Whales during Semana Santa 2013?

rsmalling

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Mar 3, 2013
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I'll be on the Saman? Peninsula during Semana Santa (March 25-29). Is it a good idea to go on a whale excursion or will they likely be gone by then? Any recommendations?
 

Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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I'll be on the Saman? Peninsula during Semana Santa (March 25-29). Is it a good idea to go on a whale excursion or will they likely be gone by then? Any recommendations?

Very late; likely too late for you. But when you get there, check with Kim Beddall in Whale Samana for an honest answer. If they are still offering excursions, you have a good chance of seeing whales. But if not, don't listen to anyone else offering to take you.
 

mountainannie

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Dec 11, 2003
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elizabetheames.blogspot.com
i remember seeing them one year the third week of March but hearing all the comments that their season had been delayed by storms early on. They usually go by Mid March. you can call Kim Beddall and check ,,

but it is very late for them

they do not eat for the entire time that they are down here

and they are only waiting for the little ones to get old enough to hold their breath underwater long enough to swim back up north where their food supply is

some of them come from as far away as Norway and so have a long swim ahead of them
 

Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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I have seen whales in Samana bay during this time frame. Mother and calf humpback whales.

Yes, it is very possible you might have seen a whale or 2 in Samana Bay in late March. The whales do not arrive together and do not leave together. Many whales are already on their way back.

Last to leave are mothers with newborn calves. As mountainannie indicated, a mother with a very young calf will be waiting until she believes the calf is strong enough to survive the trip to her feeding grounds, which might be Iceland.
But unless Kim Beddall knows that there are enough whales around to justify taking money for an excursion, she will have stopped the tours for this year.

However, not everyone with a boat of some sort is as honest with the public as she is. Which is why I advised the OP to check with the people in Whale Samana before giving anybody money to take them to see whales. If the few mothers with calves are not found, the money is not going to be refunded.

Thee is no better source of information on the whales than Kim. She is the founder of whale watching in Samana Bay.
 

LTSteve

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Jul 9, 2010
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Usually by the middle of March the whales have begun their migration north. Google Kim Beddall and there will be an e-mail address that you can send a message prior to your arrival to see if there is any chance of this happening. If not, take a tour to Los Haities National Park, which also originates at the docks in Samana. There are a number of tour companys offering this tour or if you are a little more adventurous try zip lining, wwwsamanazipline.com. Have fun.

LTSteve