and is officially protected, so no buildings are allowed in its littoral. Boats leave from Playa Bayahibe Beach, but all the resorts in Punta Cana or Playa Bávaro Beach offer this tour. It can also be directly organized in Santo Domingo. the trip takes approximately 3 hours from La Romana.
For more information on how much time and money you would need, just write a comment or visit my YouTube channel. I have ways and direct contacts to make this excursion less expensive for you.
Thanks for reading!
Sources: Dominican Republic..org & Tourism RD
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