half day trips , excursions around Samana feb24-mar1

You do not need to book in advance. You can just take one of the whale watching tours when you get to the Samana bay. I would recommend Kim Beddal (you can look her up, she is mentioned online) . Also, you can just drive to El Limon, and take one of the horseback tours, or just hike it. It is about a half hour hike. Wear good shoes and take a raincoat. Plan to have lunch around midday at one of the local buffets. Check out my place vrbo listing 316323. You may want to stay there next time.

Day Trip Activities

Hi:

I am assuming you have a vehicle. If so, drive to Playa Coson. You can access the road turning right at the Mi Corazon Restaurant in the middle of Las Terrenas.
Follow the signs to Playa Coson. When you are about 1 mile away you will enter onto the new road under construction, which is still dirt. Get all the way to your right and take the first right turn. Follow for a short distance and you will cross a small cement bridge, immediately to your right you will see a small sign for Luis' Restaurant. It is very informal, right on the beach. They grill, lobster, shrimp, octopus, calemari, sea bass and chicken and give you salad, french fries and sometimes have rice and beans and plantons. It is well worth the drive. Probably the freshest tasting seafood in the area and the prices are reasonable. Bring your bathing suites. The beach is beautiful and you can walk for miles.

S

I just made the exact same trip Steve described (perfect directions, btw) and a day at Coson and Luis' will truly be the highlight of your vacation!

I would also recommend a trip to National Park Los Haitises. You can do this with Kim Bedall as well, she offers a tour with kayaking.
Playa Rincon and Playa Fronton in the Las Galeras area are worth a visit as well. To Playa Rincon you can take a boat ride from the main beach in Las Galeras, rent a quad or a moto, go by horse or if you have a good car go by car.
Fronton is only accesable by boat, horse tour with climbing down to the beach or 1 hour walk from Boca del Diabolo. If you are a good hiker you can also hike to Fronton, 2,5 h from Las Galeras.
When you want to eat in Las Galeras try out El Cabito, nice restaurant with spectacular view and good food.

Excursions and Tours all over Samana Bay and Peninsula

You will find all the local tour operators and their prices at this local website about the town of Samana :

Go Samana | Dominican Republic - The village of Samana

Enjoy the Spectacular Natural Beauty of Samana

Jon

Karin at La Hacienda (the big yellow house on the right on your way to Playa Madame) is recommended in Lonely Planet for her customised horse trips and is the only one going with horses to Playa Fronton. Details of her trips are at La Rancheta Homepage
Los Haitisis with Kim (Whale Samana), the cat and the kayaks is fab. Don't be tempted to go with someone else. Like her whale watching trips, she sets the standard for Los Haitisis trips.
Try the coco pan (bread) if you get to Rincon and don't miss the fresh water river there.
If you are in Las Galeras it is well worth a visit to El Cabito for a sundowner even if you don't plan to stay for dinner. (Reservations advised for dinner.) Directions as El Cabito
Hope you have a great time.