Two towns share this coast and they sell the sea differently. Bayahibe is a fishing village that turned into a dive and island port: short crossings, cheap seats, the country's signature wreck a few minutes out. Punta Cana is a hotel strip where almost everything is sold with a transfer attached. The prices below were read on the operators' own pages on 2 October 2026.
- The cheapest way onto the water in each town
- A day to Saona, and why it costs less from Bayahibe
- Diving: two price floors, two kinds of day
- Fishing and boards
- What a private boat actually costs
The cheapest seat
In Bayahibe it is half a day with Ryanna Sun at $44 per person: two snorkelling stops on the reef with the hotel transfer included. The catch is the minimum — the boat needs six adults before it sails, so a quiet week can move your date.
In Punta Cana the floor is three hours on a 70-foot catamaran with Kimbara travel at $50 per person, with an open bar and snacks inside the price. It is a party boat, with a snorkelling stop and the hotel transfer also in the price.
A day to Saona
Everyone sells Saona, and the island is the same island. What changes is how long you spend getting there. From Bayahibe, Saona Island Tours charges $65 per person for a full day with a buffet lunch and drinks, out one way by boat and back the other by catamaran. Dominican Emotion makes four stops for $90 and caps the group at 35.
From Punta Cana the same day is $89 to $90 per adult — PUNTA CANA TRIP and Eco Adventures — and it starts earlier and ends later. Dominican Emotion's own four-stop day shows the gap plainly: $90 from Bayahibe, 8:30 to 17:00; $120 from Punta Cana, 7:00 to 19:00. Staying in Bayahibe buys back two hours and $30.
Diving
Bayahibe is where diving is cheap, because the sites are close. Coral Point runs two tanks at $80 per diver and is back on shore around 13:00; Blue Dreams takes beginners in from the beach itself for $79. The wreck of the St George, a 260-foot freighter, is $180 per diver with Dive Dominicana.
In Punta Cana the floor is $129 with Scuba and Chill, which caps the group at four divers per guide, and $135 with Grand Bay of the Sea. Grand Bay also runs the open-water shark dive at $190, and it asks for Advanced Open Water or 20 logged dives.
Fishing and boards
Offshore fishing starts at $130 per angler on Grand Bay's shared boat, where the rods rotate between guests; a spectator who does not fish pays $90. A private 32-foot Luhrs from Big Marlin Charters starts at $500 for the boat.
The board sports are the cheap end of Punta Cana: a four-hour paddleboard rental is $65 and a two-hour surf lesson at Macao is $100 with the transfer in both directions. A three-hour kitesurfing package is $299. For a 3.5-hour snorkelling cruise with sharks and rays, Marinarium charges $115 per adult.
What a private boat costs
These figures are per vessel, which is the number people most often misread. A private catamaran from Coastline is $785 for two to five guests; a 36-foot express cruiser is $675 for three hours and up to eight guests; a private run to Saona from Bayahibe is $700, discounted to $600 if you book from a Bayahibe hotel. Divided by eight, the cruiser is about $84 a head — close to a seat on a shared catamaran.
The prices side by side
| What | Where | Operator | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reef snorkelling, half day | Bayahibe | Ryanna Sun | $44 per person |
| Party boat, three hours | Punta Cana | Kimbara travel | $50 per person |
| Paddleboard, four hours | Punta Cana | Kite Surf Punta Cana School | $65 per rental |
| Saona, full day | Bayahibe | Saona Island Tours | $65 per person |
| Two tanks | Bayahibe | Coral Point Diving | $80 per diver |
| Saona, full day | Punta Cana | PUNTA CANA TRIP | $89 per adult |
| Surf lesson, two hours | Punta Cana | Macao Surf Camp | $100 per surfer |
| Two dives | Punta Cana | Scuba and Chill | $129 per person |
| Shared deep-sea fishing | Punta Cana | Grand Bay of the Sea | $130 per person |
| St George wreck | Bayahibe | Dive Dominicana | $180 per diver |
| Private fishing charter | Punta Cana | Big Marlin Charters | from $500 per boat |
| Private boat to Saona | Bayahibe | Saona Island Stars | $700 per boat |
Questions people ask
Is everything cheaper in Bayahibe?
On the water, mostly yes, because the distances are shorter. Diving starts at $79 there against $129 in Punta Cana, and the same Saona day is $30 less. On the Punta Cana side you also find surf at Macao, kitesurfing and the open-water shark dive.
Which prices include the transfer?
Ryanna Sun, Kimbara travel, Marinarium (within Punta Cana), Macao Surf Camp, Boat Trips Punta Cana, Dominican Divers and Dive Dominicana all include it. Marinarium charges $10 from Bayahibe and $15 from La Romana in cash on the bus. Pink Cat does not cover transfer from outside Punta Cana.
Are the prices in dollars or pesos?
All the operators above quote dollars. Eco Adventures also prints the peso figure beside it — 5,490 DOP per adult for the Saona day.
