Cuba is known for its rich culture, rum made from sugar cane, salsa, and other Cuban dance styles, but it is also one of the most unique diving destinations in the Caribbean.
The Gardens of the Queen (orig. Jardines de la Reina), Cuba’s most exclusive dive spot, is often referred to as the crown jewel of the Caribbean, where life is stacked upon life. Healthy coral reefs, numerous silky and Caribbean reef sharks, mangrove systems, saltwater crocodiles, and a diversity of marine-life unique to the Caribbean. Cuba is worth a second look when considering your next dive vacation.
Named by Christopher Columbus in honor of the Spanish Queen Isabella of Castille, the Garden of the Queen is the heart of diving in Cuba. It covers 684,000 hectares of coastal waters and lays around 50 miles south of Cuba. In 1984 Fidel Castro went diving with Jacques Cousteau and what he saw had such an impact that the Garden of the Queen is one of the best protected marine regions in the world. The archipelago has been a marine sanctuary since 1996 and became a national park in 2010. There is an almost complete ban of fishing, only catch and release fly-fishing and limited lobster fishing is allowed, visitor numbers are strictly regulated, and no permanent human settlement is permitted. Decades of effort to keep the ecosystem protected have led to it being like a time capsule of an ecosystem was a thousand years ago – a fully functioning, full of life ecosystem.
The Garden of the Queen can only be reached with a Liveaboard, and diver numbers are limited. Here at Bluewater, we offering you the chance to be one of very few diving in Cuba, and it is now open for US-citizens again.
If you are wondering how a trip to Cuba looks like. Read all about Trip Leader, Tim Yeo’s, 2017 Cuba trip Recap.
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