Dolphin Island Park — Attraction in La Hispaniola

GIRLS/WOMEN- MAKE SURE YOU GO WITH A MALE/PARENTAL FIGURE It's debateable to give this 2 stars over 1 ONLY because I loved getting to pet the animals... but time for some truth. I went with a college girlfriend, we're both in our mid 20s. We were told it was 4 hours of excursion, we took a 45 minute bus ride to other resorts to pick people up. Then the rest of our bus got put in one group and we were put in a separate one. No one spoke good enough English to explain to us why. After waiting an hour on the beach, we were put on the boat and driven out to the island for the extreme boat ride, which was cool. But again, no one spoke good enough English to explain that you get hit by a tidal wave and you better breath before or its gonna suck.... After the boat ride we went into the shark tank which is where my first line comes into play. Some of the workers offered to take pictures of us with my phone, which was fine, he was very respectful, my phone was locked so he really could only take pictures. Then one of the employees in the shark tank decided my friend and I needed some individual attention and when everyone else left the pool, the two of us were with him. I was so excited about the animals he kept bringing up for me to pet I honestly really didn't notice for about 5 minutes, and then when I did he got another employee to come in so it was two male employees and two young girls in the shark tank.... the rest of the group had left. They did not understand enough English and definitely took advantage of this, there was lots of touching, hand grabbing, them telling us to float... extreme uncomfortableness and we finally just swam away. The dolphins were fun, I know some people were expecting more but I felt I got to touch them enough! Definitely agree with people that it's not enough space for them but I don't know what kind things they need to live well. At the end of the trip, the man who originally took pictures with my phone came up to me and TOLD ME TO TIP THE SHARK BOYS. To which I said "hell no" and got on the boat back. Left feeling super uncomfortable and semi violated because they had zero respect for me, not as a customer but as a woman as...

We were part of a group of friends and did not know at the moment of purchasing the tickets how there animals are kept and treated. The dolphins are simply amazing. Only that after talking with one of the guys on site, while waiting for my family to do snorkeling, I learned that they are NOT born in captivity or rescued, they are being "caught" and "brought" from Cuba. Anyone can see plenty of marks on their bodies, and their response was that they sometimes fight. And of course the pools are plain simple wire cages in the ocean. I have no idea what is the depth of one cage but the size at the surface in clearly not big enough for two adult dolphins. I have previously participated to this kind of activity in Mexico, and it was completely different. I actually write this review because of the guilt I feel for participating to this attraction. Please do not fall for this like many like me have done. There is a proper aquarium in Punta Cana with dolphins and it looks definitely We were part of a group of friends and had no idea, when we bought our tickets, how the animals were kept and treated. The dolphins are simply incredible. It wasn't until I chatted with one of the guys on site while waiting for my family to snorkel that I learned that they are not born in captivity or rescued, but "caught" and "brought" from Cuba. Anyone can see many marks on their bodies, and they responded that they sometimes struggle. And of course the tanks are just wire cages in the ocean. I have no idea how deep a cage is, but the size at the surface is clearly insufficient for two adult dolphins. I have participated in this type of activity in Mexico before and it was completely different. I write this review because of the guilt I feel for having participated in this attraction. Please do not fall into the trap, as many did, as I did. There is a real aquarium in Punta Cana with dolphins and it is much more legit...

Beware - all of the recent reviews are true. The dolphin experience was LOVELY AND SO WERE THE TRAINERS. Most of the dolphins there are rescues and they are loving cared for. Over half have been born there - breeding can only occur when the dolphins feel safe to do so. All of the people on boats driving by that didn’t participate need to back off. You can’t just let captive animals into the wild … duh. THAT SAID - and the reason for my review: we purchased our trip from Jamie at Bahia Principe Turquesa. He told us the location was close - just a 10 minute drive. It was 50 min on a high way in an open truck and we almost blew out the back of it. Jamie told us with an upgraded package the drinks on the brochure would be included Mai Tai, etc. when we got there we were offered pop (which we and our child done drink) and water which, … as you can see from the pic, was OUT. When we inquired about the drinks we were promised, we were dismissed… as it appears others who have raised concerns were as well. Basically you are trapped in the jungle and we felt held hostage. We didn’t get any of the private beach time promised but we were away from our hotel for almost 5 hours (surprise - Jamie promised 3 hours max) and we almost missed our dinner reservation so we were happy when the driver said “let’s go!”. Like many others, we were shocked when told to put away our cameras and then again at the price of the picture packages - especially when the told us to bring our camera (in the brochure) and the guy in the bus tried to sell us waterproof bags for them… if we knew what to expect or to ask going in, it would have been a good experience but the sales people REALLY don’t care what happens after they make the sale and once you are there, the park operators are incredibly...