the whales (las ballenas)

spent a morning out Whale watching and have never been so moved ,really emotional to be able to get up close and personal with these gentle giants is thrilling .DO NOT MISS

The main draw of Samana are the humpback whales who breed and give birth in the warm shallow waters of the bay every year. The bay is the third most important breeding area for Atlantic humpbacks. Mid-January to mid-March is the season, and a plethora of companies offer excursions. Whale Samana are one of the most highly regarded and have impeccable ecological credentials. Humpbacks are great whales to watch because they are active and put on a good show. Especially in this area where you can see them showing off to each other, including breaching (jumping out of the water). You've also got a good chance of seeing newborn babies. You're practically guaranteed a sighting if you go out. The whole area is a protected marine reserve national park. It can be quite rough, even on a nice day, so the seasick should beware. Take lots of suncream, and also waterproofs - if it rains, it is truly miserable.

there are numerous trips from different places to go and see the hump back whales, we chose one from the beach for $65 per person. A four hour trip being picked up from a jetty near our hotel, we travelled out and saw a few whales in the distance and immediately started taking photos. After a short while it became apparent that we has wasted our time with the long range shots as we got further out the whales were all around us and we got really close. The guides told us that it very very rare not to see the whales, and from speaking to all the other guests on our holiday everyone saw them. Excellent trip and would recommend it to anyone

Was a site to see. A momma, poppa and baby humpback whale within a few minutes of our boat ride. They are an amazing creature. Nice to see them in their natural habitat (where they should be) instead of an aquarium.

Amazing! Saw the whales and they were playing with the boats. If you are sea sick, don't eat before the trip

We were so lucky to watch a mum & baby....we followed them for some time & actually got to see the baby ' breaching' I think is the term!

it took a long time to get there but you saw whales straight away and there are impressive. but it does cost about £200 which was a lot for what it was

We booked through our rep from Thompsons and was assured that we would have air conditioned coaches for transfers plus 100% English speaking guide. What a joke that is, we paid 176.00us and was transported in a mini bus (with no A/C) herded onto a boat with approx 60 others only to find out once we had left the dock that the whole boat was french therefore that was the only language spoken for the entire trip. Certainly not what was promised and not what we paid for. We did get to see some whales though but the whole experience was spoilt with no information from the guide. He did however manage a few words of English once we were back in port and that was Do we want to buy a DVD 30.00us. I have raised the matter with the Rep from Thompsons and I have still not received a reply after some 5 days of constantly requesting one. I am currently still here on the island and should I ever received a response I will update this page. Best use a local guy for half the price. Thompsons will just take your money and leave you to it !!

The Whales ..absolutely awesome ..go with Whale Samana, Kim gives a fantastic narration teling you exactly what they are doing ..and tehy are the cheapest and really look after you and the Whales ..ethical watching at its best ..

always pot luck when you go to see nature, but we were very lucky to only have to travel a few miles from Samana to see the mother humpback whale and her calf swimming within a few metres of the boat. What an amazing sight and so close. We carried on for a couple of hours and saw several . A great experience and well worth missing breakfast for. Tour guide, Leo and crew were brilliant

I had never seem anything alike. The whales teaching their sons to jump outside the water was just amazing.

3rd time on island 2nd time on the whale trip it was fantastic watched a family of whales for ages mother kept flipping baby in the air and father came right out of water awesome

up close and personal with whales and dolphins .... greta day outi've seen whales before but the boat guys certainly know their stuff

A great day out ,you go out in a boat for about 4 hours, spend about 90 minutes watching the whales a fantastic experience

The whale watching was Ok not $200 ok. We were told it would be 3 to 4 hours we were back at the dock at 1.5 hours we saw 2 whales.. it was Great to see being so close but we talked to many others that went and saw many more than us and spent the three hours minimum.. That being said i cant remeber the excursion although there are many prices from 60$ to 95$ ours was 88$. If you must see a whale..Do it.. We talked to many and seems My money would have been better spent on the limon falls or Zip lining..