Samaná

Introducing Samaná

For much of the year, Samaná follows the slow daily rhythms of an ordinary Dominican town: not much happens; fishermen’s days are lived on the water; people pass through on their way to Las Terrenas and Las Galeras or to the mainland via the daily ferry; and the Malecón (main street; literally ‘sea wall’) takes on a somnolent air. It’s a compact place built on a series of bluffs overlooking Bahía de Samaná, with little to distinguish it from other more charming towns on the peninsula. In fact, it remained an isolated fishing village until 1985, when the first whale-watching expedition set out. Because North Atlantic humpbacks find the bay water particularly suitable for their annual version of speed dating from mid-January to mid-March, Samaná is transformed by tens of thousands of tourists who flock here to go on a whale-watching tour, a natural spectacle with few equals.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009