A tiny island that you will not forget. A huge number of tourists come here and it's no wonder. The ocean and sand color is incredible, as is the view on the nearby mountains.
Here, every photo you take will be like from the Maldives. White sand and unbelievably turquoise clear water full of life, corals and fish will amaze you.
You can only get here by boat, preferably from Punta Rucia, where you can negotiate the price. A few Dominicans offered us a trip right along the main road. We agreed in advance on a price of 4000 pesos per boat, the price included a fee of 150 pesos per person to the Ministry of the Environment. Which we thought was a reasonable price when there are only 2 of us, but I believe that it could still be negotiated.
We hopped on the boat, got our life jackets and set off. The first stop was at the Piscina Natural (natural pool), where we had the opportunity to swim. The water here is beautifully clear thanks to the shallow water and white sand.
Our main destination was the Cayo Arena. When we are approaching it, it was immediately clear to us why the island is so popular. It is a tiny island that changes its size according to the level of the ocean. It can be several square meters or be completely submerged. A few wooden shelters are built here to provide shade. The number of shelters changes throughout the year, they are renovated and it depends on what the season is. That is why you will find videos where there are 7 shelters and we have 3 and 1 demolished in the video.
It is usual to stay at this place for 2 hours and use it for snorkeling and taking photos and videos. We had goggles and snorkels at our disposal, we also took buns (or you can take bread), although our captain had them too. After the first casting of the crumbs, lots of tropical colorful fish began to appear around. There are coral reefs around the island that Robert went to explore. Our captain even offered to make a video with him. I watched everything from the island, it was really nice.
After two hours on the island we boarded the boat and continued to the Mangroves. Robert enjoyed this experience more 🙂 The captain directed the boat at full steam into the mangrove forest, where no path could be seen, I had death in my eyes 🙂 A narrow path was revealed at very last moment and we plunged between the roots and tree trunks into the forest. I immediately understood that the captain knows the route from the memory. We learned that the forest has a purifying function and that fresh water and salt water mix here. We drove the entire route and were returning back to the mainland.
Conclusion:
Cayo Arena is one of the prettiest places on the North Shore. The place is very visited and it is better to go early in the morning. If there are big waves, for example after a storm, no one will take you there and neither you would even enjoy it. The calmer the water, the better the conditions for snorkeling and for staying on the island itself. I recommend taking drinks and food with you and 1 extra bun for the fish. Apply a sunscreen cream with a high protection factor (with the label Coral Friendly), take a T-shirt and a hat. The whole trip lasted around 3 hours.