The Caribbean

THE SILVER BANKS

Close Encounters with Humpback Whales

Snorkeller and humpback in Silverbanks (Charles Hood)

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

For full details of Turks & Caicos Aggressor please see our Turks & Caicos holiday description.

Turks & Caicos Aggressor departs from Ocean’s World Dock, Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic every Saturday between early February and late March.

Price: from about £1393. Includes: airport transfers; 7 nights cruise on Turks & Caicos Aggressor on a twin/share basis with full board, including soft drinks, wine, beer and spirits; 4.5 days of snorkeling with the whales. Reductions for those 65 or over and extra weeks. A whale sanctuary fee and port fee of US$150 (subject to change) is not included in the package price and will be collected on board. Professional photographers or videographers must pay an additional sanctuary fee of US$100 (subject to change). Dinner on the last night is not included, but guests will be provided with guidance about good local restaurants. Deposit: £750.

Single Occupancy Supplement: 50% of the cruise cost (but you can avoid paying the supplement if you are willing to share a cabin).

FLIGHTS: Prices from about £896 to Puerto Plata. There are daily flight connections to Puerto Plata. We will quote you the airfare applicable, based on routing, season, current fare levels and booking class availability. Our quote will include all taxes and fuel supplements applicable at the time of quotation, as well as our service charge. The usual airfare deposit is £300.

COMBINATIONS: As you will most likely travel to Puerto Plata and the Silver Banks via Miami, you can combine a visit to see the area’s awesome Humpbacks with a conventional diving holiday at any other Caribbean destination. Talk to us about the possibilities.