Catalina Island
One of the most beautiful
Island of the Caribbean, a Real Dream
Catalina Island
is a longish boat ride from the
Bayahibe area, maybe 30 minutes but many people consider it
one of the highlights of their week. There is a true wall on
the north side of the island, dropping from 15 to 130 feet.
The shallow reef flat is rich with pillar and boulder corals,
while the drop-off is filter feeder heaven, with black
coral, vase sponge and large elephant ears. On the south
side is a shallow reef known as the Aquarium. Here, pillar
corals rule, and schooling grunts hide in coral recesses.
The Island is just a 45-minute boat ride from La Romana or
Bayahibe in the Dominican Republic. Cruise ships dock
directly at the small island of Catalina.
The Catalina Island is so uninhabited and clean of any
pollutants that all traveling is done on foot. The Catalina
Island or Isla Catalina is an uninhabited tropical island
located 1.5 miles from the mainland on the south-east corner
of the Dominican Republic, near La Romana Province.
The island itself is only 9.6 square kilometers in size, and
is a diverse preservation of eco-systems including sand
dunes, mangroves, and reefs. Formed out of coral stone, the
island contains three overlapping plateaus. The highest
elevation on the island is only 60 feet above sea level. The
seas around the Island are rich in wildlife, with many
species of birds and tropical marine fish, and there are
large areas where natural sandbars offshore bring the depth
to just a few feet.
The island was baptized "Catalina" by Christopher Columbus,
who discovered it in May, 1494, on his way to the Americas.
Isla Catalina's coastal waters offer ideal conditions for
swimming, sailing and game fishing; snorkelers and scuba
divers explore its abundant coral gardens.
The island offers white sand beaches and shallow reef-protected
waters. Rules protecting the island's ecology have halted
construction since 1969.
Isla Catalina is a cruise-ship port-of-call. The island
receives about 5,000 visitors daily.
Our Tour
Catalina Island VIP
As usual, Colonial Tour and Travel
looking for the most wholesome fun to complement your vacations has prepared
this tour named Catalina VIP. Tour guides multilingual will be
with us all the journey Departing in comfortable bus
from hotels of Punta Cana-Bavaro, Bayahibe-La Romana, Boca Chica, Juan Dolio
or Santo Domingo, we will arrive to the impressive Village of
Altos de Chavon, also known as The Artist's City.
This village Medieval
Mediterranean style of great beauty was built in 1976 in its amphitheatre
has been presented big stars as Frank Sinatra, Carlos Santana, Sting,
Luis Miguel, Heart. Continuing our adventure we will descend the stairs from Chavon
to the River Chavon to board our Boats and we will go to the island but
we'll stop on "The Wall", is an spectacular coral reef full of sea
life, color fishes, starfishes, and you can snorkeling for 20 minutes, then
we will arrive to Catalina Island of astonishing beauty where we have a
reserved area for us.
From here you will realize the dream in everybody's
mind: "to be in the desert Caribbean Island with a soft breeze, crystalline
waters a white sand beach a radiant sun, turquoise colors and aquamarine ".
Free time to take dive in the pristine waters of its beautiful white sand
beaches. You will learn dancing Meringue, Salsa and Bachata with our
animators and tour guides. We'll taste an exquisite lunch buffet based on
Lobsters, cold and hot pasta, green salad and vegetables, white rice,
legume, BBQ chicken, boiled potatoes, tropical fruits, French bread, coffee,
local drinks and typical Dominican sweets.
After the appetizing lunch,
you can play Volleyball, beach ball, frees bee, recollect little snail or
take pictures, simply lie down on the chaise longs or dance tropical rhythms
again. At 4:00 we will return to Bayahibe Beach where our bus will be
waiting to take us back to our hotels.
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