Dann
Registered
As promised in my previous thread, here's a quick write-up on our last trip.
Landed in Camaguay on Dec 06, bus trip to the resort (Be Live Brisas) too about 2 hours. We traveled with friends and picked up a few beers at the airport, so the ride didn't seem that bad.
The resort was ok, it's advertised as a 4-star. Overall experience (grounds, proximity to cities, people, drinks, food, etc), we enjoyed the Jibacoa better, but ymmv.
The beach was also ok. It's vast, far bigger than Jibacoa, but also far dirtier - specially on the outskirts. These you don't really see unless one goes horseback riding or jogging.
Not much to see in the water right off the beach except sand and algae. The reef is a few hundred yards/meters out, and swimming to it is quite a feat. During our duration winds were high and the swells as well. Tried going to the reef, but after ~30 min or so - I gave up.
Dec 07: Dive started as a wall dive and transitioned to a wreck. The wreck was nice, in good condition. It's open to penetration. Didn't penetrate, since I dove with my wife and daughter and neither of them are ready to do it.
Dec 08: We took the full day 2-tank dive + lunch and drinks at Playa Bonita. 1st we did a wall dive. Not much life here, since the wall was facing north, so the sunlight never hit it. Although it did have interesting mushroom-like coral formations. some cudas were spotted along other larger fish (couldn't tell what they were). 2nd dive we hung out at 40-50 ft on top of a coral field. Lots of life here. We found a net stung across a few hundred feet (maybe longer) - used to poach turtles. Since we dove with novice and young divers we didn't want to place them in danger by taking down the net. We planned on returning with the dive op and remove it, but high winds and swells did not allow that - unfortunately.
Dec 09: We did 2 deep and long dives. 1st was a wreck and 2nd was a wall swim-thru. Deco for the day ~20 min. 2nd dive was specially nice since we encountered hundreds of glass fish in the little cave-like tunnel. Also deco-ing along a wall - makes things less boring.
dec 10: Shark dive #1. It starts along the starboard side in the shallows, transitioning onto the port side dropping to about 90ft. Counted 5 bulls on our 20min or so dive. Viz was ok. No 2nd dive today due to high winds.
dec 11: Shark dive #2. A bit murkier today. Counted 6 bulls. We were down for about the same time. Deco-ing above the wreck made things more interesting. Both shark dives ended in 15-20 min drift dives in 20ft or so. No 2nd dive today due to high winds.
Dec 12: Dove a shallow coral garden with my daughter (20-45ft). We had a nice time, hung out for 52min then called it a day. Winds were better today, but we were flying out the next day so - no 2nd dive.
Parting notes:
Since I've only been to Jibacoa before, I can only compare to it. For the viz, marine life (plant and fish) Jibacoa takes the points. It also takes the bonus points because freediving and snorkeling can be done right off the beach since the reef starts in knee deep waters. Worth noting is the wind: high winds in Santa Lucia - daily! Good for kite boarding, sailing, etc - not good for diving. When the Port Authority or Coast Guard prohibits dive boats to go out on the reef - you're stuck diving the channel, which can get boring after a while.
If sharks, wrecks' and tapping 200ft is your thing - than Santa Lucia it is.
We also preferred Jibacoa due to its proximity to Havana and Varadero (both ~45min away). The closest to Santa Lucia is Camaguey at ~2hrs.
If you do go to SL - ask for Lazaro. He's an awesome guy. Took care of us really well. He was our dedicated guide for the 7 days we were there. He'll accommodate you to the best of his abilities.
Landed in Camaguay on Dec 06, bus trip to the resort (Be Live Brisas) too about 2 hours. We traveled with friends and picked up a few beers at the airport, so the ride didn't seem that bad.
The resort was ok, it's advertised as a 4-star. Overall experience (grounds, proximity to cities, people, drinks, food, etc), we enjoyed the Jibacoa better, but ymmv.
The beach was also ok. It's vast, far bigger than Jibacoa, but also far dirtier - specially on the outskirts. These you don't really see unless one goes horseback riding or jogging.
Not much to see in the water right off the beach except sand and algae. The reef is a few hundred yards/meters out, and swimming to it is quite a feat. During our duration winds were high and the swells as well. Tried going to the reef, but after ~30 min or so - I gave up.
Dec 07: Dive started as a wall dive and transitioned to a wreck. The wreck was nice, in good condition. It's open to penetration. Didn't penetrate, since I dove with my wife and daughter and neither of them are ready to do it.
Dec 08: We took the full day 2-tank dive + lunch and drinks at Playa Bonita. 1st we did a wall dive. Not much life here, since the wall was facing north, so the sunlight never hit it. Although it did have interesting mushroom-like coral formations. some cudas were spotted along other larger fish (couldn't tell what they were). 2nd dive we hung out at 40-50 ft on top of a coral field. Lots of life here. We found a net stung across a few hundred feet (maybe longer) - used to poach turtles. Since we dove with novice and young divers we didn't want to place them in danger by taking down the net. We planned on returning with the dive op and remove it, but high winds and swells did not allow that - unfortunately.
Dec 09: We did 2 deep and long dives. 1st was a wreck and 2nd was a wall swim-thru. Deco for the day ~20 min. 2nd dive was specially nice since we encountered hundreds of glass fish in the little cave-like tunnel. Also deco-ing along a wall - makes things less boring.
dec 10: Shark dive #1. It starts along the starboard side in the shallows, transitioning onto the port side dropping to about 90ft. Counted 5 bulls on our 20min or so dive. Viz was ok. No 2nd dive today due to high winds.
dec 11: Shark dive #2. A bit murkier today. Counted 6 bulls. We were down for about the same time. Deco-ing above the wreck made things more interesting. Both shark dives ended in 15-20 min drift dives in 20ft or so. No 2nd dive today due to high winds.
Dec 12: Dove a shallow coral garden with my daughter (20-45ft). We had a nice time, hung out for 52min then called it a day. Winds were better today, but we were flying out the next day so - no 2nd dive.
Parting notes:
Since I've only been to Jibacoa before, I can only compare to it. For the viz, marine life (plant and fish) Jibacoa takes the points. It also takes the bonus points because freediving and snorkeling can be done right off the beach since the reef starts in knee deep waters. Worth noting is the wind: high winds in Santa Lucia - daily! Good for kite boarding, sailing, etc - not good for diving. When the Port Authority or Coast Guard prohibits dive boats to go out on the reef - you're stuck diving the channel, which can get boring after a while.
If sharks, wrecks' and tapping 200ft is your thing - than Santa Lucia it is.
We also preferred Jibacoa due to its proximity to Havana and Varadero (both ~45min away). The closest to Santa Lucia is Camaguey at ~2hrs.
If you do go to SL - ask for Lazaro. He's an awesome guy. Took care of us really well. He was our dedicated guide for the 7 days we were there. He'll accommodate you to the best of his abilities.
