Casa Rural El Paraíso de Saona

Our stay on the Saona Island was for sure the most memorable part of our journey through the Dominican Republic. This is the place where you can really experience what life in the Dominican Republic is like. It is not a resort so don´t expect golden fountains, marble floors or all inclusive bracelets. In fact, there is only cold and a bit salty water in the shower (however, some refurbishment is being made so maybe this will change in the future), no A/C (however, the fan was fully sufficient!), only very little English is spoken, no internet and moskytos after sunset (special repelent for tropical areas and long sleeves/trousers helped a lot though). On the other hand, after all the boats with all-inclusive tourists leave you´re the only one on an incredibly beautiful beach. You can visit the local bar where the locals are playing pool and dancing merengue in the evening. The locals were so incredibly nice and welcoming although we spoke like 5 words in Spanish. In fact, one nice lady invitted us to her home. We really regretted then that we couldn´t understand more. Every single person greeted us when we passed by. All day long, we could see the locals working (cooking, cleaning the beach, fishing).. You can also see donkeys, pigs and dogs walking freely through the village. The accommodation is located directly on the beach (be aware that you´re renting a room in a longish building, not the whole cottage which we did not know). To get there you have to either take a private boat or the owner will take you there with the tour from Bayahibe - we did this which was great because we could also see the usual stops like Piscina Natural. Food was excellent too - we had half board (breakfest was omelettes with some pastry, jam and fruit, dinner chicken with rice and vegetables and pasta with fish). The food is served in a house close to the rooms (on the right-hand side when looking on the see) - you just come there around breakfest/dinner time and either the food is already ready or you wait for a couple of minutes - on this island, no tiem exists, enjoy! For lunch, we usually went to the local colmado where we got a great, fresh fish for about 600 pesos - we (2 people) shared one portion, it was this much food! There is also a turtle sanctuary behind the house and some other beaches and village on the other side of the island (you can get there on motorbikes - it was offered to us many times by the locals but we didn´t do that), Laguna de los Famencos - not worth the trip - you have to go there through a small forrest which means lots of moskytos. All in all, we will remember our stay in Mano Juan forever. So step out of your comfort zone, forget all inclusive resorts and disco&alcohol tours of Saona and you´ll get memories for life for a decent price.