From January to March, thousands of specimens migrate to the warm waters of northern Dominican Republic to mate and give birth.
Hear a whale sing. And then another. And then, the melody they create lasts up to 30 minutes at a time … The songs are never ending. The warm waters of northeastern Dominican Republic, especially the Samana Bay, become home for thousands of humpback whales that come to mate and give birth. This Caribbean region has something special and they have been coming here for centuries.
There are estimated to be between 3,000 and 5,000 specimens, who can travel up to 7,000 kilometers, traveling to this area between January 15th and March 30th, approximately. They become an attraction for thousands of tourists who flock to the Marine Mammal Sanctuary of Samana Bay and the Banco de la Plata (The Silver Bank), declared of global ecological importance, in order to listen to them and watch their almost acrobatic jumps.
Humpback whales make their “songs” similarly to how people do it, with rhymes, verses and rhythm. They are original songs that only they know the meaning of.
If you want to see and hear them, Samana Bay is a three-hour drive from Puerto Plata and two and a half from Santo Domingo, the capital, a time more than affordable since 99% of visitors get glimpse of a whale, according to official sources.
