Bayahibe, located on the Caribbean coast of the Dominican Republic, a small town just taking its first steps in tourism. The locals themselves say that Bayahibe looks like Punta Cana did 30 years ago. And while tourism here is still in its infancy, Bayahibe is often chosen as a base for the beautiful island of Saona, which delighted many tourists from all over the world.

Small in size, Bayahibe has a myriad of stores, a few bars and restaurants, a few souvenir stores on the beach, and a few hotels that appeal to tourists. Because Bayahibe is so small, it still has that authentic vibe compared to, say, Punta Cana. Thanks to this, prices here are also much lower than other popular destinations in the Dominican Republic. In this post we will show you the must see, and must do’s during your vacation in Bayahibe.

Bayahibe is the smallest place we have visited and since there is not much going on here, we decided to relax and enjoy the beaches of Bayahibe. Bayahibe was also the first place on our three-week tour of the Dominican Republic.

It allowed us to slowly fall in love with the Dominican Republic, which turned out to be an amazing island. Full of beautiful beaches, awesome clear water, amazing greenery, breathtaking canyons, and friendly people.

Isla Saona

Paradise on earth exists and is located in the Dominican Republic, specifically on the island of Saona. Beautiful, crystal clear water, fine white sand and huge palm trees. In short, this is how you can describe this place.

Apart from that there are several buffet places, a place to play beach volleyball, lots of deck chairs and… tourists. A lot of tourists. Despite the crowds, Isla Saona is a beautiful island paradise. Walk, swim and take the most beautiful pictures, because there are enough opportunities to create the most beautiful vacation pictures.

How to get to Isla Saona

There are several options: private tour, semi private tour and group tour. Depending on which option you choose, prices per person range from $50 to $200 per person. Included in the price is the arrival to the island, return and buffet lunch. On the catamaran you also have unlimited access to drinks and sodas.

In addition to the price, the tours differ in the means of transportation to the island. We chose the group tour because it was the cheapest option and all we really wanted was to get to the island. Unfortunately it was not the best choice. Reaching the island by catamaran took us longer than expected, admittedly on the way we had one more stop at natural pools. In our opinion  it was unnecessary and we would definitely prefer to spend more time on Saona.

So if you care only about the island and not about 3 hours sailing through the ocean and party on the boat, do not choose group tour. In our case we also had to wait quite long for lunch, unfortunately we do not know how it is in other tours.

In our case the return to the main land was by speed boat, which was definitely a faster option. If we were to choose the second time from these three options we would choose the semi private tour with speed boat option both ways. The price was higher but the stay on the island is longer, so it would be still a better deal.

However, if you have more time you can also stay overnight on Isla Saona. Prices are not as high as you might think and start at around $60 for a very basic room with breakfast.

Playa Bayahibe

It is a small and intimate beach in practically the center of Bayahibe. You can easily get here on foot, by bike or by Uber if you don’t rent a car. The beach is not of the greatest variety, but it has everything you need to enjoy the beach life. Once you are at the beach some local vendors will approach you to rent you some chairs and umbrellas. This is your chance!

Like in general in Dominican Republic, biggest part of the beach is owned by hotels, so you can walk but can’t stay there. The public part is completely for free, except for the chairs of course. Playa Bayahibe also has a blue flag, which means that this beach belongs to the very clean beaches with clear water.

There are several souvenir stores, a local vendor with cold drinks, and a place where you can rent beach chairs and umbrellas just for a few dollars.

Dominicus Beach

It is a long beach with many sections that belong only to hotels, unfortunately this somewhat limits the choice of places to beach, but nevertheless you will surely find something for yourself. Because while the beds belong to the hotels, the beach is public so you can easily walk there, but can’t put your towel on the beach and enjoy the place.

On Dominicus beach there is also a lighthouse, which is now a bar where you can buy refreshments. Also on the beach you will find many places to rent water sports equipment.

The entrance to the beach is free and it is located a few kilometers from the center of Bayahibe, to get here you need a car, but even if you do not rent a car, you can easily get here by Uber.

Getting to Bayahibe

If you don’t plan on renting a car in the Dominican Republic, the cheapest and best way to get to Bayahibe is by local bus called Expresso Romana. It departs from the bus station in Santo Domingo and goes to La Romana.

The ticket costs $4 (210 pesos) per person. Upon arrival in La Romana, you will need to change to the local bus Guagua, which costs $1.50 (85 pesos). It is best to let the driver know where you want to go, the locals are very helpful and the driver will be happy to help you get on the proper Guagua.

Getting around Bayahibe

The town of Bayahibe is small, you can easily get everywhere on foot. Grocery stores, restaurants, ATMs are located on the main street. If you want to get to the beach there is an Uber. Although sometimes you have to haggle with the drivers, it is a pretty easy way to get to places that are not accessible on foot.

As always when we travel we try to cook for ourselves because of the cost. However, we could not deny ourselves Mexican food.

• Frida | Best Mexican next to Playa Dominicus

During our stay in Bayahibe we stayed at local Airbnb hosted by Felix , and it was a great choice. We totally recomend his place.

The best time to visit Bayahibe is between December and March. The hottest month is July with maximum of 33 Celsius, and the coolest month is February with an average daily maximum of 29 Celsius and minimum 20 Celsius.

The prices are per person, except for the accommodation and Taxi, which we rent for 2 people.

Accommodation: $43 / night

Restaurant: $9 / meal

Snack: $2 – $4 / meal

Pleasure: $1 – $2 / event

Taxi: $1 – $2 / ride

Activity: $50 / event