Unforgettable Catalina Scuba: Punta Cana's Ocean Paradise

The day started at 7:15 am when we were picked up (on time) by a small bus where around 28 people could be seated. We drove around for around 45 minutes picking up other tourists and then went to a drop off point where the tourists had to transfer to their bus. In our case it was a smaller bus to the harbour for the scuba diving trip. This was from Punta Cana to La Romana around a 1 hour and 15 minute drive and was fine. Arriving at the boat we were greeted and helped aboard by the crew. In case you are going scuba diving, a medical and liability form must be signed (this is a must). Joël was our diving instructor and really took care of us with clear instructions. We are beginners who had dived 2 times before and did make it a bit easier for us. This trip was very pleasant and maybe from my end it would have been good to mention that I’m a big guy. Joël luckily had 1 scuba vest that fitted me. The dive was nice and Joël quickly adjusted the weights to ensure a comfortable swim/dive. In our case the water was pretty clear but not crystal clear. We saw a stingray, multiple puffer fish, a big Lion fish and many colourfull other beautiful fish. During the dive we were escorted by Joël and crewmember which made us feel secure and well taken care of. Pictures are made during the dive and there is an option to purchase these. After the second dive we were brought to Catalina Island where there was a nice bbq with good food and open bar. During the day the crew was very helpfull. On the way back the crew also entertained the people on the boat with dance and music. We also got drinks and water was available. All and all a nice experience. The drive back was in one go from La Romana to our hotel. We arrived back at around 19:15.

Had so much fun would definitely do it again. Everyone was super nice food was pretty good had a great time.

The boat, boat crew, and diving guides were awesome. Both dives were amazing. Catalina island after to relax was a great addition. Transportation and the communication around transportation was very poor. Were an hour late for pick up and got home two hours later than the schedule. Overall great adventure for the price.

It was my 1st time scuba diving and the guys were absolutely amazing with me and helping me adjust and feel safe!!

We are a family of four (3 adults and one teen) and overall the we are rating this tour as an average. 1) ground transportation was very chaotic, we were picked up by the resort at 7am and were drop off by a parking area and waited for about 1.5 hours to get on a small van to depart to the marina, the 1.5 hours was for the various drivers to get things sorted out. It could have been a lot more organized. Also, the van picked up few more local people along the way, almost acting like a taxi in order to make more pocket money. By the time we got to the marine it was almost at 10am. 2) the dive equipment were relatively old and don’t seem the cleanest either. If you do go with this tour, make sure to do equipment testing. My son’s second tank was almost empty, lower than 50 bar. And it was only a 42 min dive. Either the tank was leaking or he was given the same tank from the first dive. Whenever we dive before, my son doesn’t consume that much tank air compared to the rest of us since he is more relaxed under water in general. 3) the dive itself was pretty good. The dive master was attentive and points out things to look for. 4) the island is beautiful and the lunch food was decent 5) the returned ground transportation was slightly better as compared to the departure one. The van was already there when we got off the boat. However,.. only that the driver dropped us off at a souvenir store for a while (force shopping time) before letting us to get on another van to get back to the resort. Overall it was a very long day. If they can reduce ground transportation time, it would have been a much experience.

We had the best crew on the boat they treated us so good that I would come back over and over again Thanks again

Although the diving was good and the Dive Master was informative, the day started off rough, so I am giving only 3 stars. We were picked up at our hotel by one van/driver, drove around for about an hour and really didn't get more than 8 KM away from our hotel, stopping frequently. We then transferred to another van/driver who drove around for 20-30 minutes and ended up back at the same gas station where we were dropped off the first time. After waiting about 30 more minutes we got in a third van/bus to the tour location. The last drive took about 50 minutes. We left our hotel at 7:00 am and did not get to the tour location until 10:15 am. That is too long for this type of experience. Especially since we stayed in one bus on the return and were back in our resort within 55 minutes. None of the people employed in transport spoke any english which made communication and understanding what was going on imposible.

We met Alan at our resort, RIU Republica! We appreciated your friendliness and knowledge! Thank you for chatting about diving and suggestions for future dives with you. We really appreciated you touching base with us the following day to see how we did and if we enjoyed it😁 Shadia was our excellent dive master! We really appreciated you sharing your knowledge with us! We had an absolutely fantastic day! The dives to the Wall and to the Aquarium were beautiful! Seeing the seahorses was absolutely awesome! Thank you for being so easy to chat with and so friendly! We enjoyed and appreciated every moment! Judy and Gord Vaughan

This was pretty interesting to say the least. The shuttle was 45 mins late and there was 3 different stops. One to put us on another shuttle and another for a shop . We were supposed to scuba dive however the oxygen on my tank was not working right to my respirator and I didn’t feel comfortable going under with a faulty tank. I have been scuba diving a few times but the guy leading didn’t really speak English and was not willing to help me get a new tank just treated me like a burden. I told him I would just go back to the boat and snorkel instead then. No problem with that but for $160 and not getting to scuba I’m very upset. The views were gorgeous . The boat was awesome!!! Other than the shuttle and overpaying the day was great!!

Beautiful island and colourful diving experience! The staff is super friendly and lively! Diving guides look after you all the time