I was in Cuba in February 2005 and stayed in Varadero. I dove with Baracuda and has already been mentioned - great outfit and I'm pretty sure it has a monopoly on the local diving in Varadero. My thoughts on the diving - vis was ok for a Carribean Island but not as good as some of the others. This is likely because Vararedro is on the Atlantic side of the island and isn't quite as protected from the ocean currents. When I talk of vis - 50-70 feet (17-25 m) was standard for the time of year that I was there. I got to go to the Bay of Pigs and the trip that goes there is usually organized when the wind and sea conditions pick up so that diving in Varadero is no go. The diving in the Bay of Pigs was amazing - great walls, awesome sea life, and exceptional vis - 150 feet at times (50 m). It is a bit of drive (1-2 hours if memory serves me) but definitely worth it. Other good dives - the Russian Destroyer was interesting, and some of the other wrecks as well. Not sure if they are still doing it but at one of the wrecks they had "trained" a green moray eel to be fed by the DM's and you could pose with it while another DM took your picture (of course they would sell you the picture afterward - who says those communists aren't entrepenurial). The service was without complaints - when you signed up with Barracuda you let them know which days you wanted to dive and they picked you up in front of your hotel. The other neat thing that you could do on the dive boat was on the way out they would stop at a fishing boat and get fresh lobster. Then on your second dive they would cook a lobster for you (once again - added fee) and on the way back to the shore you got a lobster meal. To summarize - diving in Cuba (Varadero) isn't the best Carribean diving but it has the great lakes in Canada beaten by a long shot. And with non-divers in the group, probably a decent compromise if you do your research ahead of time.