It is an amazing sight waiting for you every winter in the Samana Bay, the humpback whales moving from the their arctic home to the warm waters of the protective bay of Samana to give birth and mate. The show is impressive, when the 40-ton males jump up the water and fall down a few meters ahead.
10 min - We pick you up from your hotel in Puerto Plata
10 min - We pick you up from your hotel in Sosua
10 min - We pick you up from your hotel in Cabarete
9 hr - Every year from the middle of January until the end of March you are able to see Humpback Whales in Samana. Samana is considered one of the best places in the world for humpback whale watching. These beautiful and giant marine mammals, breathe air and come out regularly to the surface, remain in apnea for about 20 minutes, but can remain under water for up to 40 minutes. Whales come to give birth to their little ones because the whalebone, when born, has a very thin layer of fat to withstand the cold waters. At birth it measures between 3.50 and 5 meters, and weighs a ton. After being collected from your hotel in Puerto Plata, Sosua, or Cabarete, make your way to Samana and enjoy the amazing views of the lovely Dominican landscapes. Departing from the dock in the town of Samana, we will transport you in comfortable, fast and secure boats and navigate in search of whales.
2 hr - Next we will head to Bacardi Island, Cayo Levantado is the local name of the island. On the island a delicious typical Dominican lunch will be served. After lunch and to finalize your wonderful experience you will enjoy turquoise waters and white sand of Cayo Levantado. It is a very long day but really worth to visit.
The whale watching experience was unbelievable. We were able to get several sightings of the humpback whales. In addition the excursion includes lunch on Bacardi Island and a some time to relax, soak up the scenery, swim at the beach on the Island. Since we were staying in the Bayahibe/Dominicus/La Romana area the trip to/from Samana can be exhausting and you must plan for a 12+ hour day.
Overall a great experience and even managed to see a family of humpback whales. Just one downside which was that because it was so busy it became a bit manic trying to find the guide for the return to the boat at Bacardi Island. He was waiting on the boat but we didn't know which boat was ours so couldn't see him. He needs to collect people together at a meeting point on the Island.
Samana is a beautiful place and the whales come here yearly to have their calves. The numbers are getting fewer and fewer. One reason could be the litter that is floating out in the sea. The second could be there are multiple tour boats that want to give their guests the best experience. So you board the catamaran and off to sea. Captains radio back and forth, then when a whale is spot we all race to where it is. The 1st 3 boats to the whales get to stay, the rest have to stay back.We saw 1 mom and her calf in the hour we were out. The guides stated in April they do more breaching. So my videos are mostly talls. But atleast we got to see whales. Also note on the boat there is not usually a restroom and no water to drink. But we did get a life jacket on the way out. On the way in they did not care if we wore it. Glad we made the 5 hr trip to Samana, check that off the bucket list.
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