Cuba?

[wardric]

In the meantime, my idea of a dream dive trip is to go to Santiago and dive among the wrecks of the Spanish fleet that was sunk in 1898. Has anyone done this? I'd love to read the details of your trip -- how you got there from José Martí ... how long it took ... where to stay in Santiago ... what the diving was like. Will US regulators fit Cuban steel tanks ... or have they gone to aluminum like the rest of the world?

I dived the Cristobal Colon a few years back. I was staying at Marea del Portillo but we took a car to get to the site. Roads are in very bad shape. Bridges too. The dive was nice. But sadly, a lot of tourists divers were "salvaging" the ship's artifacts (Ammos, brass stuff, etc.). I didn't get there from José Marti but from Manzanillo. I brought my old Dacor gear so yes, US regs do fit. But the tanks are in Litres and if you rent a reg, it'll mostly be bars instead of psi. Most of the places I went, they had steel tanks rigged for DINs or with the yoke adapter.

I'll be posting a little thread on the cuban dive centers I went to. I'll put a link in here.

 

[Bogtrotter]

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 however with an earlier post regarding the equipment- it did seem a bit beat-up and yes we used very old steel tanks that were probably around when JFK was president. However the DM's were very professional and I heard from other divers, mostly Brits, that they had recently dived in Cayo Coco and were supplied brand new equipment, so perhaps it varies on that front.

I've read that near Varadero there are over 40 sites. A couple of notable wrecks- the Russian P383 destroyer was sunk in the late 90's as an artificial reef as well as the oil tanker Sletrea.

 

[wardric]

I was near Holguin too 2 weeks ago. old short steel tanks and if you rent the reg, it will probably leak a bit. But BOG is right, in other centers they have brand new gear. It varies greatly but the divestaff is very professionnal and nice.

 

[VivaCaribe]

Friends have dived that 1898 battleship sunk in the battle of Santiago de Cuba. It is done as a shore dive. They are history buffs and found it very interesting. (Wrecks are not my interest.) From Jose Marti airport (Havana) I think it is 4-500 miles to Santiago, so most people would fly. You could tour in a rental car. I dont think you will have any problem w your reg, whether they use steel or aluminum.

 

[Polar_diver]

Dived in Holguin (Costa Verde), Cienfuegos (pig's bay) and Cayo Largo.

Holguin got new tanks (dins & yokes), BC and regs in 2010 after an hurricane destroyed the dive shop in 2009.

Cayo Largo: some of the best dives I did in 20 years of diving. Cristal clear water and abondant marine life. There is no fishing around this tiny island...

 

[DiveTheGalapagos]

Almost went to dive Jardines de la Reina, the only place that really interests me in Cuba, but a six month sinus infection, 14 visits to 5 different EMTs prohibited diving for me. Stopped listening to docs and bought a zpak at a pharmacy here and finally, I can dive again. Still want to go on a Jardines de la Reina liveaboard. If you have the time...

 

[sammy631000]

Visited Cuba>Holguin/Guardalavaca beach Oct/2010 (1 week) and Jan/2011 (2 days). The Guardalavaca beaches have three enclaves of all-inclusive resorts, the Playa Esmeralda area has the highest-end all-inclusives (and I believe includes free diving).

Guardalavaca beach is a 45 minute taxi / transfer bus north from Holguin International airport. The main Guardalavaca beach (which includes a public Cuban beach) has the Club Amigo 3-star and Brisas Guardalavaca 4-star all-inclusives. At end of the Cuban beach is the Eagle-Ray Marlin dive centre which services both hotels (courtesy dive boat pickups from in front of hotels). The public beach has several beach hut bar/restaurants serving good seafood, although most tourists being from the all-inclusives never give them a try. Btw cheapest digs are across from this beach, called Villa Cabanas at $25CUC a night (comparable to a cheap motel, have TV's, sometimes fridge, beds a bit worn).

Playa Esmeralda area is about 10km west of the Guardalavaca beach proper; many dive sites are visited from both dive centers. Courtesy shuttle bus runs back and forth from these beach areas for $5CUC all day pass.

Dive masters from the Eagle-Ray dive center are professional and super-friendly. Gear up is done from the dive shop on the beach, and then to shore to board 20ft runabouts. Majority of dive sites are within 1km of beach.

Coral is nice, mostly smaller fish, moray eels, lobster and crabs. Couple sunk fishing trawlers also of interest. Note that Cuba north coast diving in January/February can be a crapshoot due to north cold fronts coming through.

Cuba is a winter sun destination with many north coast resorts (and water sports including diving), however, the best Cuba north coast DIVE destinations are considered to be Cayo Coco (so many fish, aquarium feeling) and Habana (the Blue Circuit- many excellent shipwrecks).

I will be contributing post on my 'Jan/2011 trip Cuba south coast' for folks interested in more Cuba dive feedback.

 

[Ritchard]

I planned to get to that Brisas Guardalavaca with the family on January 21st. I opted instead to save a few bucks and took a super blowout deal on a Puerto Plata resort. Seems like I should have spent the money - this sounds great.

 

[Bogtrotter]

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!

 

[sammy631000]

I dove in Santiago de Cuba (see personal experience bottom of post), however, there are several hotel areas and corresponding dive zones. I think your choice of Brisas Sierra Mar as hotel for Santiago de Cuba is good based on dive area descriptions below (yanked off the adventure travel site wowcuba, under dive information).

Accommodations: Bucanero, Los Galeones, Brisas Sierra Mar, San Juan (requires daily transportation from Santiago city to dive zone)

The Scuba Diving: The area is primarily concentrated in the Baconao Park Zone, with the exception of Chivirico to the west (covered separately in a link below). Sixteen dive sites are in the immediate vicinity of the Bucanero hotel offered by Marlin in Bucanero. There are thirteen more sites in front of Daiquiri Beach. In the eastern end of the park there are at least 6 more notable sites accessed via the Sigua center. Characteristics of the area include the formation of large coral crags that communicate through tunnels and narrow channels. There are large fish, crustaceans and mollusks. The bottoms hold shipwrecks where you can personally feed enormous groupers. Sunken Spanish galleons are the main attraction in the Sierra Mar dive center.


Personal experience: I did 2 days diving in Santiago de Cuba November 2010. Hotel was Club Amigo Carosol in an isolated stretch of coast about 90 minutes from city centre. Dive shop is a wooden shack on beach 100 meters east of hotel. Nice divemasters, average gear from look (had my own), but not that impressed with diving since much damaged coral, couple sunk fishing boats.