Is there a convenient and risk-free way for an American to go to Cuba?

[wardric]

Just back from there last week. They dont stamp your passport but the visa card that they give you before you enter. That visa card is a two part one, you give half at the entry and the other half when you get out. I heard you can lose your passport but dont lose your visa card, it's way more troublesome.

During the winter, I do not recommend the North of the island because of the winds, you might end up staying on land for the duration of your stay. So forget Varadero and the Havana region, Cayo Coco and Guardalavaca (Holguin).

The south is safer for that reason. Good places are Isla de la Juventud, Cayo Largo, Isla de la Reina. Marea del Portillo (Manzanillo airport) (where I just went) is nice too but even there, I had trouble with norteastern winds so the viz was not so great. Playa Giron in the bay of Pigs is a renown place for wall diving (from shore) and Cienfuegos (last year trip) is awsome too for it's coral formations and labyrints. I heard nice things about the Pinar del Rio region also but the hurricanes hit bad there.

Now they accept US money but the exchange rate will have an extra penalty. Probably better if you exchange your bills for loonies (canadian dollars) before the trip. But things change quickly there.

I was in an all inclusive for 750 $can, plane, food, lodging and rum included (must have drank a bottle a day )

dives were around 30 CUC / dive ( 1 CUC = 1.29 can$) but if you make many dives, the price gets lower. and oh, yeah, you must convert your money to CUC (Peso Convertible) if you want to buy anything.

 

[PaulVS]

wow.

I'm new here... but 8 pages of talking about going to a place that is on nobody's list of great dive locales seems really darn silly.

Belize? Honduras? Cayman? Cozumel? Bonaire?

 

[Kat]

8 pages ?

I've only got 2 pages, how did I lose 6 pages ?

 

[ScubaTexan]

wow.

I'm new here... but 8 pages of talking about going to a place that is on nobody's list of great dive locales seems really darn silly.

Belize? Honduras? Cayman? Cozumel? Bonaire?

It's on no one's list of great dive locales because most dive magazines are printed in the US and Americans are forbidden (legally) to travel to Cuba. There is supposed to be great diving there. Maybe, one day, we'll get to find out for ourselves...

 

[DandyDon]

8 pages ?

I've only got 2 pages, how did I lose 6 pages ?

It depends on your settings. I have mine on 40 posts per page. :14:

 

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

wow.

I'm new here... but 8 pages of talking about going to a place that is on nobody's list of great dive locales seems really darn silly.

Belize? Honduras? Cayman? Cozumel? Bonaire?

Interesting, uh...contribution...? I guess the 8 pages indicates that there actually IS some interest in Cuba. Go figure. Feel free not to read it.

And I imagine if you can't find information on Belize, Honduras, Cayman, Cozumel, Bonaire, etc, then you haven't looked. Does one thread about Cuba really upset you?

Thanks to everyone who posted their personal experiences! Keep em coming. You Canadians are lucky to have a government so much more reasonable than ours in this (and so many other) regards. I would love to visit Cuba, but by the time I am legally allowed to, we will have McAmericanized their world.

Key South has a nice ring to it...

 

[TeddyDiver]

I've been diving in Santiago de Cuba region during the last trips to Cuba (Bucanero, Sierra Mar), and have found there as good as in Phuket Thailand. Jardines del Reina Cayo Coco and other more remote places around southern coast should be a lot better (read:among the top 10 in the world)..
US citizens can travell leagally to Cuba if there's a "approved" cause for the trip (culture, study etc) Being a member of any organisation involved in any activity in Cuba makes a big +...

 

[wardric]

The hurricanes combined with the embargo there are really affecting the people who age getting starved. This contributes to the fact that if cubans see any edible fish, it's gonna get in the pan. The stock of big fish (groupers for example) is really diminishing in some populated regions, which is bad for divers but understandable since they also have family to feed.

Not a political comment here, just facts.

 

[Mr Deep]

MY wife and I are heading off to Cuba in a couple of weeks and the info here has been great!

I have a list of at least 10 recommended dive spots, so we will be busy!

Spoke to a friend who has connections in the Marriott chain and he says that they have their locations all picked out, so once things change they are in.

 

[PaulVS]

Interesting, uh...contribution...? I guess the 8 pages indicates that there actually IS some interest in Cuba. Go figure. Feel free not to read it.

And I imagine if you can't find information on Belize, Honduras, Cayman, Cozumel, Bonaire, etc, then you haven't looked. Does one thread about Cuba really upset you?

Thanks to everyone who posted their personal experiences! Keep em coming. You Canadians are lucky to have a government so much more reasonable than ours in this (and so many other) regards. I would love to visit Cuba, but by the time I am legally allowed to, we will have McAmericanized their world.

Key South has a nice ring to it...

If I was Canadian, I would understand it. In fact I have some Canadian friends who just got back from 2 weeks in Cuba and loved it.

My point was not to bash a discussion of the quality or quantity of Cuban reefs.

And by the way... most of these 8 pages have not been how it is worth the risk to get there... but rather how extremely difficult it would be to get there as an American citizen. (Also add to the mix that the waters are over-fished and there is apparently no government branch dedicated to reef protection as there is in other caribbean locations.)

So my point was that... as an American... it's well known that you'd have to jump through so many hoops, and violate so many laws... and then add the total isolation you'd have if something went wrong while you were there... it just seems senseless to me personally.

Unless maybe you've lost interest in or already been to all the other great dive locales in the caribbean.

So is Bonaire boring to you, or just too "americanized"? It would cost you less in actual dollars and personal risk-factor... but then again... I guess you couldn't see those amazing Cuban pink elephant sharks there.

Just my $.02