Dominican Republic · Atlantic Ocean

Silver Bank

Peak humpback interaction season in the North Atlantic.

Silver Bank is a shallow Atlantic seamount where 5,000+ humpback whales gather each winter to mate and calve — one of the world's two licensed in-water humpback swim destinations (the other is Tonga). Snorkel/freedive only; no scuba.

Good season

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

January–April only.

Trip duration

7-night liveaboard from Puerto Plata.

Dive style

Snorkel only — scuba is not permitted at Silver Bank.

Dive level

Comfortable swimmer; freediving experience helpful but not required.

Reef health

No survey on file

We don’t yet have a survey or thermal-stress record on file for this location. That doesn’t mean the reef is healthy — it means we can’t say either way.

Dive sites here

1 curated

Silver Bank Humpback Swim

Permit-controlled humpback whale sanctuary 130 km off the Dominican Republic where North Atlantic humpbacks gather each winter to breed and …

0–5 mnever dived+

Gear

What to bring

Basic kit

• 🥽Mask
• 🧥Wetsuit
• 🎒BCD
• 🫁Regulator
• 🦶Fins
• ⌚Dive computer

Site-specific add-ons

Some dive sites here call for extra gear. Check the individual site page for full context.

• 🦶Freediving fins — Long blades close the gap on a moving whale faster than scuba fins. · Silver Bank Humpback Swim
• 🛠️Underwater camera — Bucket-list footage opportunity — wide-angle preferred. · Silver Bank Humpback Swim

What divers say

“Eye contact with a humpback calf and its mother holding station 5m below — I'll never see anything more powerful.”