Island Catalina (Dominican Republic) miniature uninhabited paradise country with an area of less than 10 square kilometers and located near coastline La Romana. Part of the province of the same name, the island was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1494. Today there are only a few residents permanently living on it - border guards.
This place is a natural national park. Perhaps, Catalina Island- one of the most best places for snorkeling. Over the years, on the slope stretching from the beach, has grown great kingdom coral, home to many marine life. They can be easily observed thanks to the clean clear water... The visibility is 15 to 30 meters.
The island offers a variety of activities including cliff diving, snorkeling, fishing with a speargun, relaxing on the beach, walking along an alley with local flora names, shopping at a souvenir shop and much more.
How to get to Catalina
You can get to Catalina Island on a large and comfortable catamaran. The journey to the place will take no more than 45 minutes. On the way, you will sunbathe, enjoy the sea breezes and even dance merengue or bachata.
Holidays on the island
Catalina Island does not offer any special program. How to relax in this place, each tourist determines for himself. Here is very pure water and wonderful white beaches, which allows you to enjoy your "lazy" beach holiday to the fullest.
Catalina Island is great for swimming with children, as there is virtually no current thanks to the coral reefs. Only occasionally do waves rise, which violate the transparency of the water.
Souvenir shop on Catalina Island in the Dominican Republic.
Banana boat riding is included in the price of the excursion and is a pleasure for both adults and young travelers. There are also many attractions for tourists on the shore.
One of the top three diving resorts, Catalina Island is suitable for both professionals and beginners. You should definitely dive here at least once. The first stop during the dive awaits you at a depth of 20 meters.
There are a lot of marine life on Catalina. Here you can find colorful fish, rays, crabs, lobsters, shrimps, crabs, lionfish, crustaceans and others.
Dive sites
Catalina Island has become home to some of the country's best diving sites.
Upon arrival on Catalina Island, you will definitely be treated to lobsters and dry white wine, which is customary to wash them down with.
There is also something to see near the island: the living underwater museum of the pirate Kidd, which appeared here relatively recently, after the discovery of the ship Quedagh Merchant that sank in 1699.
Pirate William Kidd was the most bloodthirsty and cruel of all filibusters. He plundered many treasures and hid them in a safe place, which until now has not been discovered by anyone.
The museum is called "alive" for a reason. The reason for this name was that many sea inhabitants have already chosen it. The museum also shows an interesting performance for tourists, which recreates the events of the wreck of the Spanish galleon "Guadeloupe", which happened off the Dominican coast in 1724.
Catalina Island is also a great spot for spearfishing. Fish that may be your catch include yellowtails, red mullet, red snipers, grouper and pargo, among many others. At the request of tourists, for a fee in a local restaurant, chefs will prepare a variety of delicious dishes from freshly caught fish.
The Chavon River in the Dominican Republic.
Catalina is regularly made from the beaches of La Romana. The return trip along the Chavon River through the jungle is a special pleasure. Along the way, you can also see the world's largest cigar production at the Tabacalera de Garcia factory.
As I promised, I am writing a review about the excursion to Catalina Island and to the city of artists Altos de Chavon. It costs 135 dollars, but I asked for a discount, because. we took three excursions at once - to Manati Park, to Catalina and to Saona. The guide Nastya made 5% without words, so please do not hesitate. And on the excursion, tourists from another hotel told me what they did free excursion around Punto Cana (which costs $ 25), when they took three excursions. In general, do not get lost. Small thing, but nice ..
In short, we left early, at 6-45, but managed to have breakfast, in the main restaurant, breakfasts are served from 6 am, but the choice until 7 o'clock is small cheese, all kinds of sausages, buns, yoghurts, even coffee does not happen. Waiters work from 7 o'clock. But you will not die of hunger, refresh yourself, as it will take a long time to collect tourists from the hotels, until the trip itself takes about 3 hours. We arrived at the port on the Caribbean Sea, boarded a catamaran. We had a Cuban guide Tamara. She spoke Russian. pretty passable, but funny, she laughed at herself and constantly asked how to do it right ... She told a lot of interesting things about the Dominican Republic. For example, that not a single self-respecting Dominican would go to chop reeds, this is a job for the Haitians. They get from 2 to 4 dollars . for a ton of cane .. And to chop it .. God, so much effort is needed !!!
And at the same time, believing - already 4 months since the border with Haiti has been locked - they are not allowed into the country because of the threat of cholera - there it really is. it's time .. And the Haitians living in the Dominican Republic without registration are also deported .. A vicious circle, who should cut the reeds? Its there, apparently invisible !!!
Problems - as we have ...
In short, we boarded a catamaran, and it was a combined tourist group, and there were Russian and Spanish-speaking groups, there were about 100 people! The guides took turns broadcasting to us about what we see overboard. And we saw the Caribbean Sea there, God !!! How beautiful !!! The color of the water is amazing !!! Blue-green-emerald !! Hard to describe .. When the sun is hiding, it is deep blue, and in the sun is bright green !!! Awesome !!! They took us past the island where millionaires rent their villas (as Tamara says), saw the villa of Ricky Martin, Shakira, American actors, the former villa of Iglesias, such modest villas by our standards !!! Yes, at least take Galkin's dacha !!! And here there are such funny houses!
Then we flew along The Caribbean with the breeze, music, dancing, rum-cola, as always ... Suddenly we see a huge ocean liner ahead - even from a distance it was clear that it is huge !!! !! And when they came close, they swam right under his nose, the impressions, to put it mildly, were not the most pleasant beat, as you swim in front of the Titanic ... And he is with a 10-storey building or higher, it's scary to look at !!! And no people !! ! Empty!!! Just some kind of Flying Dutchman !!! upper deck saw several sailors, waved their hands ... Where are the people, it is not clear ???
And then Catalina appeared on the horizon ... They dropped us off on motor boats and transported us to the island. There everyone scattered somewhere .. You could ride bananas, on pills, everything is free. My daughter immediately ran to ride, fun !! You can just sunbathe on sun loungers and hammocks, it's very cool !!! I haven't seen hammocks for a hundred years, only as a child ..
Then there was lunch, and with lobsters, everyone got a lobster, really small ... Nothing special, there is nothing at all .. So take both meat and salads, the buffet is good .. What I didn’t like, there were a lot of people !! ! And the island itself is small, there is nowhere to retire ... But on the island you still want to relax ... And then there is noise, din !!! Everywhere there are queues for lunch, for sausages, for barbecue, even to the toilet ... Even taking pictures is difficult so that no one loomed on the horizon ... Therefore, I liked the excursion to Saona much more - it was calm, quiet ... Or, who loves silence and solitude, you can take an excursion to Catalinita Island - not Catalina - we were with us tourists from another hotel, they told how last year they went to this island, it’s kind of uninhabited, they were there only 10 people, very secluded, calm, like the Robinsons ... They really liked it .. And they didn’t like Catalina at all. .Me, in principle, too ... Nothing special ..
On the way back we were taken to the city of artists Altos de Chavon. 40 years ago a local millionaire gave it to his daughter on her 16th birthday. This is an artificially aged town in the Italian style, small, with houses, an amphitheater, fountains, Incidentally, Michael Jackson was married to Lisa Marie Presley! He stands on the Chavon River, on which many American blockbusters such as Apocalypse and several others were filmed.
In principle, it's interesting ... You can see .. There is a fountain of desires, you can wash out of it and make a wish, they say it will come true. The guys said that it was definitely fulfilled! They made a wish last year to come here again and here !!! We've arrived !! So make a guess! Maybe it will come true. We made a guess too.
We went on our way back. shopping center Columbus Plaza - I already wrote about it. Take more money with you - buy everything you need - coffee, rum, cigars, cocoa, pictures of Haitian naive, larimar, cigarettes. Yes, about cigarettes. Take with you from Russia - there all the cigarettes in the hotel cost $ 5 a pack, Columbus Plaza has only Marlboro for 4 dollars, and then only in blocks.
We arrived at the hotel again in the evening at 8-30, managed to go to dinner, and then an evening concert on an open stage, evening coffee in a coffee shop and sleep ... There is nothing to do in the hotel in the evening. Once I went, and then immediately left .. You can go to discos in other hotels, they carry buses.
In general, I didn’t like the excursion as such. It’s just good that I learned a lot about the Dominican Republic, looked at nature, at the houses of local residents, very poor! love leisure-There are a lot of more useful and interesting excursions, choose! In general, in the Dominican Republic it is very interesting and fun! All to the Dominican Republic !!!
Well, finally we got out of our neighborhood! And the main reason for this was my husband's birthday, for which I bought us tickets to Catalina Island.
Catalina is a small resort island in Pacific in California, the outermost point of Los Angeles County.
To get to Catalina, you first need to buy boat tickets. You can order them online at the Catalina Express website.
One-way ticket prices start at $ 36 per adult. Prices differ by departure dates and place on the ship (classes).
I bought us 4 tickets at once (that is, for the two of us, in two directions at once - there and back) to the Commodore Lounge class. This is a more comfortable class, with waiters and soft chairs. Plus they give free cookies and a drink of your choice (beer, juice, cola, tea, coffee, etc.).
I bought tickets as a birthday present for my husband, so I took a better class. Although, as it turned out, there is no big difference in the regular classroom and the lounge. The seats are good everywhere, what to chew and drink - you can take with you. The only one who bought tickets to a heaped class is planted first. There is no need to jostle in the general heap of those who travel to the island with suitcases, bales and dogs.
Travel time takes 70 minutes.
Our tickets cost me $ 200 (it turns out $ 50 one-way ticket for one person).
The boat departs for Catalina from three locations: Long Beach, San Pedro and Dana Point. We left Long Beach (we are closer there and this is a familiar area for us). And he sails either to the city of Avalon, or to Tu Harbors.
You choose all this yourself when you issue your tickets: on what day and at what time you will sail both there and back (the boats run strictly according to the schedule) and where to come and from which to leave. Very comfortably!
Our tickets were from Long Beach to Avalon: sailing to the island at 12-15 (I decided not to take a very early time to sleep and have time to pack), sailing from the island at 18-00 on the same day.
You can also book a room at the hotel. There are a lot of sites providing such a service. But unfortunately, all the rooms were occupied, as I was not looking for (I found a couple of hotels with bad reviews, but I clearly did not want to stay in them). Therefore, book a hotel in advance, the island is small, there are not many hotels, and there are always enough people who want to visit Catalina.
On Saturday at 10 o'clock in the morning we already ran to the Catalina Express office. As it is written on the website, you cannot be late and you have to come to the port an hour before.
We planned that the road would take longer, but there was no traffic and we arrived very quickly. We parked quickly in a large enclosed parking lot just across the road.
The office itself turned out to be very nice and large. With a waiting room, magazine counters, cafe and children's area.
As a result, at the checkout, the girl suggested that we sail not at 12-15, but at 11 o'clock, to which we agreed.
Our boat turned out to be snow-white and modern (photo under the story). They put us on the top floor in cool chairs, like on an airplane. Everything is very comfortable.
They gave out cookies and a drink (I took cocoa, and my husband took coffee with cream). Well, they sailed ...
The travel time flew by very quickly, it seemed to me that we were sailing for only 30 minutes. The staff is very polite and courteous, all in white shirts and blue pants / skirts.
The only thing was a little seasick when we swam out of Long Beach. Therefore, if you have a hard time enduring such trips, then take with you mint candies and a couple of motion sickness pills, just in case.
Catalina greeted us with gorgeous weather. It was sunny, a pleasant breeze and absolutely no baking, which was left in Los Angeles (because while we were in the queue for boarding, the sun was already actively beginning to fry us, and I, as always, forgot the sunscreen).
Fresh air, birds in the sky, fish in the water, a bunch of boats and boats around, a clear blue ocean, big mountains and tall palms!
In general, everything is as it should be! ?
Avalon himself turned out to be very small cozy town... It occupies the smallest part of the island and is the only pride on Catalina. Downstairs there is a bay and a pier, streets with cafes, restaurants and shops full of classic souvenirs: T-shirts, shells and magnets. And at the top, on the mountains, colorful houses are built in rows. The view, probably, from the verandas of these houses is simply magnificent ...
Naturally, where we ran first, it was in a cafe - to have breakfast! We ran into the first mini-restaurant we came across with waffles, sandwiches and burgers. They fed us there not at all expensive - for only $ 25 and for American cuisine, everything turned out to be delicious.
By the way, about the waffles. As I understand it, this is one of Catalina's specialties. Because the delicious sweet smell spreads throughout the bay. I've got myself sandwiches with cheese and never tried the waffle (Americans have large and soft waffles, they pour maple syrup over them, eat with berries and fruits, or with bacon (if you don't want something sweet) - obviously it should have been delicious!) ...
As for the savory specialties: several times we saw a sign advertising a bison barbecue that is found on the island.
After filling up with food and gaining strength, we ran after the bus! Green-red walks around the island tourist bus that looked like a trolleybus from the past. He stops at all points of interest in Catalina, and the driver's aunt, while driving, announces what is interesting from which side and keeps saying, "Isn't it a wonderful view?" Indeed, the view is sometimes very beautiful, especially when the bus moves along the ocean ?. A ticket for such a bus (a round trip - that is, one round) costs $ 4. All places are transported in exactly one hour.
Be sure to take some small cash with you! For example, a ticket for a tour bus is sold only for paper money (it is bought at the entrance from the driver).
Also, all tourists everywhere leave a tip - all service workers have jars for dollars (including on a boat with a waitress on a tray).
Many small cafes do not accept cards, and there are very few ATMs on the island and there is simply nowhere to withdraw money.
We took the bus to the botanical garden at the edge of the city. Auntie-driver announced to us that in an hour she would return for us, and said not to be late.
By the way, almost all the drivers, cashiers and waiters that we came across were very polite and nice. They answered all the questions and suggested what, where and how, not only because it was their job, but somehow for their own pleasure. Apparently, the crowd of tourists disappeared in the fall and they are now bored at work?
Login to Botanical Garden cost $ 7. The garden itself, in general, turned out to be really and not a garden. Rather, an area with several types of cacti and a building on the mountain. There were almost no tourists, there were 6 people in the whole garden, all those who got off the bus with us.
We took pictures with several cacti, found a pine cone and a wild strawberry on the tree. We went up to the monument where William Wrigley Jr. (founder of the Wrigley gum company) is buried, who invested a lot of money in the construction of Avalon and in the island, making it a resort.
From the very monument opens beautiful view to the garden, mountains and a piece of the ocean.
In general, the attraction is not "Ah!", Of course, but if you need to spend time somewhere, then you can take a walk here too.
In addition to the garden, Catalina has other local attractions, the main one is the round white building of the Catalina Casino, and there is also the Catalina Island Museum in Avalon.
But we didn’t go to the museum, we didn’t want to waste time and such wonderful weather on boring wandering through the halls with exhibits.
The bus returned for us exactly as planned and took us back to Avalon.
We went to the supermarket for Red Bull, otherwise my husband lost all his vigor and was actively yawning (there are several VONS supermarkets on the island, which are very reminiscent of the Russian chain of Magnit stores. Small, small and smell like a village, herring and refrigerators? nostalgia began ... And then we bought frozen yogurt (just less fatty ice cream) in a small bakery: vanilla and pumpkin (Halloween was on the nose!). Pumpkin turned out to be not pumpkin at all, but more like crème brлеlée. there are no pumpkin products - from coffee to soup, but everything is always tasty (although I have never felt any attachment to pumpkin, but now I try everything that I can meet with it, and so far I haven’t had one disappointment!).
We walked through the souvenir shops. It was very difficult to resist the tourist illness "Buy Magnetic", but I rummaged through a bunch of shelves and did not find anything unusual and interesting, and as a result I bought myself a perfume with a scent of blood orange. Sounds scary, but it smells great! And it is much more useful in everyday life than a magnet or another shell. ?
A last hour on the island we spent on feeding the fish. At the edge of the pier there is a fish food vending machine (the same as with chewing gum, but with food :-)). For 25 cents, a handful of some kind of dry ration is poured into the palm of your hand.
There were so many different fish in the water that I added almost a dollar worth of food in the swirl! The water near the island is so clean that even despite the depth, you can see all the fish in the water. And there are so many of them! They even come up to grab a piece of food.
Later we regretted that we had not rented a boat or some kind of catamaran (where we ourselves have to turn the pedals), from them it would be much more convenient and closer to feed and photograph the fish. And renting a swimming facility costs only $ 15 per hour.
By the way, you can also buy a ticket for an excursion to a real yellow submarine. As we understood, it has a transparent bottom and you can look at the inhabitants of the underwater kingdom of the Pacific Ocean.
We also met several pelicans on the pier and in the port. They sit on special shelves on the railing and pose for tourists. They are not at all afraid of people, and when you approach them with a camera and closer, they immediately take an even pose and look with their side eyes. Straight models, just don't smile! But I think they would definitely smile if they could! ?
Well, and according to the plan at 18-00 we set off home. The second ship turned out to be quite large and on the way back we did not feel sick. The only thing was it was very cold, because the air conditioners were working throughout, right up to blue in the face! All passengers put on jackets and sweaters, we took thin sweaters with us, and froze like gophers. They asked to make it warmer, but as always there was a proprietary answer "We cannot, because someone is hot." Who is hot here - we did not understand, because the whole floor was dressed as under New Year, but on the ground floor it turned out to be warm and even stuffy, apparently, the air conditioner was blowing for them.
This was the only negative, and, of course, we were satisfied with the whole trip!
And while we were driving home, we thought for a long time what Catalina Island looks like. On the one hand, many houses are clearly Spanish architecture, some houses are completely American, and those colored houses on the mountains seem to be European. Many streets with fountains, cafe tables and doves immediately resemble Germany, Prague and Paris. And suddenly at the end of the street there is a house on a steep slope, and it immediately seems as if you are already in San Francisco.
We also saw a house, which is made of a ship, on the other there are a bunch of different birdhouses, and at the third there was some kind of African wooden statue.
And all this diverse architecture is surrounded by old golf mobiles, the ocean is filled with snow-white boats and boats, and a yellow submarine from the Beatles song floats in the center of the bay. And the atmosphere in Avalon is like in a Hawaiian village. And that's what Catalina Island looks like, we have not decided. Apparently, on himself and on the whole world.
Catalina is truly a paradise island located next to the Dominican Republic and included in it. This small island seems to be hidden in the Caribbean Sea behind a huge coral barrier reef.
Visiting fabulous island Catalina, on a large comfortable catamaran you can travel along the Dominican coast, getting incomparable pleasure from the turquoise sea and exotic nature. After admiring the surroundings, you can either just relax or sunbathe or dance for your own pleasure. After all, Catalina Island is a place of entertainment and recreation, with quiet beaches and great snorkeling opportunities.
History reference
Catalina Island - belongs to the Dominican Republic and is located in the Caribbean Sea near the southeastern coast of the Dominican Republic. From Catalina just two kilometers to the city of La Romana. Actually the island itself is a constituent part of the province of the same name - La Romana.
The island resembles a drop in shape, its length is 4.6 km, its width is almost 3 km, and its area is 9.6 km².
The island of Catalina was discovered back in 1494 by Christopher Columbus, but it is still considered uninhabited. Only in the western part of the island, which is covered with magnificent white beaches, there is everything for tourists and a well-developed tourist infrastructure.
How to get to Catalina Island
You can get to the island of Katolina by pleasure boat, and passengers of cruise ships who want to have a beach holiday disembark here.
Features of rest on Catalina
Despite the fact that the island is very small, everyone who has visited it would like to come back here again and again. Moreover, many people want to feel like a modern Robinson Crusoe at least for a while, who got on uninhabited island... However, you will hardly be able to truly enjoy solitude, since this excursion destination is quite popular and there can be quite a lot of such "Robinsons". Although, it's over, it all depends on the season and quantity tourist groups formed for a trip to the island.
Any specific entertainment program on Catalina does not exist, which means that what will be the program of your holiday on the island is up to you. But, of course, amateurs get special satisfaction from visiting Catalina. beach holiday who manage to enjoy the pristine purity of sandy beaches and crystal clear sea water to their fullest. Moreover, there is practically no current around the entire island, as it is surrounded by coral reefs. Therefore, you can swim and sunbathe here without any problems.
Entertainment on Catalina
Catalina (Dominican Republic) is a national nature reserve, so fishing is prohibited here, but you can admire exotic fish, especially since they live off the coast of the island in large quantities.
Classic beach activities for tourists include riding an inflatable banana boat, which rushes after the boat with a breeze. Interestingly, all such activities are already included in the cost of visiting the island and are free. By the way, the cost of an excursion to Catalina varies within 160 US dollars.
Catalina Island - a resort for divers
The Dominican Island of Catalina is one of several of the most popular diving resorts. That is why everyone who comes here believes that at least one dive should become part of the mandatory program of visiting the island.
The local diving sites (dive sets) captivate divers with their picturesqueness. One of these places - Drop Wall is suitable even for those who are just about to make their first dive in their life, since you can dive to a depth of 4 to 40 meters. Since fishing on Catalina is prohibited, the fish living here are not at all afraid of people and they themselves are happy to look at the divers who have fallen into their underwater kingdom. Not only the beauty of the inhabitants of the aquatic world is striking, but also the bizarre coral thickets.
Another dive set is called Aquarium, and diving in this place already requires divers to have certain, at least basic, diving skills and abilities. The minimum depth here is about 17 meters. Here, as in a huge aquarium, you can find fish of the most unexpected colors and sizes, as well as corals, sponges, crabs and a huge number of other inhabitants. seabed... Interestingly, the corals on Catalina are both hard and unusual for us - soft.
After visiting the underwater kingdom of the island, and working up an appetite, tourists enjoy a lobster lunch, which is also included in the Catalina visit. Here lobsters are traditionally washed down with dry white wine.
Attractions of Catalina Island
For those who are thirsty not only for relaxation, but also for impressions, we recommend visiting the Kidd Pirate Museum, which is located very close to the island. This is not an ordinary museum, as it is located under water on a pirate ship that sank in the 17th century. This ship was called the Quedagh Merchant and belonged to the true pirate William Kidd.
The ship that sank long ago was found only in 2007. It was then that it was decided that the exposition of the pirate museum would be located at a depth of three meters, 20 meters from the coast. The bloodthirsty pirate Kidd was once a legendary man, cruel and very rich. It is believed that it was he who became the prototype of the famous pirate Flint, about whose adventures Stevenson wrote in Treasure Island.
Everyone who wants to visit the living underwater museum receives appropriate equipment and, accompanied by a guide, dives on a pirate ship. The museum is called alive, because this old ship is inhabited by many inhabitants of the depths of the sea, who have chosen all its most secluded nooks, but for some reason, the most popular place for them on the ship became the cannons.
It is interesting that the fabulous riches of the old pirate Kidd have not yet been found, and perhaps it is the tourists who will be lucky and they will be able to lift the veil of secrecy that shrouded the pirate treasures.
Thus, everyone on Catalina Island will be able to relax to their liking, someone will prefer to bask on a sandy beach, and someone will like active rest. But in any case, the memories of the extraordinary trip to Catalina will warm and delight for a very long time.
Tourist notes
First impressions of Catalina: the island, although quite small, is very picturesque, green and unusually quiet. Silence certainly happens here when not a large number tourists in a hurry to take advantage of all the delights of rest on an exotic island. The calmest season in Catalina is winter, which is especially conducive to secluded relaxation. In winter, surfers are also active here, trying to catch the oncoming waves.
Port of Catalina is very neat and small, marked with squares, and boats are on the water.
The small size of the island determines the main means of transportation - small open four-seater cars.
The island is famous for its rich underwater and flora and the fact that the Wrigley family once lived here, which released the well-known chewing gum "Wrigley" s.
The extraordinary beauty of the bay, mountainous landscapes and fabulous beautiful places just conquers.
The architecture of Catalina is quite chaotic, which is not surprising, because the island is still considered uninhabited, small houses hang over each other and are located on a very small area, in the so-called tourist area.
Speaking about the local cuisine, it can be noted that it is Mexican, quite spicy and very tasty. Most of these are dishes made from rice, beans, meat, as well as tortillas and a wide variety of chips, as well as sauces. Drinks offer beer, dry wine and, of course, tequila, which is presented in dozens of varieties.
A trip to Catalina Island will surely become a bright and unforgettable experience for everyone who comes here.
Romanchukevich Tatiana
for women's magazine website
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Catalina Island, which belongs to the Dominican Republic and is located next to it, is called a real paradise land. A small island in the Caribbean Sea, hidden as it were by a coral barrier reef. If you visit the fabulous Catalina Island on a comfortable catamaran, then the traveler gets special pleasure from the exotic nature and the turquoise sea. Here you can not only admire the surroundings of Catalina, but also dance and sunbathe from the heart. Note that Catalina Island is an excellent place for recreation and entertainment, you can also go snorkeling here. The city is very interesting for tourists.
Catalina Island is located off the southeastern coast of the Dominican Republic. The nearby town is La Romana, by the way, the island itself is part of the province of the same name. It is interesting that the shape of Catalina Island is a drop, its width is three kilometers, and this is with a length of 4.6 kilometers. The total area of the island is 9.6 square kilometers. Christopher Columbus () discovered Catalina Island in 1494, however, despite this amount of time, it is still called uninhabited. Only in the west of the island is the tourist infrastructure well developed, because there are magnificent white beaches.
The island has all the necessary conditions for have a great rest... To get to the island, you can board the cruise or pleasure boats that drop off passengers on the Catalina beach area. Indeed, the island is quite small, but tourists fall in love with it at first sight, so they always want to come back here. In addition, here you can feel like the legendary Robinson Crusoe, as this is an almost uninhabited island. True, you will not be able to be alone on this island, because Catalina is popular place, so there are always enough such Robinsons here.
Entertainment on Catalina Island
Since there is no special entertainment program on the island, only the tourist himself chooses the program of his own vacation. Note that you can get special pleasure from a beach holiday. Here you can admire the purest sandy beaches as well as clear sea water. It is noteworthy that the island surrounded by coral reefs is great for swimming and sunbathing.
Catalina is also called national nature reserve, for this reason you cannot fish here. But it is not forbidden to admire exotic fish, because they live in large numbers near the very shores of Catalina. A traditional beach entertainment is called a ride on an inflatable banana tree, this will allow you to swim behind the boat with a breeze. It is noteworthy that all these activities and entertainment are free, that is, they are included in the cost of visiting the island. By the way, a sightseeing trip to Catalina Island can cost up to $ 160.
Catalina Island is especially popular with diving enthusiasts, as it is also called a popular diving resort. Therefore, every vacationer must carry out at least one dive, especially since this is part of the program for visiting the island. Divers are amazed to see the picturesque depths of the sea. These places include Drop Wall, which is great for both beginners and professionals. Due to the fact that fishing is not allowed here, local fish are not afraid of vacationers.
Another similar place is called Aquarium; only experienced divers are invited here. It looks like a huge aquarium, where various fish swim, crabs, sponges and corals can also be found here. A traditional dish on Catalina Island is lobster and white wine.
