The cuban island is filled with great places for diving, nearly anywhere on the coast there are many possibilities and its quite difficult to decide where to go! Because of its beauty and virgin dive spots it is almost guaranteed to have a fantastic time in the underwater world.

choosen dive spots

As a passionate diver I was really exited to do my first dives in Cuba and I wanted to take the chance to explore different dive locations.

In order to get a good overview I choose three locations to go diving!

In the east Baracoa, Cayo Coco facing to the Atlantic Ocean and Playa Giron on the caribbean side.

Dive Shops in Cuba

Almost all dive shops in Cuba are still run by the government and you cannot do dives without official permission.

Thats not an advantage for low budget diving!

There is no real competition and negotiations are not possible, because all prices are fixed. But still there are huge differences in prices between the different regions in Cuba!

good dive standards and safety in Cuba

A very good point is the saftey level in cuban dive shops. Because all shops are under frequent checks, all dive equipment is usually under very good condition.

A big plus for safe diving everywhere in Cuba!

Diving in Cayo Coco

Getting to the sand keys in Cuba is like traveling in paradise. Due to its fantastic waters and awesome beaches all the keys on the northern side are very popular. Therefore they are also one of the most expensive places in Cuba to visit.

paradise on earth: keys in Cuba like Cayo Coco

There are no casas particulares (read about casas particulares) to rent in, because locals dont live in these places. The main possibility is to get a quite expensive hotel starting from € 80/day.

But I found a much cheaper and more exclusive way to spend  4 days and nights in Cayo Coco!

Thanks to my spanish I was able to get very useful informations from locals how to visit the keys for less money! Instead of booking a hotel, you can get into a country residence run by the government.

low budget country residence: best happened to me & my budget

A stay here is much cheaper than any hotel and costs between 35-40 €/day including 3 meals and drinking water.

And a big advantage for my healthy food habits!

Because as a guest in a government country residence your food is prepared as you want it. And I got lots of salads, fruits, vegetables and fresh fish prepared for me. And I asked not to serve me any bread, sugars or processed foods!

living good & eating healthy on a low budget

So this was the most important point to save on my budget during diving in Cayo Coco. Because nearly anything on the keys is costful, also for diving it is not the best place for saving money.

Two dives did cost me € 70 including all equipment rental.

For this reason I decided to do more freediving activities. And for one of my freedives I got a great hint from a local divemaster where to go to see lots of sharks! Unfortunately the sharks where getting fed and a shark feast happened in front of me! Watch this clip about my freedive in Cayo Coco.

Another very important saving tip is getting on and off the keys.

Taking a taxi is the most common but also the most expensive possibility and you can easily spend € 100 and more for a one way drive. When I got on Cayo Coco I found a little group and we shared a taxi together in order to save money .

cuban oldtimer taxi

But using the local buses the cuban workers use to get on and off the keys is still much cheaper. Its a little bit tricky, because you need to tip the bus driver, but with some friendly spanish words and a little “propina” everything works fine.

Instead of spending for an expensive taxi I payed € 10 including the tips to get a ride back by local bus to the main island.

Diving in Playa Giron (Punta Perdiz)

Before arriving to Playa Giron I have already heared many divers talking about this huge bay and its exeptional underwater world.

Playa Giron is a little town and perfect for economic divers!

In comparison to the keys accommodation is possible at local families and I took a nice room including breakfast and dinner for only € 20/day.

driving an Oldtimer in Playa Giron

And the diving itself is also much cheaper in comparison to the keys. Here I payed less than € 20 for a dive, what made me do five dives in total!

And again a local gave me a great tip for a good dive shop!

You can go to the only dive shop in Playa Giron and dive with huge groups of divers. Or you go to a little dive shop in Punta Perdiz (only few kilometers north) where you can enjoy small groups and more individual diving!

a little bit hidden: the dive shop in Punta Perdiz

And every dive was fantastic and I was able to do some great footage underwater!

In this clip you can watch an exeptional fish in its different phases of his live:

And more great things happened during my dives.

Here you can watch a moray eel that fell in love with me and my GoPro cam and tried to give some kisses!

No joking, moray eels can be quite dangerous and I would never try feeding them. Watch this nice clip where a green moray eel is swimming very close with me.

Diving in Baracoa

Unfortunately the weather in Baracoa was very rainy during my visit. It was easy to get a connection to a local dive shop by asking my guest family. And I planed to do some dives with a local Dive Instructor, but due to the weather I had to postpone my diving experience in Baracoa. But even if I did not do dives in Baracoa it was the most magic place in Cuba for me and I would definetly recommend going there!

Baracoa is a perfect hiking location

The expenses for one dive should be around € 25, that seemed pretty fair to me. Nevertheless that gave me possibilities to do other great stuff in Baracoa.

Thanks for you interest and hope you enjoyed my saving tips! If you want to read more useful hints on saving money while traveling Cuba you should read the previous post on my blog Traveling Adventures!

Your Lui

Low Budget Cuba? Too expensive for backpackers?

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Since more than ten years I dive the caribbean. Always it is filled with fantastic moments very close to mother nature.

For long times the caribbean sea attracted lot of voyagers and adventurers for many reasons. Also divers frequently travel the different countries of the caribbean. With its hundreds of islands every single one has its own culture, charm and languages. The ocean is full of adventures where you find many things. For example beautiful and colorful coral reefs, many old  and new wrecks, drop offs, giant blocks and walls and for sure lot of marine life to explore. The very warm and clear waters with fantastic visibility, lots of breathtaking beaches make the caribbean a great destination, not only for divers.

Whenever I dive in the oceans of the caribbean, greats things happen and always new experiences are waiting behind each coral and block formation. Sometimes its just about exploring the smaller things and watching out for the circle of life around you. Because like anywhere on our world nothing stands still in the ocean, especially not in the caribbean.

Dive Videos

In todays post you will find  a first video with some great shots of different fish schools and squids changing their colors. Get a view and feeling for this mystic and sensational underwater world.

The next video shows a just hatched octopus, that is so small that it needs a closer look to get whats going on with this little fellow. However, this is my first time ever that I can watch a baby octopus swimming and using his ink to distract us!

Thanks to divemaster Brian from Dos Tiburones on Big Corn Island, Nicaragua for his sharp eye!

Have fun and enjoy!

Lui

These pictures where made during scuba diving with nurse sharks in San Pedro, La Isla Bonita in Belize. We could even play and dance with these beautiful nurse sharks in the marine park. Most of the sharks expect to get fed and they like getting very close in order to check out food possibilities.

They gracefully swim and you never can predict their next movement, looks like they are dancing in the water….check out this shark video!

Close-Up Nurse Shark

Diving close with a Nurse Shark

Thanks for a great 2 tank dive done with Ambergris Divers, San Pedro, Belize.

Because fishing is strictly forbidden in the marine park the sharks have no fear of divers. When they are comfortable they like to come close and check out who is visiting them. However caution is always recommended when you swim with this great animals.

You can find more information about the Belize National Parks here – http://www.ambergriscaye.com/pages/town/parkintro.html