Samaná

The province

Get to know Samaná

The province of Samaná occupies the peninsula of the same name, a mountainous stretch of land covered in coconut palms in the northeast of the country, between the Atlantic and Samaná Bay. Rivers drop into waterfalls, the coast alternates long beaches and hidden coves, and the landscape is the greenest on the Dominican coast.

The region has its own history: in the 19th century it received freed African-American immigrants from the United States, whose descendants maintain Protestant churches, English surnames and dishes such as fish with coconut milk. Later fishermen arrived and, in recent decades, Europeans who opened guesthouses and restaurants.

The guide lists in the province the destination Península de Samaná, with the towns of Santa Bárbara de Samaná, Las Terrenas and Las Galeras. Samaná, the capital, has the port where the humpback whale boats depart, which visit the bay from January to March, and to Cayo Levantado. Las Terrenas, on the north coast, is the liveliest town, with the beaches of Cosón and Bonita, and the El Limón waterfall sits between them. Las Galeras, on the eastern tip, provides access to wild beaches like Rincón and Frontón.

To the west, the town of Sánchez and the bay lead to Los Haitises National Park, with mogotes, mangroves and Taíno caves, visited by boat from Samaná.