Whale Watching in Samana: Witness Humpback Whales in their Winter Havens
3.4
10 Ratings
Puerto Plata
Every winter, an incredible spectacle awaits you in Samana Bay, as humpback whales migrate from their Arctic residences to the welcoming warm waters of the secluded bay of Samana for mating and birthing. The spectacle is awe-inspiring, as the hulking male whales, weighing 40 tons, leap out of the water and land a short distance ahead.
Duration:
13 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Puerto Plata - We pick you up from your hotel in Puerto Plata
- Sosua - We pick you up from your hotel in Sosua
- Cabarete - We pick you up from your hotel in Cabarete
- Samana Bay - 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.
- Cayo Levantado Beach - 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.
What's Included
- Whale Watching
- Local guide
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Breakfast
- Dominican-style Lunch
- Boat ride
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Drinks with the lunch not included
Additional Information
- contact for the exact tour departure time
Location
Puerto Plata
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
3.4
(10 Ratings)
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Osahone
Feb 28, 2022
Bucket List Experience - 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.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Patrickk_m
Mar 13, 2024
Awesome excursion. - Over all it was a great day. They picked us up as scheduled. We saw several whales and were able to get quite close. The island was beautiful. Crystal clear water. Plenty of shade under the trees.
Things we didn't know: the tour stopped to provide us breakfast. It was pretty good. There were many vendors on the island with reasonable prices if interested. The chairs on the island were $200 pesos each to use. You have to purchase drinks on the island. $100 pesos for a soda. $600 pesos for pina colada in a pineapple. The lunch was pretty horrible. Worst lunch I've ever had on an excursion. I wish I brought my snorkeling gear.
Over all a wonderful day. Loved the boat ride, the whales, and relaxing on the island. I would recommend.
Review provided by Viator
Alexandra_v
Jan 30, 2024
This was a great trip to... - This was a great trip to explore the north coast of DR. The food was amazing and seeing a pod of whales was an unforgettable experience.
Just be aware it is an all day event with lots of driving! And bring your swimsuit because they do offer swimming after lunch.
Review provided by Viator
Lalji_p
Feb 3, 2022
Good but needs a slight improvement. - 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.
Review provided by Viator
Nancyj52674
Feb 14, 2019
Different but we saw whales - 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.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Karen_k
Mar 28, 2024
Over crowded boat - Our tour guide was fabulous and we did get to see the whales. So while I would recommend this type of excursion, I would also recommend choosing a different company to go with. The reason I wouldn't recommend this company is because they overbooked/over crowded the boat we were on. This made for an uncomfortable ride and also made it difficult to actually see the whales that were there. We had so many people on our boat, 4 adults to each bench and then there were maybe 10-15 people that had to stand for the trip. We saw many other boat tours that had room for their groups to move around during the trip to have the best viewing of the whales. I wish I would have chosen a company that allowed more room on the boat.
Review provided by Viator
Baescobedo
Mar 10, 2020
find a tour with less people - When whale watching the boats go in front of each other and don't allow the other boats to see, the first 3 boats that get there are the ones that have the priority to watch the whales. Would not recommend this tour. Try to find another tour that has less people and try to stay in Samana to be the first ones out.
the guides were fine, they drove us and brought us back.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
104mariaf
Feb 2, 2020
Don’t go - Touristtrap,
So many people on the boat that we mostly saw other peoples back. Had too pay 10 dollar for drinks to lunch on the island though it was all inclusive. So many tourist as possible on so short time as they could
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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