Samana has always attracted visitors, not only because of its beautiful white sandy beaches, but also because of its tranquility and strategic location in the Caribbean. Historically, it was the site of the first encounter between Indians and Spanish colonizers in the Americas.
The Samana peninsula is located in the extreme northeastern tip of the Dominican Republic. Its diversity and cultural heritage are curious and fascinating. Vestiges of the original inhabitants, in the form of petroglyphs and pictograms on cave walls, can still be seen. Protestant, Methodist and Catholic churches abound, showing the religious plurality of its inhabitants.
People still dance the African “Bamboula” and the traditional “Bachata”, whilst the Anglo-Caribbean culinary heritage can be enjoyed in the form of a rice and fish dish with coconut called “don plin”, as well as “Johnny cakes”. Dominican Creole dishes such as “moro”, “asopao” and “sancocho” are also available. There are also a host of natural attractions; you can visit interesting towns, caves and caverns, coves and islands in the middle of the bay and remnants of jungle amidst a man-made landscape of large coconut plantations with streams, rocky outcrops, hidden beaches and coves.Biosphere reserves are protected spaces in land or marine environments that have been chosen as representative samples of a country's cultural and natural heritage.
Samana Bay and Escocesa Bay are two of the most beautiful and attractive natural sites in the world. The famous humpback whales come to breed in these waters and can be seen between December and March. They perform a beautiful courtship ritual that brings together over 3,000 whales and constitutes a stunning spectacle.
Gems of nature, such Las Terrenas, can be found in the Samana peninsula, where Playa Bonita is located. This beach is also known as "Playa de las Ballenas", or Whales' Beach, due to the whale-like rock formations in the sea. The striking El Coson beach and Cayo Levantado, an island measuring one square kilometer with coconut tress and white sandy beaches that make it an ideal place for visitors, are just some this area's other tourist attractions. Others include: Salto del Limon, a beautiful waterfall of over 30 meters that empties into a natural pool; the Haitises National Park, famous for the delicate ecological diversity of its mangrove-lined coast and its rock formations, pictographs and petroglyphs; Playa Rincon, which was recently chosen as the world's second best beach; and Las Galeras, an old fishing village that today has magnificent white sandy beaches nestling behind coral reefs.
