Bacardi Island: why Cayo Levantado is called that

Published 15 September 2026

Why is it called Bacardi Island? Because a rum advert was filmed there, and the name stuck. On the map the island is Cayo Levantado, in Samaná Bay. This guide covers where the nickname comes from, what is confirmed and what is not, what is on the island, and what to know before you go.

Two names, one island

Cayo Levantado is a small island inside Samaná Bay, a few minutes by boat from the pier in Santa Bárbara. That is its name: it is how the Constitutional Court ruling that declared it public property refers to it, and how the country’s official tourism site lists it among the places to see in Samaná, with the nickname in brackets.

Bacardi Island is what a lot of people call it, here and abroad. The two names point at the same place. Ask for either at the pier and you will be understood.

Where the nickname comes from, and what we do not know

A rum advert. The brand filmed an advert on the island, with its white-sand beach and its palms, and the image attached itself to the place. The cayo has carried the brand’s name ever since.

The picture was not lying, either. White sand, shallow water and shade under the palms, inside the bay.

Now the part you rarely read online: we do not have the year of the shoot or the name of the campaign, and we would rather not invent them. If someone gives you a specific year, we have not been able to confirm it. The nickname is real and the island is real; the details of the advert are the part that is hard to pin down.

What is on the island

It is small. About a kilometre long, roughly one square kilometre in area, with its highest point at 24 metres. You can walk around it in no time, and that is part of the charm: no road, no village, no traffic.

• Humid forest in the interior, and palms along the sand.
• White-sand beaches with calm, shallow water inside the bay.
• Bars and restaurants serving food, fresh seafood and cocktails such as piña colada and coco loco.
• A hotel, which gets its own section below because it is what confuses people most.

The basics are in the island’s Wikipedia entry. What the entry does not tell you is what the day is like, and for that keep reading.

The beach and the resort are not the same thing

There is a hotel on the island, the Cayo Levantado Resort. It has nothing to do with us. Our trip to Cayo Levantado is the boat from the Santa Bárbara pier and the day on the island’s beach.

Three reasons this matters:

• You do not need to stay at the hotel to spend the day on the cayo. The island is public property, not open to private ownership, under Constitutional Court ruling 194/13.
• What your day includes is decided by your package with us, not by the hotel. Lunch, for example, is optional and confirmed when you book.
• If what you want is a hotel room, we are not the right people. If what you want is a day on the island’s beach, we are.

The island’s opening hours

Visitors are allowed on the island from 9:00 in the morning to 5:00 in the afternoon. That is not our rule, it is the cayo’s, and it applies to everyone. We arrange the departure inside that window, based on the package and the size of the group, and we agree the exact time with you over WhatsApp.

For you it means the day on the island has a start and an end, and if you are coming from far away, that belongs in the plan.

How you get there

By boat only. There is no road to the cayo, and there is no boat from Punta Cana either: you come into Samaná Bay and leave from the pier in Santa Bárbara. From there it is a few minutes to the island.

If you are coming from Punta Cana, you reach the pier by road, and we arrange that transfer if you need it. Tell us when you book. The journey to the peninsula itself, from the airports and the main towns, is covered in how to get to Samaná and the Santa Bárbara pier.

What the day on the island is, and what it is not

So that expectations are right, in both directions.

• It is: the boat from the Santa Bárbara pier, there and back, and time on the island within the permitted hours, 9:00 to 17:00. White sand, shallow water, shade under the palms, and bars and restaurants for anyone who does not take the lunch option.
• It is not: a hotel stay. The resort on the island is a separate business, and our trip has nothing to do with it.
• It is not: whale watching. The whales are a separate trip, with their own boat and their own season, 15 January to 31 March, and are not part of the day on the cayo.
• It is not: a boat from Punta Cana. From Punta Cana you come by road to the pier, and only there do you get on the boat.

We agree the exact departure time, the length of the trip and the rest of the details with you over WhatsApp, based on your date and group size. What the package includes is on the trip page, and anything that is not there, ask us.

What to bring

The list is on the trip page. In short: sun protection, a hat and sunglasses, because on the boat and on the beach there is nowhere to hide from the midday sun; swimwear on and a towel; water and some cash in pesos in case you buy something on the island; a waterproof bag for your phone and documents, because the boat splashes; and a light layer for the way back in the afternoon.

How to book the trip

Everything else is on the page for the boat trip to Cayo Levantado. Message us on WhatsApp with your date and how many people; we reply with availability, price and package options, including whether you want lunch. The rest of our trips from the same pier are on our boat trips in Samaná.

Ask for price and availability

Common questions

Is Bacardi Island the same as Cayo Levantado?

Yes. Cayo Levantado is the island’s official name; Bacardi Island is the nickname it picked up from a rum advert. The two names refer to the same island in Samaná Bay.

Was the Bacardi advert really filmed there?

The nickname comes from a rum advert filmed on the island. The year and the campaign are something we have not been able to confirm, so we do not give them.

Do I have to stay at the resort to visit the island?

No. The island is public property. Our trip is the boat from the Santa Bárbara pier and the day on the beach, and it has nothing to do with the hotel.

How long can you stay on the island?

Visitors are allowed from 9:00 to 17:00. We arrange the departure inside that window and agree the exact time with you over WhatsApp.

Is there food on the island?

Yes, there are bars and restaurants. On our trip lunch is optional, depending on the package, and confirmed when you book; bring some cash in pesos in case you want to buy something there.