Cuba Diving

[donostler]

Does anyone have any information good or bad on diving in Cuba?

 

[alijtaylor]

I really enjoyed Los Jardines de la Reina, trip report here http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=87125
Alison

 

[scubamickey]

Check the links on the bottom of this page. This has been discussed rather recently.
I wouldn't recommend diving in Cuba.

 

[mgingras]

Idove twice time
First in varadero and when it' windy you have to cross the island in buss
to go in the carabian sea like pigs bay or cienfugo it's very nice.
We did saturno cave in varadero it'exceptional site.
Last time we were to santiago the cuba it's nice but it.s not Cozumel.
This week i go to cayo Largo . I'll give a report when i.m back.
2 years ago i met a mem from Chicago in cancun and he go to Cuba by Cancun

 

[scuba_guy62]

I was in Cayo Largo from Jan. 14 to 21st. Was able to get in 5 dives...4 afternoon and one morning. The cost for the 5 dive package was $150 Cuban Convertible Pesos (the new tourist currency) and a 10 dive was priced at $300 Cuban Conv. Pesos and the diving was, in my opinion, pretty good> I paid by credit card (cannot be drawn on US bank..and it worked out to just under $200 Canadian for the 5 dives or you can pay cash. The set up on the island provides for two dives per day. The morning dive is the deeper dive and the pickup from your hotel to the marina is scheduled for 8:30 am "Cuban" time. Cuban time is like most caribbean time...maybe a little late but not often early. The dive usually bottoms out around the 90 to 100ft. mark and is 45 minutes....almost to the minute. The afternoon dive has a pick up time of 2pm and the dive is usually 45 feet or so and the dive time is appx. 50 minutes...sometimes this goes a little over. The dives vary and vis. on my week was at the worst around 30ft. and around 70ft. on the better days. Some dives had huge schools of fish, grunts, snappers, some big groupers, tarpon, barracudas, Queen Angels, damsels...and many of the smaller reef fish and crustaceans, some sharks...rays...good size sea turtles...some were more coral and bottom feature oriented. The dive guides for the most part were quite professional and safety oriented, but there were occassions when divers perhaps were over diving their experience or fitness levels. The tanks were for the most part al. 80's and the rental gear (I took my own stuff) was a mix. Mares gear in fairly decent shape...but the wetsuits were...well...quite worn and shorties. The water temp. was between 78 and 82 f. During my week there was only one boat working (the bigger boat) and some dives had 15 plus divers and some only a handfull. The groups were generally split between nationalities (there were groups of French, Italian, Polish, Canadian, and some Spanish (Central and S. American). The dives were all guided and the safety stop enforced. I was diving with a new diver (had only done the 4 basic. cert. dives in a quarry in Ohio) and the divemaster in our group paid very good attention to her on the first few dives and went out of his way to try and find the highlights of each site for everyone. She was very impressed with her first set of ocean dives. After most dives you could ask for a lobster lunch which cost 10 pesos and was grilled up on the boat for you to enjoy aprés dive and beer and sodas were avail. for a peso each. (this was a little enterprise run by the boat captain and the lobster was both fresh and plentiful).
The island has no native population and workers..who come mainly from the Isle of Youth in the same archipelago work 20 days on and 10 days off. I left most of my gear at the dive center through the week without incident. There is a Turtle sanctuary next to the dive center which costs a peso to see. I have no problem recommending both the island for a quiet holiday getaway...and the diving for some pleasant and stress free diving. I will not compare to some of the other places I have been in Cuba or the world...but suffice it to say...I would..go back in a heartbeat. Any questions....let me know and I will try my best. ciao..J>

 

[donostler]

Thanks everyone!

 

[donostler]

Thanks for the info...how did you get to Cuba from the US? I understand that you need to go though canada or mexico? What kind of documentation do you need to enter and more importantly leave the country? Any problems once you re-enter the US?

 

[Torontonian]

Two years ago we stayed at Beaches Veradero. In Beaches or Sandals resorts the diving is included. Can do up to 2 dives a day. The diving in Veradero was so so. Not a lot of marine life, and some coral growth. The sea got rough for a few days, and one day they directed me to downtown Veradero to take a bus south.

It was just over 2 hr ride and we got to Bay of Pigs. From shore it was only a few minutes to a vertical wall. It was fantistic. The coral growth and the colors were very good. For the second dive we went to a wreck. Both dives were around 25 m.

 

[scuba_guy62]

From my experience there seem to be plenty of Americans that enter Cuba from either Mexico or Canada or another Caribbean/latin American country. They do not stamp your passport when you enter or leave Cuba...they use a tourist card/visa system. You are also penalized for changing US dollars into the tourist peso...so you would be better with Canadian Dollars or Euros....as far as getting back into your own country if you are returning from Canada I suppose you could omit the Cuban part and the same for Mexico..although Mexico might more easily explain the tan. You would want to be very careful about bringing any goods back from Cuba as this may tip of your customs and immigration folk. There are legal ways for Americans to study in Cuba and some web research can give you the answers to these questions...and point out the downside if you transgress any US laws.

 

[Damselfish]

If you are a US citizen doing this illegally (not in one of the sanctioned ways) - even if you don't get caught it is still just as illegal and there are major fines if they do catch you. It's my understanding that paying for a package in another country is not a way around the prohibition against spending money either as some would suggest. The money would still go to businesses in Cuba to pay for lodging, meals, etc. - even though it's not directly out of your pocket there it's still not a way around the rule. (All this is a completely separate issue from whether one thinks the rules make any sense.)