Punta Cana is not a dive town the way Bayahibe is — it is a hotel strip with dive centres attached — and that shows in the prices, which start $50 higher. What it has instead is range: a small-group reef day, a wreck day out at Saona, a first dive for people who have never breathed underwater, and a shark dive with a real experience bar. Prices read on the operators' own pages on 2 October 2026.
- Two dives off Bávaro and Cabeza de Toro
- The transfer question, which moves every price
- A wreck without the depth
- Sharks, in open water
- Diving for the first time
Two dives close to the hotels
Scuba and Chill charges $129 per person for two guided dives off Bávaro and caps the group at four divers per PADI guide. It does not publish a fixed site list: the outing is set to the conditions of the day and the level of the group, which is honest about a coast where swell and visibility move through the season.
Grand Bay of the Sea is $135 per diver from Cabeza de Toro, between Bávaro and the marina, with instructors who work in English, Spanish and French. Booking takes a deposit with the balance paid on the day.
The transfer question
This is where the quoted figures move. Scuba and Chill transfers free from Bávaro. Grand Bay covers the main Bávaro area but charges a supplement for Uvero Alto, Cap Cana and Punta Cana Resort. Dominican Divers puts a private hotel transfer inside its price. If you are staying at either end of the coast, get your figure before you compare the headline numbers.
A wreck without the depth
Ultra Marine Divers' Saona day is $199 per diver and is built around a wreck: the Atlantic Princess lies in shallow water, which keeps it open to ordinary Open Water divers, and the second tank is the Peñón reef. Lunch on Saona and the Piscina Natural on the way back come with it, and the return to Punta Cana is around 17:00 to 18:30.
Nitrox is $12 a tank on request and the deposit is $40 per diver. A non-diving partner can come along and snorkel for $95. If you are staying in Bayahibe, the same trip is $149 per diver without the Punta Cana transfer.
Sharks, without a cage
Grand Bay's shark dive is $190 per person for two tanks over about two and a half hours on the natural reef at Shark Point. There is no cage, which is why the entry requirement is not a formality: Advanced Open Water, with Open Water divers of at least 20 logged dives accepted case by case. Hotel transport from Punta Cana and Bávaro is included.
On depth the operator's page is not consistent — 30 m / 100 ft in one passage, approximately 26 m / 80 ft in another and up to 25 m in a third. Ask the centre to state the planned maximum before you book. A $50 deposit holds the place.
Diving for the first time
Dominican Divers takes complete beginners from a boat at $169 per person, with the instructor beside you rather than a lap of a hotel pool. The minimum age is 10, courses start at 12, and the price includes a private hotel transfer and a full XDEEP ZEOS set. If you carry on, the cost is credited towards a Scuba Diver or Open Water course booked during the same holiday.
The dive days side by side
| Operator | What | Who for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scuba and Chill | two dives off Bávaro, four per guide | no certificate required | $129 per person |
| Grand Bay of the Sea | two tanks from Cabeza de Toro | certified | $135 per diver |
| Ultra Marine Divers | Saona day, wreck and reef | certified | $199 per diver |
| Dominican Divers | first dive from a boat | no certificate, from age 10 | $169 per person |
| Grand Bay of the Sea | shark dive, open water | Advanced or 20 dives | $190 per person |
Questions people ask
Is it worth going to Bayahibe instead?
For the St George wreck, yes — and Scuba and Chill runs that day from here at $175 per person. Ultra Marine's Saona day is $149 per diver from Bayahibe against $199 from Punta Cana, so where you sleep changes the bill.
How many divers will be on my guide?
Four at most at Scuba and Chill. With the other centres, ask for the group size when you book.
Can someone who is not certified join the same boat?
Grand Bay sells Discover Scuba Diving from $100 per person, so a mixed group does not have to split up.
