Diving in Cuba

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laikabear

Contributor
Messages
360
Reaction score
313
Location
Pasadena, CA
# of dives
500 - 999
Hi everyone,

This is my first post! :)

I just finished my OW certification - the signature on my temp card is still damp. Some diving friends are going to Cuba in 2 weeks and they had invited me along. I was unsure if I wanted to fall down that hole into scuba diving since it has a reputation for being kind of an expensive hobby... I'm sure you can understand.

But my friends kept hounding me and hounding me. And they found out that the Havana Marathon is during their trip (I'm a runner) so enticed me to Cuba that way. And after some more hounding, I figured I might as well get certified so I can dive with them and not spend the rest of the trip by myself while they are underwater!

Anyway, I am really glad that I decided to get certified. I've only been on 2 days of diving for my class so far, at Catalina Island, and I am already hooked. I can't wait to dive in Cuba. We will be diving out of Havana the whole time (unfortunately work dictated a short trip so we won't be moving around much). I was just wondering if anyone has any experience there or any advice on stuff to look out for or anything must-see.

Thanks in advance,
 
It is my understanding that the diving around Havana is okay. To be honest if you are there only for a short amount of time I would be seeing the country and people. That is basically what we did on our trip. wWe planned to climb but instead saw the country and people. Way better.
 
I read something in Dive Training mag. about a "people to people" (or something like that) thing where you do this and that and can get in some diving as part of the deal. Or you could wait a little bit for when the embargo is lifted (there are other places down there to dive without dealing with Uncle Sam).
 
I was just in Havana last month, but it's not really known for diving. My trip was a dive trip, but elsewhere in Cuba (out of 10 days total). Havana has an interesting history and culture, and is great for sightseeing and people watching. We had a free ticket each day from our hotel for the hop-on hop-off bus, which takes you to or right near all the historical areas in each part of Havana. If your hotel doesn't provide free tickets or a shuttle, the cost of the all-day pass for multiple buses is 5 CUC (Cuban Convertible Pesos) - around $5 US. There is a 10 - 25% penalty (fee) for exchanging US money in Cuba, so Canadian money or euros would be preferable.

Some of the popular sightseeing places are Revolution Square, the Jose Marti memorial tower, old Havana, and tonnes of monuments you'll see along the bus route, and you can get on and off as you please. You'll see some main shopping areas and markets, and in there you'll see Floridita, where we had a daiquiri, and Bodeguita Del Medio, where we had a nice meal, which cost 16 CUC total. Those two were some of Ernest Hemingway's favourite bars. We wanted to eat at the hottest new restaurant that just opened (can't recall it's name), but the line-up was 1 and 1/2 hours, so we went to a beautiful fine dining restaurant called Los Nardos on a different floor of the same building, and the line-up was half an hour. My huge delicious meal cost a total of 9 CUC with tax and tip. I saw the cabaret show at Tropicana 14 years ago and it was a great evening, but it's much more expensive now.

We spent a day and night at a casa in Bay of Pigs (about a 2 and half hour drive from Havana) doing dives in the ocean and El Brinco cenote. The reef there was fairly healthy, decent diving. The cenote had a challenging exit and turned into a cave really fast, pitch dark. It didn't have a lot of decoration, but it had some interesting colours and formations.

We spent 6 days in (Gardens of the Queen) Jardines de la Reina, 60 miles offshore of Jucaro, so too far for you on this trip, but maybe another time. It was just over 3 hours driving from Bay of Pigs, and then onto a boat. We got beautifully upgraded from the liveaboard La Reina to a floating hotel called Tortuga with Avalon, so it was a 3 hour ride offshore in a fast, lovely boat to Tortuga.

The diving was fantastic in Jardines de la Reina (Gardens of the Queen), with healthy colourful coral and sponges covering the sea floor, not just here and there, and tonnes of big sea life. We saw sharks on every single dive of our 15 dives - tonnes of Caribbean reef, silky, nurse, and one hammerhead shark. They did bait on 4 dives, with 1 or 2 fish in a sponge or in a box, which I'm not a fan of. Tonnes of grouper, tarpon, barracuda, green moral eels, and fish galore. Some eagle rays, hawksbill sea turtles, etc. We really enjoyed ourselves and it was great to see really healthy reef.

I have been diving off Varadero many years ago and it was just ok at best, but since they were my first real ocean dives, it was still an awesome and memorable experience.

Someone on our trip took excellent pics and I was right beside him and am in quite a few of his pics. They're well worth looking at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153486128316998.1073741851.523891997&type=1&l=bc67872d11

I have a lot of u/w pics especially as well as land pics, but feel free to browse. They're with an old point and shoot without strobes, but they'll give you an idea: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153467413536998.1073741850.523891997&type=1&l=8b4f0103e6

Hope you have your permit lined up and all goes well. Have a fun trip! :)
 
Last edited:
Ayisha, those photos are amazing. Thank you so much for sharing. :)
 
I found the following information on:
How to Travel to Cuba If You Are an American to travel to cuba from usa&utm_content=p1-main-1-more&utm_medium=sem&utm_source=msn&utm_campaign=adid-914422c6-1968-42fd-8a52-72ccae8ea2e7-0-ab_msb_ocode-31664&ad=semD&an=msn_s&am=broad&q=how to travel to cuba from usa

The bad news is that Americans still can't simply book a flight and a hotel and head to Cuba.

You'll need to travel with a Cuba travel organization that has an official license from the U.S. State Department, like Insight Cuba and Central Holidays.



And, while your tour may include stops at museums, historic sites, or even the Bay of Pigs or a local Communist Party block meeting, purely recreational activities -- like visiting the beach or scuba diving -- are prohibited from tour itineraries, which are limited to experiences that brings American and Cuban people together.
 
I found the following information on:
How to Travel to Cuba If You Are an American to travel to cuba from usa&utm_content=p1-main-1-more&utm_medium=sem&utm_source=msn&utm_campaign=adid-914422c6-1968-42fd-8a52-72ccae8ea2e7-0-ab_msb_ocode-31664&ad=semD&an=msn_s&am=broad&q=how to travel to cuba from usa

The bad news is that Americans still can't simply book a flight and a hotel and head to Cuba.

You'll need to travel with a Cuba travel organization that has an official license from the U.S. State Department, like Insight Cuba and Central Holidays.



And, while your tour may include stops at museums, historic sites, or even the Bay of Pigs or a local Communist Party block meeting, purely recreational activities -- like visiting the beach or scuba diving -- are prohibited from tour itineraries, which are limited to experiences that brings American and Cuban people together.

Unless you bring the Cuban people and Scuba Divers together like Spree Expeditions does. We are fully licensed by the US Department of Treasury to provide a scuba diving experience in Cuba. But not from shore, you must take the entire tour.
 
Hey, Frank. What is the protocol for emergencies while the Spree is in Cuban waters? Is there a chamber available? Are you allowed to take a guest to a Cuban medical facility? Would you be forced to return to Key West or detour to Grand Cayman?

Sorry if this is a little off topic.
 
Hey, Frank. What is the protocol for emergencies while the Spree is in Cuban waters? Is there a chamber available? Are you allowed to take a guest to a Cuban medical facility? Would you be forced to return to Key West or detour to Grand Cayman? Sorry if this is a little off topic.
Cuba's medical facilities are ourstanding. The Russians installed a number of operating chambers there, and they are all up and down the coast. Now that US insurance companies are allowed to provide coverage (check with your individual company), they no longer require that Americans buy Cuban health insurance. They are quite scared of an American getting injured there, however. We are required (and are happy) to use Cuban dive guides, who make sure that recreational dive rules are followed. I will check with DAN later today, by DEMA at the latest to find out whether DAN is covering Americans in Cuba.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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