I am crowning myself the beach connoisseur, so I have the authority to declare that Saona Island has most beautiful beach in the Caribbean.

Bright and early we set off from Punta Cana to the port town of Bayahibe which is only less than an hour away, on the Caribbean Sea coast. We boarded our speed boat and headed out for our first stop, which was a little snorkelling trip. After about 30mins or so, we jumped back onto the boat to our second stop. On the way we got a light snack and some heavy rum pours for drinks, before our arrival at a natural pool. The aquamarine, crystal clear water comes up to just above the waist thanks to the sandbar: you can see the line where the water depth changes. We jumped out to just enjoy the bath warm water and were provided with more drinks and fruit to enjoy. One boat that arrived was pumping out the Bad Bunny and brought such a vibe. There were a few other boats here so whilst it was fairly busy, it wasn’t overcrowded. That might have something to do with the area being part of the Cotubanamá National Park, which is one of the most protected reserves in the Caribbean.

Eventually, we pulled ourselves away from our ocean pool and headed to our final destination: Saona Island. The island itself is 12km long and 26km wide. It has the feeling of being a deserted island, (Pirates of the Caribbean and Blue Lagoon were filmed here), but there are about 400 families who actually live on the island.

You know those moments in life where you think to yourself, ‘is this real? Am I actually experiencing this right now?’ – my whole time on Saona were these thoughts going through my head on loop. The sand is perfectly white and powdery fine. I have never seen sand so pristine in my entire life. The place is abundant in towering palm trees providing much needed relief from the shining sun. The water looks like someone has put turquoise food colouring in diamond infused water – the way it glistens in the sun and gently laps the shore is the calming experience I will never get over whenever I’m by the sea. We were provided with a delicious buffet lunch which had grilled fish, shrimp, meat and all the trimmings. Of course, I got my fill of habichuelas, (someone needs to explain to me why there are so many words for ‘beans’ in Spanish), and drinks too.

I can’t remember how long exactly we spent on Saona, I want to say about 3 hours, but I could have stayed there for the rest of my life. Sadly, that’s not allowed, so I begrudgingly boarded the catamaran for the 2.5hr boat journey back to Bayahibe.

We had originally booked the cheaper tour of Saona Island but Tui Rep at the hotel said that the beach included in this trip can get wildly overcrowded. Our guide, Castro, (who was incredible!), said there can be 2,500 people on that beach at any one time, which made us v. thankful that we had upgraded to the private beach trip. This meant that the beach we pitched up at was for Tui Experience customers only, so all in all, there were about 3 or 4 groups on the beach, each with our own specific section for sun-loungers and food. I’d recommend bringing some cash with you for Piña Coladas. It might seem extra but it’s the best piña colada I’ve ever had in my life seeing as it’s made from organic pineapples. Thankfully, Castro was a babe who spotted me the cash and we repaid him once we hit the cash machine on our return to Bayahibe.

If you’re looking to get out of the resort but still want a good balance of active and relaxation, I would all. the. way. recommend this trip to Saona Island. If you want more of a crowd and vibe, then the cheaper ‘highlights’ tour would work, otherwise, upgrade to the more private trip. I cannot stress enough how awe-inspiring the journey to Saona and Saona itself is. For my return to the DR, the area of Bayahibe/La Romana is where I’d love to stay – I really and truly am a Caribbean Sea girlie.