Start at The Wall on the east side of the island—one of the nation's most pristine diving sites, with depths between 33 and 99 feet (10 and 30 m). Beneath the surface, admire colorful coral reef gardens as well as other diverse marine life including octopuses, vase sponges, flamingo tongues, and lion and scorpion fish. Next, dive in more shallow depths at The Aquarium on the opposite side of Catalina island, with a maximum depth of 40 feet (12 m). Explore the waters with the likes of moray eels, lobsters, and yellow stingrays in what's considered one of the best dive sites in the Dominican Republic. Follow up your scuba adventure with a delicious Caribbean-style buffet lunch and take advantage of the open bar amid the palm trees and white sands of a gorgeous Catalina Island beach. When your day in paradise has come to an end, return to the port for transportation back to your Punta Cana or Uvero Alto hotel.
I enjoyed my time, but instructions were quick and hard to hear. There was waayy too many people on the boat; enough to hinder your experience. There were both divers and snorkelers on the boat too. The employees did seem like nice people, so no hate. I did seem other dive boats with divers only and way less people in the same area though. Had me wishing I booked a different company to be completely honest
From Cap Cana area the transport was additional $25. And the communication on what boat to get on and who was our dive master was non-existent leading up to the dive. Also the return trip was entirely unclear, so we were confused on what shuttle to go to and if we needed to pay $25 again for transfer back, though we ended up getting on the right shuttle and it turned out we did not pay again for transfer back. But the lack of clarity made it quite uncomfortable in the moment. All that said, the actual diving itself and the beach time with food and drink was excellent.
The initial communication was good detailing pick up time and sending a picture of the van that would collect us which was helpful. The transfer to the port took place in two stages - local mini bus to a meeting point and then onwards to La Romana port from there. It’s was a long transfer, taking about two hours in total. The trip itself was a bit strange in that no one really knew what was going on - or we weren’t told what to expect, just expected to go along with being shuffled about. This is likely due to the language barrier and I accept that in a Spanish speaking country, I should have made more effort to learn basic Spanish. However the trip was advertised as catering to English speakers so we figured we would be fine. However there was very little understanding between the guests and the crew. The dive sites themselves are unknown to us - there were no pre-dive briefings and I’m not sure our diver knew what to do when signing our log books. He didn’t add his dive number or instructor number. I’m unsure how legit it was as a dive provider. As experienced divers, myself (PADI Rescue) and my partner (PADI OW) felt uncomfortable with the process and implementation. No buddy checks - we were ushered into the water very quickly and one of our group had a leak in their jacket which I felt should have been identified pre-dive. When swapping BCDs, the leaking jacket was thrown into a pile with the others and I suppose will be used again in another dive. Our guide was good under water, even more impressive that he was able to fulfil his duties with a disability. He was easily the hardest working member of the crew from what I saw and I am grateful for his support i.e. getting out of the water etc. after our two dives, which were interesting with lots of wildlife, e.g. lion fish, spotted eagle ray, trumpet fish, etc, we were shuffled onto a speed boat to be taken to Catalina island for an ok buffet lunch. Various members of our own boat left the island at different times which was confusing. I asked the staff about it but they seemed to get annoyed at the questions. I think at this point we were supposed to sail back to port but Other people in our group said they hadn’t had the chance to snorkel, so we made another stop and didn’t leave the Catalina area until 4.30pm. This was the time we expected to return to our hotels by according to the description. We had evening plans, so messaged the tour operators to confirm return time and after some back and forth they said that they would organise a private transfer back to the hotel so we could get back in good time. They sent a picture of the car and the name of the driver who would pick us up. On arrival at the port, there was no private transfer and we were shuffled onto another minibus - it was apparent no one really knew what was going on. I messaged the tour operators again and they assured us we would be dropped off first, but that wasn’t the case, doing hotel drop offs elsewhere before our own. Eventually we arrived at our hotel 2 1/2 hours after the advertised time, which scuppered our evening plans. Further contact with the tour operators to said that they would organise original transfer we had booked had to be redirected or something like that, but we didn’t find this our until the next day. Ultimately, the day was OK. The language barrier was an issue and none of the guests knew what to expect. It became a standing joke that we needed to just go along with it and jokes were shared among split passengers that they ‘hoped the other would survive’. I’d advise spending a bit more money on a qualified dive company and people who are able to communicate clearly - unless you speak Spanish coherently. I was disappointed that the resolution we were promised didn’t happen and it put a bit of a dampener on our day. A final note on the on-board toilet - DON’T do it! It was unclean and unsanitary, which meant that many passengers preferred dehydration (in 33C temps) over needing to use it!
4.5 hr to get there, multiple shuttles, 2 unnecessary gift shop stops. Missed half the day. Got to do 1 dive not 2 as promised. No apologies. Extremely rude hosts. All communication in Spanish. Was told (in English) we knew we were coming here so we should have learned Spanish. They refused to try and help us understand communication. Very overcrowded vessel. Small boat taxi to dive boat driven very recklessly. Hit waves at high speed jamming us down into the metal seats hurting our backs. Do NOT recommend!! Horrible experience. Unlike anything I’ve experienced before as a seasoned traveler.
An incredible experience! 5/5 ⭐️ The diving tour exceeded all my expectations. From the beginning, the service was impeccable: the instructors are knowledgeable, patient, and very friendly, making the activity safe and fun, even for beginners like me. In addition to the exciting diving, the tour included a visit to Catalina Island, where we enjoyed a delicious lunch with spectacular views. The combination of adventure and relaxation was perfect. It was definitely worth every penny. I would recommend this tour to anyone looking for a unique and well-organized experience! I will be back soon. Thank you for everything!
Driving and changing cars 3 times to get to the location was crazy and then trying to get back to my hotel was crazier with the drivers not knowing who I was
Excursion was terrible. Way Too many people, not enough life jackets or room to sit and the scuba diving followed no safety precautions. One teenage girl in the group was injured by an air tank not being secured correctly. Dive masters did not speak English very well. Very scary experience.
The whole day went very well, from the pick up at our hotel to getting dropped off at the end of the day. I scuba dived which was really good. Joel was a great dive master. Catalina Island is beautiful, although we probably spent more time there than we would have chosen to do. It was pretty breezy and those in our group who snorkeled did not have near the experience of the divers. Lunch and drinks on the island were good. All in all I would recommend this tour, especially for the divers.
I was able to do the 2 dives. I had the best time. This was my first scuba experience since getting my license. I met some amazing people who had been diving for years. After my first dive that day, the guys treated me like everyone else who had been diving for years. I got a lot of great advice, and the dive master who told me to call him Joe was the best. They also shared pictures of their different dive experiences over the years with me. I felt like part of a brotherhood. Thank you to all for such a great time.
I did a 2 tank dive, not sure on the company as it was an odd setup with guy we booked thru at hotel. Amazing dive, did the Wall and the Aquarium, so beatiful!
It was chaotic. The bus didn't pick me up and i got in a taxi with 2 random people. They they dropped me off with the rest of the bus and people on my trip. A 16 yr old boy was expecting to be with his dad but they didn't allow the dad to come since he wasn't diving. At the boat they just accepted us but none of us were on the roll call. My dive master was great and friendly but with a slight language barrier. Also both times my main breathing device was letting water in and i had to switch to my back up one. The drop off area was cool and exciting but the water is fairly clear but I've had more clear.
Awesome, I had a great time. I did scuba diving for two hours, then some relaxation time on Catalina Island
The diving was excellent. Unfortunately I wasn't told that the booking included two hours beach time - a whole day out (12 hours in total (including scuba diving). I was by myself with no other English speakers, and so the day was unexpectedly long. But the diving (corals & fish etc) was excellent
First off, I would like to say that the dive master was an absolute jewel and this review has no bearing on his abilities. He was fantastic. What was lacking was the transportation and the overall length of the trip was grueling. The transportation to the location was 1 hour from our hotel. We left at 7:00am and didn’t even start our first dive until we’ll after 11:00. The bus made two stops…we had to get off one bus to get on another and then another 1 hour boat ride until we actually dove. There wasn’t much to see and the dives were 30 minutes. The Catalina island experience was also lacking the traditional bbq was cabbage, rice, beans, and some type of cabbage with chicken. Then to top it off there was another hour boat ride back with loud music when all we wanted to do was relax. But again the dive master was absolutely hands down an great guy. None of the above is his fault so I feel bad writing this. If you are an experienced diver and want a relaxing trip with two dives this is not for you.
The experience was exhilarating. I loved being able to see so many different plants and animals that came in such a variety of colors.
The dive operator could not provide any proof that their dive masters are PADI certified, and their website is shutdown. When I asked for proof, they gave us nothing but excuses about why they could not provide any proof of certification. Consequently, my wife and I did not feel comfortable SCUBA diving due to safety concerns. They offered to let us go snorkeling instead, which is what we ended up doing since we had already traveled over 90 minutes to get to the boat. In addition, at the end, we spoke to the returning SCUBA divers. We were shocked when they said that they went diving without having any air pressure gauges. They were not provided by the dive operator!!! That is unbelievably unsafe. Can you please refund us the difference between the cost of a SCUBA diving excursion and the cost of a snorkeling excursion? It should be about $100 (USD) each. Due to poor safety practices, I feel fully justified in not SCUBA diving. Viator should issue an immediate refund, or you will leave us with no recourse other than to stop payment.
While on the boat it was great and our scuba instructor very good and patient with noobs like us. The transportation to and from was bad. The trip to the dock should have been 1 hour or so. But the driver took us an hour out of the way to some tourist grifting shop where all prices start at $45 then you fight them down. So the trip there took 3 hours. While on the boat we were caught in some rain. So we asked the van driver to please turn off the air conditioner. He did for a minute then turned it back on for the 1 hour drive. Now my fiance is sick.
I loved the tour on vdd. The employees were so friendly and you could tell they were a family. Great time, everyone was very caring and made the trip amazing.
For underwater friends, take this excursion without hesitation. These are two dives on Catalina Island in the Dominican Republic. Fascinating
I want to recommend all diving lovers to book with them, they are really professional and very organized. They do two dives on Catalina Island, on the coral platform The Wall
! Excellent excursion!, waste none. An experience I would like to repeat again without a doubt.
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