Crocodiles of Cuba and the Gardens of the Queen
Immerse yourself in the warm Caribbean waters of Cuba and enter an underwater paradise, populated with brightly hued sponges, sunken shipwrecks and spectacular sealife, including the rare and elusive Cuban Crocodile.
As the largest island in the Caribbean Sea, Cuba benefits from a 5600km coastline, scattered with ripe coral reefs, containing the most diverse variety of corals and fish. Cuba’s warm waters of 24°C in summer and 22°C in winter provide the perfect temperature for divers wanting to explore its pristine underwater wilderness. With hardly any coral destruction or pollution the average visibility is 30 to 40m, allowing divers to fully embrace the spectacular scenery Cuba has to offer. Beneath the surface divers can expect to find a fascinating variety of sea life including marlins, swordfish, goupers, barracudas, sharks, lobsters and morays. If you’re lucky you may even find yourself diving alongside the rare Cuban Crocodile, being sure to make diving in Cuba an unforgettable experience.
If you are looking for a change of scenery Cuba also boasts numerous shipwrecks and over 20 systems of caves and caverns. With hundreds of magnificent dive sites on offer trying to choose a site can prove difficult. The most accessible diving is off the North Coast due to its proximity to the international airport as well as the city Havana. However, while diving in the North will definitely exceed your expectations some of Cuba’s best diving spots are in the South, most notably of which, the Jardines de la Reina (Gardens of the Queen). Jardines de la Reina boasts a magnificent pristine ecosystem of coral reefs making it home to numerous fascinating underwater species. Not only is the Jardines de la Reina home to a large variety of endangered sharks, the national park surrounding it is also home to numerous other endangered species of plant and wildlife, including loggerhead turtles, hawksbill turtles, Cuban Crocodiles and black, staghorn and elkhorn corals.
The Jardines de la Reina is accessible either via liveaboard or by having a floating hotel as your base. This gives you the convenience of living within close proximity to the dive sites, allowing you to reach dive sites within minutes.
One can generally dive year round in Cuba as the average yearly water temperature lingers around 24°C. Nevertheless, the peak time to dive in Cuba is between December and April, when rainfall is at its lowest. However, if you are interested in seeing whale sharks November is the best month to visit.