The Bridges of Samaná, also called the “Bridges to Nowhere,” are a string of bridges connecting the small islands that stretch across the outside of Samaná harbor. They are remnants from a project in the 1960s and ’70s by President Joaquín Balaguer to build a restaurant on one of the islands, connected to the mainland by a pedestrian bridge. The restaurant never opened, but the bridges and the shell of the building remain as curious relics of recent history.
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Bridges of Samaná
The Bridges of Samaná, also called the “Bridges to Nowhere,” are a string of bridges connecting the small islands that stretch across the outside of Samaná harbor. They are remnants from a project in the 1960s and ’70s by President Joaquín Balaguer to build a restaurant on one of the islands, connected to the mainland by a pedestrian bridge. The restaurant never opened, but the bridges and the shell of the building remain as curious relics of recent history.
Humpback Whales
Visitors to Bahía de Samaná during the winter months have a fantastic opportunity to spot humpback whales. Thousands of these behemoths migrate from the North Atlantic to the waters around the Dominican Republic to breed and give birth to their calves. Peak whale-watching season runs from January through March, and the magnificent mammals put on exhilarating shows, often leaping from the water or slapping their tails and fins on the surface.
One of the Most Special Towns in the Dominican
Officially, the town is known as Santa Barbara de Samana, or sometimes Samana City, or even just Samana. It’s also the name for the pretty bay, the peninsula and the province... so if you decide to go to Samana, you’ll pretty much be there no matter where you actually are! Samana Bay is the site of a January-March influx of Humpback Whales, and often you can see them breaching from shore, or even from the famous bridge. Other wildlife in the bay includes frigate birds and pelicans, especially on the protected side in Los Haitises National Park.
