Nov 25, 2023
Beautiful place - Entertaining, good service and the place is beautiful. The food theme was a bit messy but there were a lot of tourists so it's understandable.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sep 19, 2023
Beautiful - The island is beautiful. The ride is super dynamic and the water is a pool. I recommend optimizing your time on the beach well since it is not very long! Don't waste time at lunch.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sep 9, 2023
Beast rep I have ever encountered in Punta Cana - Sky was very helpful and answered all our questions with ease. I’ll definitely be recommending her to any one that wants to visit the island. Customer service was top tier
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aug 10, 2023
Vacations to Punta Cana Dominican Republic - Excellent experience with the employees and all the staff, good attention so I would recommend this place. I really loved the good food and drinks so I recommend to all my friends to visit Saona Island in Punta Cana.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jan 16, 2022
Lied about weather and difficult to get refund - The afternoon before our trip, we were notified that the trip was cancelled due to poor weather and they asked to reschedule. I looked at the maritime weather and reports for Saona Island and Bayahibe, and on all accounts, the weather forecast was beautiful. The waves and weather forecast was less desirable on the day they wanted to reschedule for. I questioned the cancellation and they replied that the Navy made them cancel and the Navy said the day they wanted to reschedule for was okay. At that point, I knew they were lying. I talked to another tour operator and they said that while the Navy will occasionally specify an hour or so period boats can't travel around Saona (there is a Naval base there) that there was no such requirement on that day and they were conducting tours no problem. We cancelled and booked with another tour guide. We then messaged them several times about our refund and didn't hear back that point forward. I ended up having to contact Viator directly and they refunded the money no problem. That being said, SM Shuttles late notice cancellation, lie, and failure to process a refund or respond would cause me to suggest that you look elsewhere.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aug 27, 2023
Private boat not worth it paid double per person same or worst experience than catamaran - I don't recommend this company for privates boats paid a private $130 per person , total was almost 1500 usd for Saona , seller Tomas pass me a route with snorkel , sandwichs more points of stop , but food was the of the catamaras tour (50-70 usd) , no snorkel , no food in boat , paid extra for the same tour and charged extra for credit card only was about to go .
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jan 21, 2023
Never again - Booked the VIP Saona Island tour online before going on holiday, the afternoon before the trip I noticed one click shuttle had not sent a pick up time, I messsaged several times to no avail, eventually getting through on the phone. They then informed me that the tour had been cancelled for the following day but offered me a discounted price for some other tour for £120 this was after me paying £185 for the original tour…. My advice is stay clear of this company!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
May 24, 2022
Disappointing waste of money - This was advertised as a small group tour for 6-10 people when I booked and ideal for families. They have since changed the advert but be warned - this is a tour of 40 plus people on a boat that is cramped and uncomfortable.
We took our 4 year old daughter and this trip isn’t suitable for children of that age - I would suggest not suitable for children under 10 years old. The boat was driven like it was stolen and the ride was needlessly rough and far faster than it needed to be given it was a short distance. I went diving several times this holiday on similar boats and all of those boats were driven better and all were in rougher conditions.
The whole time we were on the boat there was music played at full volume meaning you couldn’t have a conversation with the person say next to you. It was so busy I was sat 5m away from my daughter and wife. Next to a deafening speaker, in front of a deafening pair of engines and breathing in the fumes the whole trip. There were too many people on the boat and it was uncomfortably cramped.
The island is beautiful and the food was average.
This is more of a booze cruise (and there was a lot of booze consumed) akin to an 18-30 boat ride. Not VIP as advertised and not a small group as advertised. The company isn’t interested in anything except getting hold of your money.
FYI - the same trip is half the price charged by this crew anywhere else. Don’t waste your money!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sep 26, 2020
Saona - The bad:
- 1 hour late for pickup
- Snorkeling was at the boat harbor, we literally saw 1 fish
- Never went to Playa Canta
- Never went to Playa Toro
- Never went to turtle preserve
- Food/drinks were low quality
- Last stop of trip was for one of the passengers to purchase drugs from the tour operators
The good:
- Saona
Recommendation:
Purchase the cheapest Saona package, they are all the same and there is no need to waste your money for fake “VIP” trips.
Review provided by Viator