Scuba Diving Cuba

The special characteristic s of Cuba’s insular shelf, which covers an area of 26,190 square miles (67,831 square kilometres), makes scuba diving Cuba one of the best areas in the Caribbean.Warm, clear water; great biodiversity Warm, clear  water; great biodiversity; wellpreserved ecosystems; a large variety of coral formations of unusual shapes and colours; sponges; fish of different sizes and colours; valuable sunken ships; and many natural beaches, cays and islets make this a scuba diver’s paradise that defies the imagination.

And then there’s its main attribute and best protagonist: its coral reefs, which are considered to be the second largest, richest and best preserved in the world, where a great variety of species of marine flora and fauna live in perfect harmony. For all these reasons, we can state that scuba diving Cuba is an excellent destination, visited by thousands of tourists and professional scuba divers.

Cuba,an important destination in Caribbean scuba diving.

Long and narrow, with an area of 42,827 square miles (110,922 square kilometres), the island of Cuba is the largest land mass in the Antilles. It is strategically located, since it is near the other islands of the Antilles; North and Central America; and the Gulf of Mexico,which ships have plied for more than 500 years, as witnessed by its also being a cemetery of treasure-filled galleons.The waters around the island of Cuba and the more than 4000 cays and islets near it have a marine flora and fauna of exceptional diversity. These islets, which are practically surrounded by coral formations, are important to scuba-diving buffs, because they are protected against strong sea currents conditions which provide average horizontal visibility of more than 98 feet (30 meters) in the clear, warm, unpolluted water.

Because the insular shelf is broad, this area is on the border of the tropical zone and the water is relatively shallow, water temperature ranges between 752° and 833° F. (24° and 285° C.) all year round.The water is always ideal for pleasurable relaxation at any of Cuba’s scuba-diving centers, which offer reef snorkeling and both night and day dives to depths of up to 131 feet (40 meters) in coral gardens containing caves, vertical walls, tunnels, escarpments,narrow channels, sunken ships and other attractions.The archipelago’s insular shelf features contrasting colours and whimsical underwater shapes, with many .coral formations, around 1000 species of fish, 160 species of sponges (cup-shaped, Lavender Tube [Spinosella vaginalis] and branch-shaped), many mollusks and crustaceans, gorgonians, algae and Common Sea Fans (Gorgonia spp.).

Facilities

Scuba diving  Cuba is based on the preservation of its marine ecosystems. Modern equipment is available, and diving sites are located in the most beautiful natural areas of the insular shelf, many of which have been declared do be protected areas.Comfortable hotels linked to scuba-diving centers on both the northern and southern coasts and on some of the adjacent cays that have been
Opened to tourism form part of the facilities available to scuba divers, Sports ports and water-sports centers have also been created, operated by Various specialized firms that have their own fleets of vessels, diving equipment and other resources.

These centers and ports are staffed by instructors with years of experience who have diplomas from the World Underwater Federation (CMAS),the American-Canadian Underwater Certification (ACUC) and other prestigious international schools.

They work in close coordination with the national network of medical services and hyperbaric chambers,providing immediate care for divers who need it. In addition to beginners and resort scuba-diving classes, Cuba offers several specialized courses whose graduates earn internationally valid certificates.