swimming
Bayahíbe Beach
The old fishing village's public beach and the pier where most Saona and Catalina boats leave
La Romana & Bayahíbe
Calm Caribbean water, the Saona and Catalina boat trips, and Casa de Campo's golf
The south-east coast faces the Caribbean Sea rather than the Atlantic, so the water around La Romana, Bayahíbe and Dominicus is usually flat, clear and easy for swimming. Bayahíbe, an old fishing village, is the departure point for boat trips to Isla Saona and Isla Catalina and the region's dive base, while Dominicus next door has a long Blue Flag beach lined with all-inclusives.
West of Bayahíbe, La Romana is home to Casa de Campo, with the Teeth of the Dog golf course, the hilltop village of Altos de Chavón and its own airport (LRM). Much of the coastline east of Dominicus, including Saona, is protected inside the Parque Nacional del Este (officially Parque Nacional Cotubanamá), so it stays wild. Sargassum reaches this shore less often than Punta Cana's east-facing beaches.
Beaches
Beaches in La Romana & Bayahíbe
island
Canto de la Playa
Saona's quieter south-east beach, where the tour crowds thin out
island
Isla Catalina
A small island off La Romana with clear water, a calm beach and the region's best-known snorkel wall
island
Isla Catalinita
A tiny uninhabited islet at the park's eastern edge, stopped at by Saona snorkel and dive trips
resort
Minitas Beach (Casa de Campo)
Casa de Campo's own sheltered beach club, calm and groomed, with access mainly for resort guests
swimming
Playa Dominicus
A long Blue Flag beach of pale sand and flat Caribbean water, lined with all-inclusives
island
Isla Saona
The country's most famous day-trip island: palm-lined beaches inside a national park
sandbar
Saona Natural Pool (Playa Palmilla Sandbar)
A waist-deep sandbar in open water off Punta Palmilla, the standard stop on Saona trips
Plan