Cuba or other dive destination ideas for a week's getaway?

[localdivah]

Fellow cold-water refugees, I come searching for inspiration.

I have between 7-10 days of unexpected vacation starting in one week and need to nail down an itinerary centered around diving. It's unusual to get more than 3-4 days off, so I was thinking of getting out further than the usual Caribbean destinations/Cozumel/etc.

My main interests:
- Up to about 7 hrs travel time from either Boston or Ft. Lauderdale/Miami (where I'll start my vacation)
- Relatively inexpensive living (~$120/day including diving) -- any place that would accomodate a former backpacker/hosteler
- Variety of land-based scenery/activities (of the natural type)
- Unusual diving - I'm not interested in wrecks, but do enjoy macro/photography and less trafficked sites


So far, my top thoughts are:
- Cuba (logistics a bit tricky, going through Mexico or Bahamas, not sure if they're cracked down on US visitors yet)
- Affordable liveaboard (probably would depend on if I could find a last minute deal)
- Bay Islands (Honduras)
- Costa Rica

Does anyone know of a good travel deal right now or have experiences diving Cuba or Costa Rica?

Thanks,
Louie

 

[reefseal]

Cuba sounds so cool. Would love to someday dive there. Technically, it's illegal for US Citizens to travel there and spend US Greenbacks there though people do it all the time. As you say, go through Canada, Mexico but just don't have your passport stamped. You'll need a local as a guide and spanish will be very helpful. The cheapest live aboard is blackbeard cruises. Very rustic though I think tough. I don't think diving in Bahamas is that great. Good luck

 

[lord1234]

....how are you going to get to Cuba? Got a bus with some oil barrels strapped to it to float across?

Why not Mexico? Bonaire? Bahamas, or other carribean isles?

--L1234

 

[Scuba-Bill]

I vote for Roatan. The diving is great, it's easy to get to, and the West End has everything you need. You can connect through Houston or Miami on Continental or TACA. Lodging, food, and diving are inexpensive.

Logding: Posado Arco Iris
Diving: Coconut Tree
Food: Everywhere
Drinks: The Twisted Toucan

Enjoy!

 

[ajames54]

Apparently it is not as good an idea as it once was to travel to Cuba via Canada.. Homeland Security or which ever other "Big Brother" like department now recieves flight manifests for all planes traveling through U.S. Airspace. I've not heard of anyone getting tagged as of yet and I usually end up meeting at least one American when ever I go to Cuba. But "they" will have your name address and passport number and they will know you landed in Cuba..

Flights from Cancun, Mexico City and Kingston Jamaca are apparently cheap and easy to get... with the benefit of leaving no record of where you went after you landed in Jamaca or Mexico

All that being said I really like Cuba both for the people and the diving.. the lack of any serious comercial fisheries has meant that the reefs are in good shape (1) and there are lots of fish of a size that would end up on a plate elsewhere.

A couple of other comments if you choose to go..

Try to find a resort rather than a hotel .. the resorts are often opperated in partnership with Canadian, European or other companies and just run better. There are apparently all inclusive packages that you can get in Jamaca or Mexico (like the ones in Canada (see above)) where you pay nothing in Cuba or to Cubans .. the theory is that this lets you around that whole "trading with the enemy act" since YOU'RE not the one doing it..

If you try to get things done on the local economy (bus trips, taxi, meals etc) it takes forever and the quality is questionable, currency exchange is available but it is almost always a CASH transaction Credit Cards sometimes work but there are crazy fees.. if it is available the most efficinet way to exchange funds is in the form of Euro or USD travelers cheques.

(1) Last November on the north west coast I noticed that a lot of the Coral was dying off apparently it is happening all over the caribean .. I have heard that it is not as bad on the south and west of the island.

 

[vetdiver]

My vote goes to Utila. Less trafficked than Roatan, cheap as dirt, and this time of year, you'll probably see whale sharks (snorkeling during SI's, not diving). We dove nonstop there - 4/day - so I can't comment on topside activities. But we stayed at Laguna Beach Resort, which is one of the more expensive operations, and with food and unlimited diving included, it was less than $800/person.

Would love to dive Cuba - there are certainly ways (i.e., donations to companies that offer aid, etc) to make it legal to travel there direct from the states, though that is not the most economical route. There is also the "passport stamp on a piece of paper" method when you go in from another country. I have a coworker that has been there via sailboat a number of times, and I have yet to see him get dragged out in handcuffs. (Sometimes, I wish I could witness such an event.)

Have a great time, wherever you go.

 

[localdivah]

I've heard the same thing -- but did not know if getting immigration to not stamp your passport was a semi-cocked idea or would involve dropping some currency. Any idea of costs and ease of hooking something up from Cancun? Ie, is it possible to arrange a flight in advance from Cancun, or is it pretty commonplace to just hop a commuter plane from there once I arrive? I remember that there were a lot of tour places that arranged such deals, although that was a few years ago.

I'm surprised by your recommendation for staying in resorts. I have heard about staying in private homes which would give a great experience meeting hosts as well -- I'll be checking the Lonely Planet boards for directions, but don't suppose you have any experiences with this? I speak Spanish, so don't need the tourist infrastructure support.

What about the dive industry there? Should I arrange anything beforehand? I'd probably be bringing all my own gear minus tanks. Are there shops or is it more or less going out with private boats?

Apparently it is not as good an idea as it once was to travel to Cuba via Canada.. Homeland Security or which ever other "Big Brother" like department now recieves flight manifests for all planes traveling through U.S. Airspace. I've not heard of anyone getting tagged as of yet and I usually end up meeting at least one American when ever I go to Cuba. But "they" will have your name address and passport number and they will know you landed in Cuba..

Flights from Cancun, Mexico City and Kingston Jamaca are apparently cheap and easy to get... with the benefit of leaving no record of where you went after you landed in Jamaca or Mexico

All that being said I really like Cuba both for the people and the diving.. the lack of any serious comercial fisheries has meant that the reefs are in good shape (1) and there are lots of fish of a size that would end up on a plate elsewhere.

A couple of other comments if you choose to go..

Try to find a resort rather than a hotel .. the resorts are often opperated in partnership with Canadian, European or other companies and just run better. There are apparently all inclusive packages that you can get in Jamaca or Mexico (like the ones in Canada (see above)) where you pay nothing in Cuba or to Cubans .. the theory is that this lets you around that whole "trading with the enemy act" since YOU'RE not the one doing it..

If you try to get things done on the local economy (bus trips, taxi, meals etc) it takes forever and the quality is questionable, currency exchange is available but it is almost always a CASH transaction Credit Cards sometimes work but there are crazy fees.. if it is available the most efficinet way to exchange funds is in the form of Euro or USD travelers cheques.

(1) Last November on the north west coast I noticed that a lot of the Coral was dying off apparently it is happening all over the caribean .. I have heard that it is not as bad on the south and west of the island.

 

[TeddyDiver]

Check "Jardines del Reina" in Cuba. Avsome place! There are some European (Italian?) travel agencies selling 5days liveaboards there.
Flying via Mexico, Jamaica etc not difficult, and they don't stamp ANY passports there so no worries. Take only Euro's or Canuc bucks, US credit cards not accepted and quess travel cheques neither. USD exchance 10% extra"fee"..

 

[ajames54]

I've heard the same thing -- but did not know if getting immigration to not stamp your passport was a semi-cocked idea or would involve dropping some currency. Any idea of costs and ease of hooking something up from Cancun? Ie, is it possible to arrange a flight in advance from Cancun, or is it pretty commonplace to just hop a commuter plane from there once I arrive? I remember that there were a lot of tour places that arranged such deals, although that was a few years ago.

You don't need to worry about a stamp in your passport.. they don't do that anymore, my wife wanted one and asked but they couldn't / wouldn't do it. In all honesty as a Canadian there has been no need for me to look into this stuff too much, last month while flying into Cancun on the way to Tulum I did notice a deal being advertised for flight and accomodation in Havana (4 days) at 219 USD. Most of my info comes from the Americans I've met there, they have by and large gone the "Book an all inclusive and fly through Jamaica / Mexico route". www.cubalinda.com is one name that sticks in my head from talking to others.

I'm surprised by your recommendation for staying in resorts. I have heard about staying in private homes which would give a great experience meeting hosts as well -- I'll be checking the Lonely Planet boards for directions, but don't suppose you have any experiences with this? I speak Spanish, so don't need the tourist infrastructure support.

Speaking Spanish will definately help you out, but as to staying with locals I would think twice.. by and large the people have nothing, they will quite happily take you into their homes and give you a place to stay or feed you but they may have no way to help you get anywhere, let alone a dive site. The Lonly Planet will have better info than I do.
My wife is pretty good with Spanish and we've visited the families of friends we have from here, but we have not tried to do anything other than visit. Even getting a taxi to take you somewhere can be an ordeal, we found it was just easier to get a car and driver for the day.

What about the dive industry there? Should I arrange anything beforehand? I'd probably be bringing all my own gear minus tanks. Are there shops or is it more or less going out with private boats?

This is yet another reason that I would point you in the direction of a hotel or resort. There really is no dive industry outside the tourist infrastructure.. there are virtually no private boats in the hands of individuals, and certainly no shops where you can pick up anything you might have forgotten.

Take a DIN/Yoke addapter and a bunch of O-rings (having your own gear makes a big differance but those two items may be hard to come by)

O-rings, Save a dive Kits, and Fish ID books seem to make the most apreciated tips, Money is nice but some things are not available at any price.

We have either had great luck with the dive staff or they are all really good .. small groups and Dive leaders that really know their stuff..


OK I just checked cubalinda and their site is slow but there is a lot of info there including schedules and online reservation info for Cancun-Havana Flights/hotels etc.

 

[localdivah]

Done. I just finished booking all my arrangements -- I'll be in the Keys this weekend anyhow, so will just go from Miami to Cancun (using my driver's license instead of a passport) and then take a $300 R/T hop to Havana. Cuba apparently does not stamp passports at all anymore.

Once there, it's a bit fuzzy, but like TeddyDiver suggested, I have read great things about Jardines de la Reina -- it's a marine park -- set of small cayes in the south of the mainland.

Other areas I've heard good things about:

• Jardines de la Reina (South)
• Maria La Gorda (2 hrs from regional airport or 5 hrs by car)
• Isla de Juventud
• Bay of Pigs

Read about Cayo Coco also, but heard that it's pretty touristy. I'll probably stay in one of the Casas Particulares where private families get permission to rent one or two rooms. My Spanish is rusty, but passable, so that might be more fun.

I have gotten an offer of dive guide services from a local who private messaged me after I posted on a thread on the Thorn Tree Cuba forum and I'm a bit iffy about that. Does anyone have any personal recommendations? After reading through a lot of posts and observations, I have to say that before even showing up, I'm somewhat paranoid about being seen as just a walking ATM.