cayo saetia island

Loved the catamaran ride out and back ("Bay Island Adventure" from Sunwing); snorkeling was only fair as was the "safari", but the lunch and beach were excellent. Our guide, Tina, was terrific and fluent in English and French.

We took the "bay excursion" or the Paradise Island excursion as it is also known as and thoroughly enjoyed our trip here. Amazing is putting it mildly ! Started off the excursion on the catamaran for about 40 mins. where the guys on the boat dance with you and do all they can to make your trip out an absolute blast !! It's so much fun ! Then to the snorkeling spot for approx. another 40 mins. Then to the island itself. I cannot say enough about how gorgeous this spot is. YES it is rustic but that is the beauty of this place. When you get to the island you have to get off of the catamaran and into the ocean now if there is not a big surf that day you are great... however if there are a lot of waves.. PLS ask one of the other guys on the catamaran to help you off hold your hand etc. as the waves really take your balance. Then your on the beach.. you walk up the stairs to the resto and then if you want to do the Safari trip you can if you don't want too you can just have your lunch and then enjoy the beach. I for one would suggest going to the safari if this is your FIRST time. If not.. skip the safari and enjoy the beach for longer. The beach is amazing.. I put my mask on right off the beach and the fish I saw were simply amazing !!! Then back onto the catamaran to go back to the marina. All in all it was a very long day but well worth it !!

Took a bus and catamaran to get to the island. Good place to snorkel. Nice restaurant on the beach. Very scenic spot and great for swimming. Take bug spray for "no-see-ems" or stay in the water.Safari tour not worth it except for the ostrich and the giraffe.

We took a catamaran to this "island" which took approx 1 hr to reach. It also took about an hour to get to the location for the catamaran from our resort. The day we went was windy and the water cold. We started out sitting in the nets of the catamaran but quickly relocated to the boat when the water started to splash us. The ride was nice, alcohol was free and all you can drink. They did have a snack of cracker and some type of fish. We had to leave the resort early so I do recommend ordering room service as the buffet breakfast wasn't open. After the one hour bus, one our boat you arrive to the island where you immediately go either on safari or snorkeling, then switch to the other activity. We were all very hungry but they wouldn't allow us to have lunch until after we did both the activities. Wasn't a huge fan of that. For the safari you get to go in an old Russian Army jeep or bus. There was only one jeep fitting 6 people, everyone else had the bus. The jeep went to locations that the bus did not go to for example those people saw zebras which we did not. The safari was fun, however most of the animals seemed like they were taken from Africa and placed on the island. I have been to Africa so nothing really exciting for me. I went out on the boat but did not participate in the snorkeling as I have snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef. Again, it was a colder day, water was cold and they were feeding the fish right off the boat so you could see them without being in the water. My husband did go and the flippers hurt his feet a lot. Most everyone that did go snorkeling were back on the boat within 10 mins. The beach area and water around where you eat lunch was lovely. I spent my free time walking around and swimming. The food at lunch was strange, the only thing that was good was the cold spaghetti. You get one free drink with your lunch and must buy anything else you want. The whole tour to the island was not what I had expected at all and I did find the tour a bit disappointing. Good for someone who has not been snorkeling or seen any of these animals before. Lastly the bathrooms facilities on the island are a bit of a walk from where you eat and they have a lot to be desired! More like an outhouse then bathroom.

Did this excursion from the Hotel Playa Pesquero on January 6, 2015 with Gaviotas and fabulous guide Tina! Bus ride, while long (well over the 1 hour) to get to Antilla was fascinating look at the Cuban countryside and towns along the way. My ONLY negative on this, purely my stupidity! was to not take the a wet wipe that I was offered to wipe the tree sap off my hands - safari guide chopped off a bit of the deciduous tree for me to hold up to feed the leaves to the giraffe - the sap (called poisonwood sap in Carribean) is a relative of that which causes poison ivy/oak and I proceeded to think nothing of it. Two days after getting home (9th Jan) I realized that everywhere I had touched (1 area behind my knee and mostly lower leg, thank God only there! ) had a rash that, despite calomine and polysporin, was enough to make me want to part with my legs below the knees for a few days, but mercifully started to fade by about day 5 - at Feb 20 I can still see the marks of where it was (fair skin) but a lesson learned! All the rest positive though!! Catamaran was lovely, smooth and fun music - free bar. Snorkeling was fun - my other half went and I (never like to miss this) had to stay behind as I had a touchy lower back (also not typical for me). Do take the Safari in the regular open top old army style jeep (held 3 couples with the guide, way closer to the wildlife than the Russian style canvas topped army cargo style truck) and take wet wipes for any tree sap you encounter and wipe it all off and wash your hands in the little washroom at the sites restaurant as well. was great! No mosquitos on the day we went - no bugs! Sand is red on the island so it might color any shoes/flip flops that are white (mine weren't). Beach is lovely. Next time I go I think I'd like to do the horseback ride onto the game reserve part if that's allowed as an alternative to the jeep! Meal was good. Cuban coffee is great! So I highly recommend, just watch out for the tree sap and get it gone ASAP - no pun LOL and no fun if you don't wash it off! Shout out to Tina of Gaviotas - super fun off the wall personality plus!!!

So beautiful. Catamarn to the island. Went on the safari and had a buffet. It was fantastic. I would think about spending a day/nite on this island next time I go to Cuba.

We visited Cayo Seatia island on a Paradise island catamaran cruise. The cruise was wonderful, just sailing trough the waters, enjoying a warm breeze and a few cocktails from the open bar or catching some sun at the front of the catamaran. There was 1 snorkeling stop that was very enjoyable, we managed to see some tropical fishes, a lion fish and loads of sea urchins. Be very careful though!!! Then a buffet lunch at Cayo Seatia island, which included 1 drink. The meal was good, there was plenty to choose from. The island looked gorgeous and the restaurant as well. We got some free time on the island to explore, spend some time on the gorgeous beach or even do some horse riding. Just be careful swimming, one woman from our group got stung by a jellyfish multiple times and needed to stay at the doctors on the island, then was taken to the hospital, where she spent 2 nights ;/Jeep safari was also included in the tour, unfortunately tourists from UK weren't allowed to go on it due to safety reasons (very old russian jeeps), but we were given 1l bottle of rum each instead. People, who did go on the safari said that they have seen a lot of animals, including zebras and giraffes. All in all, very relaxing, great trip.

Such a peaceful and quiet place. Beautiful calm beach and we enjoyed a lovely meal at the restaurant. Fantastic snorkelling!

Idealic island with glistening waters and white sand.I came to the Island on the paradise Island excursion with Thomas Cook.The catermaran was comfortable with inclusive drinks :)Snorkling was OK - I was expecting more as the coral is dead and I didn't see much of a variety of fish.

This island used to be a game reserve for Castro and the ruling elite. You can access it by boat and tour the grounds in old military troop transports. Lots of (imported) animals, quite interesting. But the real gem here is the beaches, and shallow waters flu of tropical fish. Stunning.

this was the best excursion i have ever been on. catamaran trip to the island. delicious food. then the safari to see the animals. it was incredible.

Excellent snorkelling in the bay and a delicious lunch in the restaurant - with the leftovers being fed to the two resident iguanas and a flock of birds. We didn't take the 'safari' but had a pleasant walk along the shore (take insect repellent) and saw a beautiful Cuban Racer snake hiding in the rocks (harmless, by the way). A very enjoyable and worthwhile trip.

This was the best excursion we have been on thus far. The catamaran trip was the beautiful to this Island, and the snorkeling was great. When we arrived at Saetia Island and climbed those stairs and saw those views, our breath was taken away! The large tropical and beautiful thatched roof, open-air eating dining area was perfect! The lunch provided was a DELICIOUS buffet, with lots of hot and cold dishes. There was plenty of time to go back for more if you could. I tried lots of the dishes from the buffet, we ate so much, even a pizza slice! Everyone in our group of 6 enjoyed this food, and nobody got sick! we then opted for the jeep portion of the excursion and did a safari tour. What a blast, we had a smaller jeep that fit all 6 of us. Our driver made us laugh. he had a great sense of humour, and her just made our day! I will never forget him and how much fun he made the ride for us. There was screaming and laughing coming from our group! It was a beautiful Island, delicious lunch, and the best jeep ride. The catamaran was beautiful, the bus ride to and from the marina was huge, air conditioned, comfortable. We want to visit this Island and would go back to Holguin just for this experience!

Best excursion I've ever been on. Didn't want to leave. Was pure paradise. The food was also very good,

we loved it so much, its litrallt is paradise would go back any day !! by far my favourite part of my holiday to cuba, so peacfull great food great people = amazing xxxxxxx