Excitement about legal travel to Cuba has been building since the historic thaw between the U.S. and its closest Caribbean neighbor was announced in December 2014. For now, leisure dive trips are not yet permitted; travelers still must be on a Treasury Department-approved “people-to-people” mission, but already more operators are offering approved trips that combine some of the best diving in the Caribbean with a chance to see the sights of Havana and meet and sometimes work with Cubans involved in marine sciences and conservation. Beginning in May 2016, Aggressor and Dancer Fleet will offer such a program through its Oceans for Youth Foundation, for example.
Why would a diver want to experience Cuba? Its Jardines de la Reina, or Gardens of the Queen, first described by Christopher Columbus, is a pristine string of mangrove keys with unspoiled diving on the south side of east-central Cuba, protected since the mid-1990s. It’s one of the most reliable places in the Caribbean to dive with large aggregations of Caribbean reef and silky sharks, as well as eagle rays, goliath grouper and every kind of reef fish. Another marine reserve encompasses Cuba’s Isle of Youth (Isla de la Juventud), south of Cuba’s west end, which is known for caves, drop-offs and wrecks.
