If you think that Cuba is all about those expensive Cuban cigars and lively Cuban music and pretty Latin women and Fidel Castro, then think again. Cuba holds some of the world’s best beaches and diving spots. Hurray for the eager scuba diver! Set your fins to the right direction and make sure your scuba equipment is functional. Vamos a Cuba!

• Cayo Coco – a 5-star diving spot! Great underwater scenery and marine life. Eagle rays and barracudas abound. The reef is well preserved and there are no signs of man-inflicted damage of any sort. Accommodations are at par excellence with top hotels and the services from the staff are pretty much amazing.

• Cayo Largo – excellent place for reef and coral diving! Cayo Largo’s diverse marine ecology is a wonder to behold. Marine life is flourishing from sharks and rays to very alive reef systems. Cayo Largo promises enjoyable dives every time you go down.

• Holguin – offers the second largest reef in the world (the first goes to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef). Big reef translates to beautiful marine ecosystems bursting with life and colors. Accommodations are limited but that goes right out the window when you dive in. Holguin is a jewel among diving spots.

• Varadero – situated further up the coast of Cayo Coco, Varadero does not lag when it comes to underwater beauty. Aside from the marine life exploding underneath the surface, there are also wreckages from the ties with the former USSR (planes and warships). A great place if you want to enrich your history and fascinations with war machines.

• Bay of Pigs - perhaps the most popular diving spot in Cuba. Thanks to the failed invasion of the US during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Bay of Pigs has now evolved from a place etched in political history to one of the greatest diving spot in the world. Oh, they also have pretty coral reefs that offers aquatic life at its finest. Truly, Bay of Pigs is a must destination for the novice and experienced divers.

Better make your Spanish straight if you plan to dive in Cuban waters, You are going to need it.