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My husband and I took this tour having not much success in the past in other parts of the world seeing whales - not the case on this trip! The Whale Samana Team was friendly, made learning about whales entertaining, and clearly have great respect for the whales and the environment. …
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Date of experience: February 2020
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The total cost of US$59 (March 2020) is very reasonable when considering the professionalism, multiple-language live translations, and care taken for both customers and the whales. I would highly recommend Whale Samana for whale watching in the DR. I brought both my own travel camera (Canon G7X) and my iPhone 11. Feel free to do so also, but I strongly recommend spending the US$15 for the photos taken by the company on the boat. Their 50 photos were an easy download via secure site upon arriving back home - and 100x better than anything I captured. The only exception was a few videos I took, which provided "like you're there" feeling. My experience was nearly flawless - but take care to follow all the instruction provided. They were very good about giving these directions (mine were all in English) including advice to check in 24 hours ahead, when to arrive, recommendations on where to sit, etc. The seas were relatively calm (morning trip) but, despite everyone being given seasickness wristbands, a couple people struggled with sickness for most of the 3 hour trip. The crew was *extremely supportive* of those with challenges of any kind, and made it nearly invisible to the rest. Strongly recommend. Some of the best money I spent on the whole trip!…
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Date of experience: March 2020
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This was the Best Whale Watching trip ever! We booked in February and so glad we went with Whale Samana. The biologist owner, Kim Beddall, was on board giving the talk and she has worked in Humpback Whale research and conservation for decades. My degree was in Marine Biology and she worked with the same world renowned groups I did in the US, The Center for Coastal Studies in Province town and Allied Whale in Bar Harbor. They participate in the ongoing Humpback Whale studies to track and study the migration of the Whales from their North Atlantic feeding areas to their birthing area around Samana. The scientific narration was engaging to all ages (my kids 10,15) and interesting. What a joy to see my kids awed and engaged for hours with these majestic creatures! There were 4 languages offered on our day and more available if needed. It's a large, clean, safe and sea worthy boat with modern safety features. They even pass out free water, soft drinks and snacks! Kim Beddall is kind and warm and there were 2 additional terrific naturalists and a photographer (for the whale research) and an excellent captain and friendly staff. Kim has worked hard to help set up the Internationally recognized Whale Sanctuary around Samana and develop safe practice rules for tours viewing Whales so as not harass them. if you care about the Whales and people of Smana and want to have fun doing it, this was a great trip you can feel good about. I'm glad we booked ahead because in country we were bombarded by street hawkers trying to sell us a whale watch trip. Most of the other boat trips are pricier than Kim's and the boats are tiny and in very rough shape. One such boat, about 18 feet long was out watching the day we were and it was a windy day and the people on that boat got tossed around a lot and no bathroom. I lived at sea for years but I would not have set foot on one of those rickety buckets. Anyway, it was fantastic and I recommend it most highly and hope to go back for more, thanks! Zan Knecht, PhD…
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Date of experience: February 2020
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The price was as announced on the website, booked my spot calling them the day before, because I was in DR already. Went got my wristband and paid no problems. Large boat with enough space for everybody, good guides, water, soda and snacks during the trip - and most importantly lucky enough too see a mother with her calf 😍…
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Date of experience: March 2020
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Do not be confused with other whale watching companies in Samana !!! WHALE WATCH WITH KIM BEDDELL - is the best. We had to "McIver" a trip together for ourselves, as there were no trips from Sosua, but it was TOTALLY worth it. Her boat is very big and has great accommodations, washrooms, raincoats, life jackets, cold drinks, gift and pictures and a extremey knowledgeable and caring crew. They guarantee whale sightings or your next trip is free…
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Date of experience: March 2020
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