
Samaná Peninsula: The Dominican Republic's Playa Rincón is one of the Samaná Peninsula's sandy centerpieces. The peninsula stretches into the Atlantic on the country's northeastern side.

Playa Frontón: The palm-lined Playa Frontón boasts great snorkeling.

El Limón: Riding to El Limón waterfall on horseback is a popular excursion.

Humpback whales: From mid-January through March, humpback whales feed, mate and birth in the area's three major breeding grounds: Silver Bank, Navidad Bank and the Bay of Samaná.

Excursions: The Bay of Samaná, facing the peninsula's south shore, has near-daily whale-watching boat excursions departing in-season from the bay-front town of Santa Barbara de Samaná.

Splendid isolation: This corner of the Dominican Republic has long been synonymous with uncrowded, long white sand beaches flanked by mountains, craggy limestone cliffs and rolling hills blanketed in coconut trees.

Los Haitises National Park: From the Bay of Samaná, a nine-mile boat ride south takes you into Los Haitises National Park -- one of the largest protected areas in the Dominican Republic.

Spectacular parkland: Los Haitises National Park is an important bird-nesting sanctuary, and its unusual landscape alone is worth a glimpse: rock mounds 30 meters high (almost 100 feet) punctuate the water.

Surfing: From December through September, surfers and kitesurfers are seen flipping and gliding off the area's coveted beaches.

Riding: Exploring on horseback is a popular way to see the Samaná Peninsula.


