INDepth guide to Cuba

Ladies in Havana Photo: Jane Morgan Caribbean reef shark Photo: JM Silky Shark Photo: JM Shrimp in sponge Photo: JM Caribbean reef shark and remora Photo: JM Jawfish Photo: JM Arrow Crab Photo: JM Silky Shark Photo: JM Flamingo Tongues on Sea Plume Photo: JM Goby on barrel sponge Photo: JM Flamingo Tongue Photo: JM Gun on the Russian patrol boat Photo: JM Sponges on the reef Photo: JM Christmas tree worms Photo: JM Sunset at Maria La Gorda Photo: JM American Cars Photo: JM Silhouette in Maria La Gorda Photo: JM

Newly opened dive sites in this island paradise are causing a stir in the scuba world, with stories of crowded reefs, teeming fish action and an unusually plentiful shark population. Jane Morgan reports on some of the hottest destinations in the country that gave us the mojito. Vamanos!

For those of an adventurous nature, much of the diving in the Caribbean can be a bit ‘hit and miss’. Not so in Cuba. With the opening of pristine reefs protected by the government, we can now experience a time capsule of the Caribbean as it once was, and at its best. That said, you have to know where to go – so we’re here to guide DIVE readers to the best of the best.

Lying 110 miles south of Florida at the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico, Cuba is the largest and most populous island in the Greater Antilles. In fact, it is an archipelago comprising the mainland, the Isle of Youth and several thousand islands and islets. The elongated mainland is a stunning mix of mountain ranges and many miles of flatland and plains.

After the European discovery of Cuba in 1492 by Christopher Columbus, the island became a Spanish settlement and huge numbers of African slaves were imported to work on the sugar plantations. Although Cuba is a melting pot of ethnic culture, its main influences are African and Spanish, which are evident in the faded grandeur of the colonial buildings and murals. And since Fidel Castro seized power during the 1959 revolution, the country has been a socialist republic: feared by some, revered by others.

The island is a real feast for the senses. The cities are vibrant and colourful, with live music pumping out of every single bar and restaurant. The pulsating urban scene and the miles of sandy beaches typify the contrasts of this extraordinary country.

Due in part to the lack of US divers as a result of the US embargo on Cuban tourism, as well as the stringent fishing and conservation laws, much of the diving in Cuba is unspoiled – for now. Here, we focus on three key areas that offer a wide variety of diving: Jardines de la Reina in the south; Varadero, a sandy peninsula in the north; and Maria la Gorda, a romantic hideaway on the edge of a national park.

JARDINES DE LA REINA

Named ‘Gardens of the Queen’ by Christopher Columbus in honour of Queen Isabel, this archipelago is 60 miles off the southern coast of the mainland and 80 miles north of Cayman Brac. It’s six hours by road from Havana to Jucaro, where you board your transfer boat or liveaboard. A further three to four-hour boat trip will find you at the Avalon dive centre, based in the centre of the marine park.

Jardines de la Reina boasts a chain of 250 virgin coral islands, said to be the third longest barrier reef in the world. In the midst of this is a marine park that covers 2,400 square miles. The only inhabitants are Avalon staff and a marine park policeman. Surrounded by mangroves and saltwater, you’ll feel about as far off the beaten track as is possible, yet still with access to wireless internet.

You can choose to dive this area from one of three liveaboards: the Halcon, Caballones or La Reina. This is the best way to access the dive sites, but if your sea legs aren’t up to it you can stay on the Tortuga, a floating hotel, and access the sites by day boat.

Fly fishermen, who come to fish the huge stocks of tarpon and bonefish, have historically frequented the area more often than divers. Due to the lack of commercial fishing, the whole area is extremely rich in fish stocks and sharks. The only other fishing allowed is by the liveaboards to feed their guests, and it’s not unusual to find a marine biologist on board to measure the catch and send the heads back to the mainland for further analysis. You may also spot two lobster boats during the season; again, restrictions are tight. Any lobsters caught must be a certain length and no potting is allowed during the breeding season.

Eighty dive sites, which are scattered across the entire reserve, have been mapped, but there are still many more to be discovered. The pristine reefs are smothered with fan corals and sponges. Marine life is particularly good on the reefs: there are many of the usual Caribbean suspects, including arrow crabs and flamingo tongues, but also an array of more interesting critters such as unusual crabs and shrimps. Ask your guide to show you a jawfish: you won’t just get one, but hundreds of them hovering above the sand as far as the eye can see.

Groupers are common, and you’ll often see the huge goliath grouper along with big tarpon and barracudas. With so little fishing, the residents seem less skittish – you can get really close to them. Rays are also common here: on some dive sites, you can see masses of stingrays lying on the sand.

But in this region, dubbed the ‘Galapagos of the Caribbean’, the star attractions are definitely the sharks, of which there is a very healthy population. The dive guides say that this is due to the area’s marine park status – they claim they’ve seen an almost 100-per-cent increase in sharks, jacks and tarpon in the ten years since it was established. Fish carcasses are used to bait the water and sometimes to feed the sharks, and it’s normal to see tens of silky sharks around the dive boat. Other frequent visitors are the larger Caribbean reef shark and, during November, the whale shark. Great hammerheads are seen occasionally, as are nurse sharks and lemon sharks.

El Farallon
Stunning swim-throughs, as well as small caves and gullies, ensure that this site stands out from the rest. At the far end of a swim-through at 30m, large schools of jacks race around the pinnacles and bommies. The reefs are all carpeted with gorgonians and soft corals. In the gullies you’ll see black coral, whip corals and colourful sponges. However, the end of the dive is the highlight: an abundance of silky sharks waiting in the shallows around the dive boat.

Black Coral One
Caribbean reef sharks turn up here as soon as the boat arrives, indicating years of regular feeding. The sharks are perfectly comfortable with divers in the water and even escort you across the reef top. A large hole is etched out of the reef, its walls covered in corals and sponges. At one end, there is a small accessible cave –spend any time here and you will find that your bubbles rise out of the reef when you surface. This reef hosts an incredible amount of life, including large fan corals covered in flamingo tongues. A large hard coral pinnacle also stands proud from the reef, surrounded by angelfish and butterflyfish.

Ancilitas
This is a beautiful shallow reef, particularly good for night diving. Large fan corals struggle to support giant basket stars, and brittlestars, arrow crabs and flamingo tongues can also be seen within their branches. Plenty of sleepy fish, including filefish and trunkfish, can be found hiding among the corals.

Pius Reef
The spectacular reef top is covered with a vast array of gorgonians, soft corals and sponges. Arrow crabs and banded coral shrimps hide in the creases of large barrel sponges. You’ll see a huge variety of fish, with angelfish, butterflyfish, goatfish and triggerfish making an appearance.

VARADERO

Just two hours’ drive from Havana, on the north side of the sheltered Hicacos peninsula, Varadero is Cuba’s premier resort, with sandy beaches stretching for more than 20km. Even Al Capone couldn’t resist the charm of Varadero, once an elitist resort to which he was a regular visitor.

There are plenty of good-quality hotels in the area, many offering all-inclusive packages. All of them overlook the stunning beach and offer a range of watersports. As a major tourist area there are plenty of topside excursions on offer for non-divers to nearby forests, mangroves and caves.

The clear blue waters also have plenty of surprises for the discerning diver, with the dive sites revealing shipwrecks, flooded caves, wall dives, coral gardens and particularly friendly moray eels. There are also weekly dive trips to the Bay of Pigs.

Varadero is home to Barracuda dive centre, which has three outlets on the peninsula. It offers nitrox up to 40 per cent and has its own recompression chamber.

Patrol boat BP 383
The Russian patrol boat is found in the Parque Submarino Cayo Piedra del Norte and stands proud from the sea bed at a maximum depth of 30m. At 100m long and 14m wide, the wreck is mostly intact – its guns and ammunition are the outstanding features.

Neptuno Wreck
The Neptuno wreck at Barco Hundido is the broken remains of an old German merchant ship, which was sunk in 1943. Famed for its resident friendly green morays, the wreckage lies in just 10m of water. You’ll find plenty of fish here, including angelfish, barracuda and groupers.

Playa Coral
This popular shore dive is a 20-minute road transfer from the Barracuda centre. Great for both day and night dives, it is a mixture of sandy areas and gullies. With a maximum depth of 20m, it’s a great little coral garden for novice and experienced divers alike. Expect to see many species of coral and sponges and look out for the flounders and stingrays on the sandy bottom.

Saturn Cave
Flooded with fresh and sea water, this cave has a maximum depth of 20m and houses fantastic formations of stalactites and stalagmites.

MARIA LA GORDA

On the southwest tip of Cuba, four-and-a-half hours by road from Havana, is Maria la Gorda (‘Fat Mary’). The area was allegedly named after a Venezuelan beauty who was marooned here by pirates.

The scenery is outstanding both above and below the water. With palm-fringed beaches, natural forests and incredible sunsets, it’s not surprising that this is a favourite spot for honeymooners and those in search of some serious R&R.

A large area surrounding Maria la Gorda has been declared a UNESCO reserve. This also extends one mile out from shore, so the only fishing permitted in the area is for the hotel restaurant.

The resort is intimate, with just a handful of beachfront apartments and some wood cabins in the forest. There are two restaurants, a dive centre and the beach. If you enjoy solitude, this is the perfect destination – just don’t come looking for lively nightlife.

There are 32 mapped dive sites, all of which are accessed by dive boat. Most are within ten minutes of the resort. Generally, two dives are scheduled for mornings and one in the afternoon, with night dives on request. Dives are guided and maximum dive times are normally 45 minutes.

Yemaya
Named after the Yoruba sea goddess, this site is famed for its spectacular underwater topography – steep walls descend into the blue depths and amazing tunnels weave their way through the reef. At the bottom of the tunnels, you are greeted with stunning clear water, and enormous sponges and pipe corals in incredibly vivid colours. The visibility is excellent and there are plenty of fish, including tarpon and barracudas.

El Acuarium
Although this has a maximum depth of just 8m, there is an abundance of fish and interesting macro life to be found, hence its name of ‘the Aquarium’. Large sponges and corals hide a variety of crabs, shrimps and flamingo tongues and are decorated with a spectrum of Christmas-tree worms. This is a great site for macro photographers.

El Paraiso Perdido
Stunning underwater formations and impressive schools of fish are the highlights of this dive, known as ‘the Lost Paradise’. On the sandy bottom at 30m, it is also common to see a number of large stingrays. Visibility is often 30m or more.

Jardines las Gorgonias
This is a shallow reef at 8-15m deep, which is great for critters and macro photography. Plenty of reef fish cruise around the gorgonians and coral bommies.

HAVANA

No trip to Cuba is complete without a visit to its exotic capital. Havana is a colourful and vibrant city, resplendent with Spanish colonial architecture and fascinating museums. The Ambos Mundos hotel in Old Havana was once a favourite haunt of Ernest Hemingway, and an overnight stay here is highly recommended. The streets outside teem with interesting characters and you’ll find musicians in all of the surrounding bars. The rooftop restaurant offers amazing views over the city – you can watch the sun set while sipping a mojito.

To take in the city’s highlights, you can hire a cab or opt for a more leisurely pace with a horse and carriage. Chinatown is worth a visit, as is the Callejon de Hamel, an area decorated by the artist Salvador Gonzalez.

THE SEASONS

The climate in Cuba is tropical and moderated by trade winds, and there are two main seasons. During the dry season (November-April), the average temperature is 22°C, although cold, wet snaps can come from North America in December and January. The rainy season (May-October) has an average temperature of 25°C and the days are hot and humid. Hurricane season is July-October and is more likely to affect the south of the country.

The best time for diving is November-April, with the latter part of this period being the warmest. December-February normally has the best visibility and November is the prime time for whale sharks in the Jardines de la Reina. During May and June, there tends to be more tarpon around, while the September full moon sees the coral spawning.

GETTING THERE

Cubana flies twice a week from Gatwick on Wednesdays and Saturdays for six- and 13-night durations. Virgin also offers two weekly flights from Gatwick on Sundays and Thursdays for seven-night durations. Air France flies from the UK via Paris, as does Iberia via Madrid.

LANGUAGE
Spanish, but English and French are widely spoken.

TIME
Cuba is five hours behind GMT.

NATIONAL DISH AND BEST TIPPLE
The national dish is chicken with rice and black beans, although pork is popular on special occasions. Cuba is famed for its rum – the finest drink has to be the mojito.

WHAT TO PACK
In summer, a 3mm wetsuit or even a shortie should be warm enough. During the winter, a 3-5mm suit is recommended.

CURRENCY
Cuban peso (CUC). £1 = 1.8CUC. US dollars, credit cards and travellers’ cheques are not accepted in Cuba. ATMs can also be a little unreliable. The best option is to take sterling and change it to pesos at the airport.

CONTACTS

TOUR OPERATORS

CUBANACAN
020 7536 8176
www.cubanacan.co.uk

DIVE TOURS
01244 401177
www.divetours.co.uk

REGALDIVE
0870 220 1777
www.regaldive.co.uk

SCUBA EN CUBA
01895 624100
www.scuba-en-cuba.com

DIVE CENTRES

AVALON – JARDINES DE LA REINA
00 39 0963 669820
www.divingincuba.com

BARRACUDA – VARADERO
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.nauticamarlin.com

PUERTOSOL – MARIA LA GORDA
00 53 8277 8131
www.scuba.tc

THANKS TO...

Scuba en Cuba (01895 624100, www.scuba-en-cuba.com), Cubanacan (020 7536 8176, www.cubanacan.co.uk) and Cubana (www.cubana.cu) for their assistance with the organisation of this trip.