Dolphin-watching boat trip from Sámara

Boats launch from the sheltered south end of Playa Sámara, where the waves are small enough to wade out and climb aboard. Then they head 3 to 16 km offshore to look for dolphins: bottlenose, spotted and Central American spinner dolphins live off this coast all year, and the bottlenose often ride the bow wave right under the front of the boat. Olive ridley turtles surface out there, and humpbacks pass through on two migrations, roughly January to March and July to October.

The usual boat is a stable double-hulled one with shade and a toilet, and the trip takes about four hours with a snorkelling stop on the reef near shore or at Isla Chora, depending on the tide. Sightings are never certain, so some mornings you spend a long time searching. Children must be at least four.