Excursion to Isla Saona

What went sideways: a downpour on the catamaran, boat trouble before the sandbar, running out of fuel mid-water. What holds: sunscreen, water, a lifejacket, and the ability to laugh about it.

Isla Saona is what you expect a Caribbean beach to look like — white sand, palm trees at the edge, water so clear it reads more like light than water. The excursion departs from Zona Colonial: two-hour catamaran ride, reggaetón the whole way. On the island: tour lunch, fresh coconut, time to settle into the heat. The return trip stops at a sandbar where starfish sit in waist-deep water. The chaos of getting there is part of it.

Santo Domingo's Zona Colonial is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas. The streets were laid out in a grid in 1502 — a system that influenced every other Spanish colonial city after it. Walking it in the morning, before the tour groups arrive, gives you the correct version of it.

Calle Las Damas is the first paved street in the Americas. It runs along the river side of the colonial city, lined with historic buildings and ending near the Alcázar de Colón — Diego Columbus's palace. The Alcázar was restored in the 1950s but still holds the basic spatial logic of the original 16th-century construction. The courtyard alone is worth the admission.

The Malecón runs along the southern coast of Santo Domingo for several kilometers. At night it fills with locals — music from open cars, vendors, the sea behind a concrete seawall. It's a different register from the colonial city — louder, more immediate, less filtered for visitors.

Punta Cana is separate from Santo Domingo in every way — distance, atmosphere, purpose. The all-inclusive resorts here operate on their own logic: private beach, controlled access, everything included. The beach is white and wide, the water calm and clear.

The catamaran to Isla Saona departs from Bayahibe, east along the coast. Isla Saona is what Caribbean beach photography looks like before editing: palm trees, white sand, water that turns green then turquoise then blue as it deepens. The return trip stops at the starfish sandbar — waist-deep water, the horizon visible in every direction.

Practical notes: Santo Domingo requires an overnight stay to see properly. Zona Colonial is compact enough to walk but the heat requires an early start. Tipping is expected and part of how service workers earn a living here; factor it in honestly.

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