Isla Saona is a long, flat island of coconut palms and white sand at the southeastern tip of the Dominican Republic, part of the Parque Nacional del Este. The beaches are among the best in the country — wide stretches of fine sand with shallow turquoise water, a shallow sandbar offshore where the boats stop for swimming, and almost no permanent development.
Day trips from La Romana run by catamaran or speedboat, typically taking two to three hours each way and stopping at the sandbar before reaching the beach. The trips can be crowded with package-holiday tourists, but the island itself is large enough that you can usually find a quiet stretch of sand. Mano Juan village at the western end is worth a short walk — a cluster of painted wooden houses on stilts along a calm lagoon.