The Caribbean
THE SILVER BANKS
Close Encounters with Humpback Whales
Season: February-March
Visibility: 30-50m/100-165ft
Water Temperature: 25-26°C/77-79°F
Snorkeller and humpback in Silverbanks (Charles Hood)
Liveaboards:
Turks and Caicos Aggressor (departs on Saturdays from February to April)
Snorkeling opportunities - with Humpback Whales
Willing to share option
Can be combined with one of the many other Caribbean destinations!
In February and March, Turks & Caicos Aggressor ventures out to the Silver Banks, the largest mating and calving grounds of humpback whales in the world!
Turks & Caicos Aggressor has extensive experience in this remote area, situated to the north of the Dominican Republic and to the east of the Turks & Caicos Islands, so guests can be certain of some truly remarkable whale encounters. Every day two shaded RIBs will each take a maximum of 9 passengers out from the boat on twice daily expeditions to meet the whales for a three and a half hour encounter involving snorkeling and swimming with these leviathans of the deep. Turks & Caicos Aggressor will be moored close by. The highlights of this adventure will be when you slip into the water for encounters with these magnificent mammals. Perhaps a mother with her calf alongside may glide by, or maybe a female and her amorous escort will spiral around you for an hour. This rare opportunity to enter the domain of the whales and share their world is one that you will remember all your life. Indeed, dreams are made of experiences like this!
Even when not snorkeling the excitement continues as you are very likely to see some spectacular breaching, with adult whales hurling themselves almost wholly out of the water before plunging back in with an awesome splash! Sometimes they breach close to the RIBs, which is something you will never forget!
In the evenings there will be slide and video presentations on topics including anatomy, behaviour, ‘rowdy groups’, feeding, mother and calf relationships, underwater behaviour and hydrophone recordings of the songs of the North Atlantic Humpback Whale.
Turks & Caicos Aggressor departs from Ocean’s World Dock, Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic every Saturday between early February and late March.
FLIGHTS: Prices from about $629 return from Miami to Puerto Plata.
The whales wave the Turks and Caicos Aggressor goodbye (Aggressor Fleet)