The 18 castaways departed by boat to the Dominican Republic. After being greeted by host Joel Dommett the castaways divided into two tribes: Caletón and La Nena.

• Reward challenge: Both tribes were tasked with loading a raft full of supplies and then swimming it to the shore. Upon reaching the shore, castaways must build a fire high enough to burn through a rope containing a crate full of supplies. The first tribe to finish won the supplies they collected on the ship, the other tribe's supplies and the contents of their crate. "Race to Shore" (here referred to as "The Marooning") challenge from Survivor: Palau.

La Nena won the first challenge, giving them a major advantage over Caletón for camp setup. As a result, Caletón struggled noticeably more when building their shelter and starting their fire.

• Immunity challenge: Each tribe member had to pull a rope which supported a heavy barrel. The players weren't all required to hold a barrel as they could pass them on to another tribe member if they wished. The first tribe to drop a barrel would lose and therefore have to attend Tribal Council. "On the Pull" (here referred to as "Dead Weight") challenge from Australian Survivor: Champions v Contenders (2019).

Caletón lost the immunity challenge, and the blame was largely put on Leilani for struggling early in the challenge and Richard for dropping his barrels. However, as they returned to camp, Shai's negative attitude and bossiness made him a potential candidate. At Tribal Council, Richard received the majority of the votes, which resulted in him being the first person voted out of the season.

Due to his name coming up the previous episode, Shai panicked. Caletón finally managed to build a fire, which gave them hope for the upcoming challenges. During the previous episode, Ashleigh sustained a hand injury.

• Reward challenge: Tribe members had to face head-to-head in a race down a large slide to grab a ball and place it in a small square target of their tribe's colour. The first tribe member to do so would win a point for their tribe. The first tribe to achieve four points won fishing equipment and various condiments. "Slip, Slide & Score" (here referred to as "By Any Means") challenge from Survivor: Fiji.

After La Nena won the reward, their third challenge of three, Caletón's morale continued to sink, but they remained hopeful that they could win the challenge. At La Nena, paranoia began to increase as various names began being discussed for elimination, primarily Ashleigh, Rach and Sabrina, should they lose the upcoming immunity challenge.

• Immunity challenge: The tribes had to paddle out to the water on rafts to collect keys from barrels and then swim out in pairs to release a crate containing bamboo from underwater and return it to the raft. Once all three crates had been released they must be opened with the keys. The tribes then must use the bamboo inside the crates to build a tower which reaches a minimum height requirement. The winning tribe would win immunity while the losing tribe would attend Tribal Council. "Raft and the Furious" challenge from Survivor South Africa: Maldives.

Caletón won the challenge, meaning La Nena had to attend their first Tribal Council. Three main targets emerged for elimination: Ashleigh for her injured hand, Rach for her struggles in the challenge, and Sabrina for generally annoying the tribe. Two alliances of four began to solidify: Lee, Hannah, Pegleg, and Sabrina on one side, with Ashleigh, Christopher, Rach and Ren on the other. This left Doug in the middle of both and being the swing vote for the elimination. At Tribal Council, Doug sided with the latter of the two alliances, sending Sabrina home.

Following their success in the challenge, spirits on Caletón were high. La Nena were dealing with the reality check of attending Tribal Council. The tribes were tasked to send their "quickest thinker" to an outpost, with Caletón choosing Laurence and La Nena choosing Ren. The two were given the choice of a large fish, small fish and a baked potato. If they chose the large fish then nothing would happen, the small fish would grant them a clue to a hidden immunity idol on the condition that the clue must be shared with another tribe member, and choosing the potato would earn a clue that didn't have to be shared. Laurence chose the big fish and Ren chose the small fish, granting them an idol clue which must be shared. Ren shared their clue with Doug upon returning to camp.

Talks of an alliance containing mostly the men on La Nena had begun occurring, mainly spurred on by Lee, who felt that strength should be what drove tribe decisions. This did not bode well with Ashleigh and Rach, who were on the outs.

• Immunity challenge: While harnessed together, the two competing tribes had to circle around an oval course in the shallow sea while carrying a 15 kilo pack each. The players could drop out of the challenge at any time, but they must give their weight to a tribemate before unclipping themselves from the rope. The first tribe to catch the other won immunity. "Hot Pursuit" challenge from Survivor: Palau.

Both tribes took on the challenge in different ways, but Caletón's proved more effective as they won the challenge. However during brief interaction, Christopher found out from Laurence that Ren had taken the option which gave her a clue to the idol. Back at camp, La Nena strategized about who to send home, primarily focusing on Ashleigh and Rach. The group decided that they were the weakest, despite some members disagreeing with the notion. At Tribal Council, the La Nena members were informed that immunity idols would be in play for the season before Rach was eliminated.

Ashleigh now sat solidly on the outside of La Nena, as the intensity of the men's alliance became harder to break through. The alliance left all the non-men on the tribe feeling somewhat wary of their position. While in the woods, Doug and Pegleg searched for the idol, but with the help from Ren's clue earlier, Doug found it without Pegleg noticing and shared the idol with Ren. The idol would be usable for the next three Tribal Councils. The following day on Caletón, Lawrence told Tinuke about the existence of immunity idols.

• Reward challenge: In one-on-one face offs, castaways had to run through a trench to attempt to ring a bell on the opposite side, while their opponent attempts to stop them. The first person to ring their bell earns a point for their tribe. The first tribe to four points would win a barbeque feast reward. "In the Trenches" (here referred to as "Trench run") challenge from Australian Survivor: Champions v Contenders 2019.

Caletón won the challenge, but during the reward, the rest of the tribe expressed distaste in Shai's social game.

• Immunity challenge: Tribe members had to stand on balance beams in a semi-circle around the platform in the middle, and each held on to a rope that connected to the platform. One by one, the castaways placed one of nine blocks on the platform and stacked them to spell out "Immunity", with two blocks with stars at the start and end. The first tribe to finish won immunity. "A Bit Tipsy" (here referred to as "Discy Business") challenge from Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers.

Upon losing the challenge, Caletón narrowed down their target options to two: Shai for his lack of social skills and Leilani for her lack of challenge performance. The tribe seemed somewhat split, but at Tribal Council, it was revealed that no one would be eliminated and the person voted out of Caletón would join La Nena. Leilani was voted out and sent to La Nena.

After Caletón voted out Leilani, she joined La Nena, where she was greeted cordially. The La Nena members generally distrusted the information she told them, but some felt she could prove helpful in the long run. Leilani lied about having a fight with Shai the previous day which was the cause of her elimination.

• Reward challenge: In one on one face-offs, on a platform surrounded by water, tribe members used large padded bags to knock the opposing tribe member off the platform. Doing so would score their tribe a point. The first tribe to reach four points won mattresses, pillows, blankets and chocolate. "Sumo at Sea" challenge from Survivor: Palau.

During the tiebreaker round, Christopher and Rachel got injured, causing Joel to cancel the challenge and send the tribes back to their beach. Both Christopher and Rachel were okay, which prompted Joel to visit each camp later in the day and give both tribes the intended reward. Leilani grew a guilty conscience about lying to her new tribe, so she confessed to her lie, causing further suspicion and distrust towards her. That night, Caletón's reward items were ruined by the rain as their shelter's roof was very weak.

• Immunity challenge: The tribes raced across a series of walls then pushed a platform across a track and flipped it to get over a large tower. Once they got over the tower they pulled a frame up which contained five tiles and broke them all with wooden hammers. The first tribe to smash all five tiles won immunity. "High and Mighty" challenge from Australian Survivor: Champions v Contenders (2019).

Upon losing the challenge, Jess of Caletón planned a vote split between Shai and Laurence in case Shai had a hidden immunity idol. However, the tribe chose to keep strength for challenges, sending Rachel home that night at Tribal Council.

With Leilani and Rachel now gone, Jess worried about her place in the tribe as she was now the only non-athletic female left, but she was reassured that if Caletón were to lose again, Laurence or Shai would be going home (the former for the tribe's general distrust in him and the latter for his persisting bad attitude). An alliance consisting of Jess, Matthew, Nathan and Tinuke had formed, further solidifying Laurence and Shai's placement on the outside. On La Nena, Christopher asked Leilani about the reward her former tribe has received when they sent Laurence to the outpost back on day 8, with Leilani telling him they received a different reward from the one La Nena got. This caused Christopher to figure out that Ren lied and begin suspecting them of having an immunity idol. He informed the other tribe members of this discovery.

A twist occurred later that day where each tribe were instructed to send their "wisest", "most powerful" and "most trusted" member to a meeting point to take a test. La Nena randomly chose Doug, Hannah and Pegleg to go while the Caletón alliance members strategized beforehand to send two of their people and one of the outsiders, in the end choosing to send Matthew, Shai and Tinuke. They arrive at the meeting point where the "test" was revealed to be a second tribe swap. Each of the groups of three had to decide one person to stay on their original tribe while the other two switched to the opposing tribe. Doug and Pegleg chose to switch in order to be able to target Shai as they were threatened by his challenge dominance while Matthew and Tinuke switched to ensure that they remained together moving forward in the game, and as they could use Leilani as a back-up plan in case Jess or Nathan were voted out before the merge.

On their new tribe, Matthew and Tinuke reunited with Leilani, who told them about Ren lying to the La Nena tribe potentially being their way of navigating through the votes in the short-term. When the two were questioned by Christopher later on, they continued to reinforce that Ren lied to the old La Nena tribe. On Caletón, Doug and Pegleg weren't having luck and felt that if Caletón were to lose, one of them would be in trouble. Doug confessed to Pegleg that he had found the immunity idol in a move which aimed to draw them closer, but only resulted in Pegleg gaining a newfound distrust in Doug for not being told earlier.

• Immunity challenge: Three members from each had a pole rested across their shoulders. Each round, weight would be added to that pole. The decision about which tribe member got the weight would be made by the other tribe. When the weight became too much to bear, the tribe member dropped the pole and be out of the challenge. The last person left standing won immunity for their tribe. "Shoulder the Load" challenge from Survivor: Pearl Islands.

After La Nena lost the challenge, Ashleigh and Christopher made a plea to the original three Caletón members to vote out Ren for their lie earlier in the season while Hannah and Ren targeted Ashleigh due to not trusting her. The original three Caletón members sided with Ashleigh and Christopher, blindsiding Ren in a 5–2–1 vote.

After Ashleigh and Christopher's flip to the old Caletón tribe, Hannah became worried about her spot in the tribe and believed the two were playing both sides. On Caletón, Doug attempted to find cracks in the tribe, targeting Shai and Laurence, who were on board with potentially taking out Jess or Nathan if Caletón lost an immunity challenge.

• Reward challenge: With their arms outstretched, castaways supported discs against each other with only their fingertips. If a castaway dropped their disc, they were out of the challenge. The last person left standing won an Indian takeaway food reward for their tribe. "This Much" (here referred to as "Chain Reaction") challenge from Australian Survivor 2017.

La Nena won the reward, which was seen as a morale booster among the tribe. Laurence and Shai continued to try pulling Doug and Pegleg in, but Doug and Pegleg believed it was a tactic to make them feel secure and firmly believed they were on the bottom. Nathan, completely unaware of the plans, threw Jess out as a decoy vote to Laurence and Shai, to throw Doug and Pegleg off the scent. On La Nena, Christopher wanted to eliminate Matthew or Tinuke before the merge and plotted to throw the upcoming immunity challenge to do so. Ashleigh agreed with the plan.

• Immunity challenge: The castaways raced out into the water and swam over to a tall bamboo cage. Once the entire tribe has arrived, each person climbed up and over the cage wall and jumped into the water. They then retrieved two large chests to bring back to shore, where they completed a puzzle. The first tribe to finish this final task won immunity. "Cell Block Sea" challenge from Survivor: Caramoan.

Despite Christopher and Ashleigh's plans, La Nena won the challenge meaning Caletón had to attend Tribal Council. Laurence and Shai told Jess that she was the decoy vote, though their true intentions were to vote her out with Doug and Pegleg, keeping Nathan in the dark. Worried about her name being thrown out, Jess threw Shai's name out to Doug and Pegleg, on the grounds of his negative attitude bringing the tribe down, making Doug and Pegleg swing votes. While they were threatened by Shai's challenge prowess, they were also concerned about Jess's social game. In the end, they decided to vote out Jess for her threat level going into the merge.

La Nena speculated that Shai had been voted out, but they were wrong. Doug and Pegleg did not trust Laurence and Shai despite making a pact with them. Nathan, now aware of his position on the tribe, attempted to find cracks in the alliance. The tribes were each gifted a crate full of bottles of milk each addressed to member of the tribe. The bottles contained letters from home.

After reading the letters, Christopher confessed to Hannah and Lee that he had attempted to throw the previous challenge, which caused Lee to lash out at him causing a fight, despite making a pact to throw the next immunity challenge as a team.

• Immunity challenge: The castaways had one arm above their head with their wrist tethered to a bucket of water on top of a narrow perch. The castaway who could stand there the longest without tipping the bucket won immunity for their tribe. "When it Rains, it Pours" challenge from Survivor: Africa.

After La Nena won, Caletón reflected on La Nena's reaction to Jess being voted out, as Leilani accused them of sexism and Tinuke claimed Jess did not deserve to go home. Knowing he was in deep trouble, Nathan pleaded to Doug and Pegleg to vote out Shai, who he perceived as sly and dishonest. Laurence and Shai pondered about how they could potentially vote out Doug or Pegleg over Nathan, but this was quickly shut down to maintain the alliance. Despite this, Nathan continued plotting and struck a plan with Doug and Pegleg to eliminate Shai. After considering the long-term prospects of it, Doug and Pegleg chose to side with Nathan, eliminating Shai from the game.

After Shai's vote-out, Caletón felt at peace, despite Laurence being somewhat wary due to Shai's elimination. On La Nena, Lee argued with Leilani over sleeping arrangements in the shelter. The tribes merged with eleven players remaining, living on La Nena's beach and now being called "Calena".

• Survivor Auction: Laurence first bought a bacon butty. Lee bought a toothbrush and toothpaste, and was offered a second one which he could give to a fellow player, which he chose to give to Nathan. Leilani bought a tea set with cakes, tea and sandwiches. Pegleg purchased a pint of beer with a bowl of ready salted crisps; he was then offered a second beer which he gave to Doug. Christopher bought shampoo, conditioner and towels which hid a rolled-up piece of paper. He later bought a secret advantage for the game. Hannah bought a plate of spicy chicken with a side of chips. Ashleigh, Doug, Matthew, Nathan, and Tinuke ultimately spent no money.

Back at the beach, Lee began making an alliance with the men, intending to target Ashleigh due to her close alliance with Christopher. Christopher showed Ashleigh his advantages: the one he got from the towel was a clue to a hidden immunity idol and the one that he bought straight up was an extra vote. The pair planned to use the items against Lee. The following day, Christopher found the immunity idol whilst Ashleigh plotted with Tinuke and Matthew against Lee, saying that Lee was targeting Tinuke, which she believed.

• Immunity challenge: The castaways balanced a ceramic vase on the end of a balance beam with one leg. If the pain became too much or they lost their balance, their vase dropped and broke, eliminating them from the challenge. The last person with an intact vase won. "A Leg Up" challenge from Survivor: Redemption Island

After over an hour, Doug emerged victorious from the challenge. Back at camp, Christopher threw out Lee's name to multiple people on the tribe and after Hannah heard of this, she warned Lee about it. Lee fired back by targeting Ashleigh to the tribe's men. At Tribal Council, Lee panicked and began calling out Ashleigh and Christopher, telling everyone to watch out for them. This did him no good as he was voted out 7–4, becoming the first member of the jury.

Due to Lee calling them out, Ashleigh and Christopher were now seen as the next targets. Ashleigh tried to assure Tinuke and Leilani that she was loyal to them, which was met with a begrudged acceptance, as Tinuke felt wary of Ashleigh after Lee told her Ashleigh had targeted her. This was solidified by Pegleg proposing to the tribe that they should split the vote between the pair, met with a mostly unchallenged agreement.

• Immunity challenge: The players swam under a steel grate and stayed above water. As the tide rose, the players ran out of breathing room. When the fear of drowning became too much, that person bailed out. The last person remaining under the grate won immunity. "Last Gasp" challenge from Survivor: Palau.

Pegleg won the challenge and upon returning to camp, Ashleigh and Christopher scrambled to find numbers, but were met with no one willing to help. They realised a vote split plan was to happen. At Tribal Council, Christopher played his immunity idol and the vote split plan was sucessful as Ashleigh was voted out of the game, becoming the 2nd jury member.

Now on the outs, Christopher felt the others were hypocritical and that he was ignored by some tribemates. As the original Caletón outnumbered the original La Nena, Tinuke saw an opportunity to shake things up, bringing the five original Caletón members together and planning to vote La Nena members out simultaneously.

• Reward challenge: The castaways were split into teams of four and in one-on-one face-offs, are given a series of items that they must memorize and then replicate at their station. The first person to correctly reproduce all their symbols scored a point for their team. The first team to reach three points won a Fish and Chips meal reward. "Box Your Mind" (here referred to as "Shut Your Trap") challenge from Survivor: Africa.

After being left unpicked and having to sit out, Pegleg was allowed the opportunity to bet on a team. If he picked the correct one, he would also be given the reward. He chose Christopher, Doug, Matt, and Tinuke's team, which went on to win, granting them the reward. While on the reward, Christopher attempted to find some alliances, but was immediately shut down as he was the primary target. The following day, Christopher tried to strengthen his bond with Leilani, and quickly sussed out that she is playing the act of a clueless mother, and that she actually knows a lot more about the game than she lets on. Tinuke planned to blindside Doug as he had made a lot of strong connections in the game and was playing it very low-key, making him a bigger threat than Christopher at that point. The fellow members of the new Caletón alliance agreed.

• Immunity challenge: The castaways held onto a pole for as long as possible. They could not hold on to the top of the pole to support themselves, but must instead rely on footholds. The last person left holding on without touching the ground won immunity. "Get a Grip" challenge from Survivor: Vanuatu.

Tinuke won the immunity challenge and Caletón planned to make La Nena believe Christopher would be voted out, despite truly wanting to blindside Doug. Christopher, seeing through the act, made multiple attempts to convince the old La Nena tribe that they should come together. Christopher madea fake hidden immunity idol with the intention of stirring the pot, but Doug told the Caletón members that it was fake and not to trust Christopher.

At Tribal Council, Christopher played his extra vote advantage to try and get numbers against Leilani, but the tribal divide causes the old Caletón to come out on top, blindsiding Doug in a 5–3–2 vote.

Doug's blindside caused Hannah and Pegleg to realise their chances have sunk. Hannah broke down and was comforted by Tinuke and Leilani.

• Reward challenge: The winning pair would receive a feast of various types of pizza. "Hold Up" challenge.

Matthew and Christopher won the challenge and chose Laurence to go on the reward with them. Christopher hoped to build a new alliance over the reward, telling them that they were on the outside of Caletón as Nathan and Tinuke are a tight duo, and that they were stringing Leilani along as she is loyal and unlikely to win. While both men shut down what Christopher said, they decided to keep it in mind going forward. The next day, Tinuke began considering pulling Hannah into the Caletón alliance as the two women grew close. Noticing this, Christopher told Matthew that Tinuke is trying to replace him and Laurence in the alliance. Matthew realized that Tinuke and Nathan have to be split up at some point, so he talked to Laurence about a potential flip.

• Immunity challenge: "On the Ropes" challenge.

Laurence won the immunity challenge and he removed himself from strategizing as his vote was not required for the flip to be successful since he could throw it on a random contestant. Pegleg told Leilani about the plan to flip. Laurence later told Tinuke about the plan to vote her out, and she sought reassurance from her allies who told her she had nothing to worry about. Nevertheless, at Tribal Council, Tinuke was blindsided in a 4–3–1 vote after Matthew flipped.