Catalina Island
The island of Catalina is like the island of Saona, only with much less tourist traffic, and is also closer. I recommend this program to those who want to see a magical place without getting drunk.
We leave early in the morning (between 7:00 and 8:00, depending on the hotel) to La Romana by bus from the hotels.
Then we will make the trip from the harbor with a vast, beautiful sailing catamaran. (unfortunately, the size of the ship depends on the number of people, so sometimes the program starts with a different type of ship. I can't influence this :( ) Non-alcoholic soft drinks and sandwiches are served on the boat on the way there; there is music, and you can dance.
The boat stops at a beautiful place where you can snorkel. Then sailing around the island, we disembark on the dreamy white sandy beach for the free program for approx. 2.5 hours. A buffet lunch awaits us here (approx. 1:00 p.m.), which can be supplemented with crawfish for an additional fee. Alcoholic cocktails and soft drinks made from local drinks are part of the package—extra drinks for an extra charge.
After the free program, returning to the ship at the specified time, we set sail again and, accompanied by music, dancing, and drinking sailed back to our starting point, where we returned to the hotels by bus. Return around 7 pm.
The program is available to 4 people with a Hungarian guide:
- Price: 115 USD/person
- Child ages 3-10 $59/person
105 USD/person with an English guide
It is possible to complete the program by visiting Altos de Chavón, which is very close to our ship's port.
In this case, our next destination is Casa De Campo (10p). Here we admire the town of Altos De Chavon Corall and the Greek-style amphitheatre, which seats no less than 5,000. Local artists artificially created the whole place with great care, a copy of a 16th-century Mediterranean village. Many celebrities have given concerts here (Frank Sinatra, Sting, Elton John, Andrea Bocelli, Gloria Estefan, Spyro Gyra, Michael Camilo, Juan Luis Guerra, Julio Iglesias, Placido Doming...) or got married here. You can dream in such an environment.
We walk along the cozy cobblestone streets, where there are active studios with all kinds of art and shops and boutiques displaying their creations. This place is also home to the famous Altos de Chavón School, which is affiliated with New York's Parsons School of Design. From a beautiful panorama, we also admire the Church of St. Stanislaus and the Chavon River. If required, we can, of course, have ice cream and coffee on site.
In this case, we arrive late in the evening, depending on the group's preference, back to the hotels at about 8:00 p.m.
The add-on price is 50 USD per person, which includes the cost of the entrance ticket :)