I appreciate the informative responses. It seems that the best experience will be to stay at Cayo Levantado and include Kim's boat tour as an outing. @ Recycle, you actually can see the whales offshore from CL beach? I understand its not the same as being up close on the boat, but can you see the whales with any clarity - or a mere distant plop!! In my perfect world - i would sit on my oceanfront balcony or beach chair - while spotting an occasional whale breaching. I want to be able to describe, and plan our upcoming trip as best I can.
A bit more of my back story. I stayed @ El Portillo a couple years ago... i did Kim's boat tour, where we spotted 2-3 whales that late January morning. I thought they could have been displaced by the NCL cruise ship that sat further out in the bay!! I enjoyed the overall boat tour and her narrations very much... i deboarded her boat @ CL, where I was fortunate to have a tour and lunch at CL ( i work in the travel industry). I thought to myself that CL is perhaps close enough to the whale area to see them from the beach. That would be an added bonus and additional reason to pay their high rates.!!
That is a very handy map. One of these days I will fly into Punta Cana and venture North to the whale area. But that's a casual hike that I will do when traveling alone, or with a single companion. I truly look forward to THAT adventure. !! The D.R. is one of my favorite hangouts - so beautiful, calm & exciting!!
Happy Travels,
ST :squareeye
