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I will likely be going to either Cayo Coco in April or Santiago de Cuba. The hotels we're looking at are Sol Cayo Coco, as well as Brisas Sierra Mar near Santiago. Has anyone one been to these, and/or provide a quick synopsis of the diving opportunities there? Many thanks!

3mm shorty works for me in the Caribbean, but I guess it depends on the person, depth, location etc. I do see some people shivering in them when I feel comfortable.

Whoever said money can't buy happiness obviously wasn't a scuba diver. Congrats! :)

Two resorts, same ownership, share Esmeralda Beach. We ourselves stayed at Sol Rio de Luna y Mares, which is a four star. The price for a week was just over $1000(CDN) for us. Food was quite good for Cuban and the staff are very friendly. Note, the rooms are more three star but very clean. We've...

I recently dived with someone with a significant 'tache and he was saying he always has problems getting a solid seal, but I'm guessing he doesn't dive frequently enough to justify losing it. I imagine it just involves more frequent clearing and depends how much of an annoyance it is.

3-5 km's daily and do a few weights about every other day- concentrating on the core. 700 cals for a dive seems a bit much, but I suppose it depends on a few factors- such as current and length of dive. I find a good 30 min snorkel off the beach to be more exerting than your average scuba dive.

I saw a guy's tank drop out of the straps- it was dangling down around his butt with his head jarred upward and back. He was in total panic mode trying to doggy paddle to the surface- the rest of us, some of us also newbies, kind of just stared in amazement :shocked2: Fortunately the DM was...

I stayed at the Iberostar Daiquiri on Guillermo a few years back, it was very nice and the food pretty good for Cuba. If you're looking for something more on the upscale side you might want to check out Paradisus Rio de Oro in Holguin as well- five star with diving included.

For dive locations this is a pretty good guide- Cuba Junky - Scuba Diving in Cuba

Wow- I've traveled quite a bit in the Caribbean and have never heard of such a thing. Were they actually spearing and penetrating the bags?

LOL- just got from there. Yes the snorkeling is really good. Dives are included as part of the All-inclusive package. Shuttle bus leaves for Pesquero beach twice each morning for dives- deep then shallow. ..just noticed the date on your post! I guess this is just a tad too late :)

Here's a decent guide to diving Cuba: Cuba Junky - Scuba Diving in Cuba As far as equipment goes you should be fine. They get a lot of tourists diving and the DM's are probably as good as anywhere. Don't be surprised if you get old steel tanks though.

I was recently in Cuba diving near Holguin, which is a popular all-inclusive area. There were about 20+ dive sites serviced by at least two operators who are ACUC certified. I don't believe it's noted as a hot spot in Cuba to dive however, but there are some nice wall dives. I will concur...

If I take the PADI AOW would NAUI recognize this as the equivalent if I wanted to do other advanced NAUI courses? thanks

I've been fascinated by fish and marine life for as long as I can remember. As a kid I had several aquariums and always wanted to see them in their natural habitat- so I eventually took the plunge!

In my O/W, which I did ten years ago, only three of the about a dozen students that started the course actually received c-cards. Not sure why so many dropped out throughout the course, the instructor was great and very thorough. A couple of the people on the check-outs that didn't pass had ear...

Very interesting. Many thanks for the info and clarification.

On the other hand, their website claims the US military does use the NAUI standard- bottom of page..? NAUI- NAUI Worldwide Corporate Alliances

Interesting, so I'm guessing you would recommend advanced training beyond O/W using NAUI over PADI? :) I was going to go with PADI as it seems to be more accepted, but maybe I should stick with NAUI. From Wikipedia: "NAUI was founded by Albert Tillman and Neal Hess in 1959. In August 1960...

Yeh I think the O/W courses are about the same for Padi/ Naui/ SDI/ ACUC etc, with a good instructor being the main component to good training. It was the crash courses I was commenting on. NAUI is a not for profit association- their standard is used by the US Navy I believe.