Cayo Levantado

What Cayo Levantado actually is

The island sits in the middle of Samana Bay. About two thirds of it is private resort. The remaining third is a public beach with palm trees, sun loungers, a handful of grilled fish shacks and a calm bay you can wade into for a hundred metres before it deepens.

The nickname Bacardi Island comes from a famous rum advert filmed on the public beach in the 1980s. The water is clear, shallow and warm. There is no real snorkelling at the public side, but the swimming experience is the easiest in the whole Samana region.

How tours combine it

The standard Cayo Levantado day trip pairs Los Haitises in the morning with two hours on the island in the afternoon. The boat sails from Sabana de la Mar, crosses to the park first and finishes at the island after lunch. You skip the queue at the Samana town pier.

Standalone trips from Samana town run a public ferry roughly every hour from 8 am to 4 pm. The crossing takes 30 to 45 minutes. From Punta Cana the standalone trip is hard to justify because the road time alone makes the day uneven.

What to bring

Bring cash for grilled snapper, water, your own towel and reef safe sunscreen. The fish shacks accept pesos and give change in pesos. Plates run 700 to 1,200 DOP for a full meal. Bring water shoes if you have them, since the shallow shelf has a few sharp coral chunks near the south end.

Skip the parasailing offers on the pier. The boats are not insured to resort standard and the ride is short for the price. Bring a small dry bag for phone and camera, since the boat transfer back gets some spray.

Cayo Levantado is a side stop, not a destination. As an extension of a Los Haitises morning it adds a calm Caribbean swim with very low logistics. Book the combo, take the 8 am ferry or the first tour boat and you get the best of both with one transfer.