For our third full day in the Dominican Republic, we used the excursion credit provided by Costco partner Blue Travel Partner Services that we received as part of our Costco Travel package deal (airfare, resort, and transfers between airport and resort) to cover a portion of the excursion called "Bávaro Splash". Not only did we enjoy the three activities associated with this excursion, but the excursion provided the opportunity to catch a glimpse of Punta Cana and to experience Bávaro Beach even though our resort was located in Bayahibe.
For our two previous full-day excursions to Saona Island and Catalina Island, we had short rides to the port in Bayahibe to go to these respective islands whereas the tourists coming from Punta Cana had to ride approximately one hour to get started. For the Bávaro Splash, we were the ones who had the nearly one hour commute to the excursion location. Fortunately, we were able to ride in a comfortable mini-bus and the ride was interesting and enjoyable. I was happy to not be driving in Punta Cana as it's a much busier place than Bayhibe and we saw more of the driving conditions the D.R. is famous for in Punta Cana.
Although we arranged for the Bávaro Splash through Blue Travel Partner Services while at the resort in the Dominican Republic, the receipt we received showed "TUI" and the bus that picked us up was branded "Ocean Adventures." Everything else we saw on this excursion also featured the "Ocean Adventure" brand.
Things seemed chaotic when we initially arrived at the location for the Bávaro Splash, but we soon realized that things were more organized than they first appeared. There were two main groups formed with one group (Bávaro Splash) supposed to congregate in Briefing Area #2 and the other group (Caribbean Pirates) congregating in Briefing Area #3. Both groups were large, but the Caribbean Pirates group seemed noticeably larger than our group and things seemed less chaotic once they boarded their pirate ship.
We received life vests before boarding the ship for the three aquatic activities associated with Bávaro Splash. The "Ocean Adventures" employees on the ship were good at their jobs and brought organization to the large group of passengers on the ship. They were able to rotate all passengers who wanted to do all the activities through snuba diving, snorkeling, and driving speed boats. Our particular party did the Snuba first, then snorkeled, and finished with the speed boats. It seemed like we had 20 to 30 minutes for the Snuba and speed boat driving and a bit longer for the snorkeling (the Snuba and speed boats had some more time for logistical setup).
The "Ocean Adventures" crew helped the Snuba divers to see interesting fish and to pose for underwater photographs with their traveling companions. These photographs were available for purchase on CD at the end of the trip and we decided to purchase the photographs for a variety of reasons, including that they used a really nice underwater camera. They also took video of us driving the speed boats and we should be able to download that video in the near future because we purchased it in conjunction with the Snuba photographs.
We returned to the dock we had departed from and received sandwiches to eat on the way back to Bayahibe. The sandwiches were relatively simple (bread, cheese, and ham with condiments available in individual packages), but were welcome nourishment after not eating since breakfast and being involved in swimming activities.
Overall, we really enjoyed the Bávaro Splash activity and are happy that we opted to do it. It would have been nice to have more time on the Snuba and speedboats, but we were used to that amount of time on Snuba from doing that activity near Molokini (Maui, Hawaii). We would have particularly liked more time on the speed boats, but the allotted time was exhilarating and quite different than anything else we did while in the Dominican Republic or even other ocean-oriented trips we've done.
The "Ocean Adventures" staff was helpful and friendly. There were times, especially at the beginning of the activity, where it felt like we were waiting a long time, but each time that thought crossed my mind, I looked out over Bávaro Beach and at the beautiful Caribbean and decided that waiting wasn't so bad in a spot like that. This activity had lots of variety and fun to offer. This excursion's negatives were mainly those consistent with large groups of tourists involved in the same activity. By splitting the larger group essentially into three smaller groups for the separate activities, things were much better during the activities themselves.
We really enjoyed the three activities associated with the Bávaro Splash, but found other benefits from selecting this excursion. We appreciated the opportunity to experience Bávaro Beach and Punta Cana. Although we realized how fortunate we had been to schedule a resort in quieter Bayahibe with its own gorgeous beaches and easier access to the stunning scenery of Saona Island and Catalina Island, we still enjoyed seeing and briefly experiencing Bávaro Beach and Punta Cana. The Colonial Tours site claims that "Punta Cana and Bavaro are considered among the best 10 beaches in the world!" and adds, "The Dominican Republic is the small corner of our planet that boasts two real earthly paradises: Bavaro beach and Punta Cana." Bávaro Beach felt busier than the other beaches we had experienced in the DR with all types of aquatic activities going on. We were also surprised at how much seaweed is present on the beaches in this part of the Dominican Republic coast (we had seen very little seaweed near Bayahibe or on Saona Island or on Catalina Island). We were also surprised at how much busier Punta Cana felt than Bayahibe felt.
The trip to Bávaro Beach and Punta Cana to participate in the Bavaro Splash Tour complemented nicely some of our other excursions in the Dominican Republic. We especially appreciated the variety of activities and the opportunity to experience Punta Cana and Bávaro Beach.
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