Snorkeling
Snorkeling in Cuba: the reef, the rules, and what still runs
Cuba pairs some of the Caribbean's best-preserved reef with the strangest booking mechanics in the region — and in 2026, with a tourism industry in suspension. Where the water is genuinely special, what each site costs, and how an American does this legally.
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On this page
- Where the sites are
- The state of play, and how to read it
- Playa Larga and the Bay of Pigs
- Cayo Coco, Cayo Guillermo and the Jardines del Rey reef
- María la Gorda
- Cayo Levisa
- Jardines de la Reina — what it is, and what it is not
- The rest of the coast, briefly and honestly
- When to go
- The American mechanics: legality, cash, paperwork
- Cuba snorkeling FAQ
- Where to go next
Two things are true about Cuba in August 2026, and you need both to plan anything. The reef is real: Cuban waters hold some of the best-preserved coral in the Caribbean, and surveys of Jardines de la Reina measure cover above almost anything else in the region, elkhorn stands included.1 And the industry around that reef is in suspension: between February and July of this year every international hotel operator on the island wound down and left — Blue Diamond first, then Iberostar, Barceló and finally Meliá, which ended thirty-six years in Cuba on 24 July.2 The Canadian charter airlift that fills the resort cays is grounded until at least November.3 The national grid failed completely six times this year, three of them in July.4
Most of what is written about snorkeling in Cuba describes a country that stopped existing this spring. This page describes the one that is there now: where the water is genuinely special, what still functions, what it costs in cash, and how an American does it legally.
Where the sites are
Cuba is the Caribbean’s largest island by a wide margin,5 and its snorkeling lives in four separated pockets. You will not combine more than two in a trip.
| Site | Where | Nearest airport | Getting in | Standing, August 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playa Larga & the Bay of Pigs | South coast, 2.5 h drive from Havana | Havana | Shore | Open, casa-based, US-legal. The trip that still works |
| Cayo Coco / Cayo Guillermo | North-central cays | Jardines del Rey (on-island) | Boat, ~US$20 | Resorts running under Cuban management; airlift suspended |
| María la Gorda | Far western tip, ~5 h from Havana | Havana | Shore | Open; hotel is state-run — off-limits to Americans |
| Cayo Levisa | North-west coast | Havana | Ferry, day trips only | Hotel closed — Tue/Thu/Sat day boat |
| Jardines de la Reina | 50 miles off the south coast | Havana + long transfer | Liveaboard only | Running; a dive trip, not a snorkel trip |
| Varadero, Cayo Santa María, Guardalavaca | North-coast resort zones | Varadero, Santa Clara, Holguín | Boat for anything good | Operating, state-managed, same airlift problem |
The pattern to absorb before choosing: the only places in Cuba where you walk into good reef are the Bay of Pigs and María la Gorda. Everywhere with a resort on it, the coral is offshore and the snorkeling is a boat product — and in 2026, boat products are exactly what a fuel-starved country struggles to run.
The state of play, and how to read it
I spent over ten years in the Key West charter trade, and the first thing that work teaches you is that a reef trip is a supply chain: fuel, a serviceable boat, a crew that got paid, and guests who could physically arrive. Cuba’s snorkeling supply chain broke at every link at once in 2026. Plan against that fact, not around it.
The dates tell the story. The US designated GAESA — the military conglomerate whose Gaviota arm owns most of the resort hotels — on 7 May 2026, with a wind-down that expired 5 June.6 On 13 July the Treasury added the Ministry of Tourism itself to the sanctions list, reaching the civilian hotel chains too.7 Iberostar closed its last six Cuban hotels on 20 July, Barceló confirmed its exit on 22 July, Meliá handed back all 34 properties on 24 July,2 and Blue Diamond — the Canadian company behind Royalton and Memories — had already wound down; the buildings now run under Gaviota administration with no international brand attached.8 Arrivals collapsed with the airlift: 328,608 visitors in the first four months of 2026, down 56 percent on the year before.2
None of this closed the water. It closed the predictability — the thing a resort trip is supposed to buy. A cays booking this winter is a bet that fuel, flights and management stabilize by then; Air Canada’s earliest stated return is 1 November 2026.3 American still flies Miami–Havana daily at reduced frequency, United stays suspended,9 and the State Department holds Cuba at Level 2 — naming the power grid alongside crime — with a fresh embassy alert after the 2 August national blackout.4
So here is my read, and the rest of the page is built on it. If you want to snorkel Cuba in the next year, build the trip that does not depend on the state: fly into Havana, drive to the Bay of Pigs, sleep in casas, walk into the reef. It is the best shore snorkeling in the country anyway, it runs on cash and private hosts rather than on a grid and a marina, and for Americans it is also the shape the law wants.
Playa Larga and the Bay of Pigs

The Bay of Pigs is a long, sheltered inlet on Cuba’s south coast, and its western shore is the rare Caribbean setup that deletes the boat entirely: a coast road, a handful of marked entries, and fringing reef that starts where the ironshore drops into blue water. No crossing, no schedule, nothing to cancel. You drive, you park, you swim.
Punta Perdiz is the anchor site, between Playa Larga and Playa Girón. The reef sits 50 to 150 meters out in four to seven meters of water — an easy swim — and the shelter of the bay keeps it calm on days the north coast is blown out.10 The site runs as a day operation, open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., on a flat day-pass model: about €15 or the dollar equivalent buys entry, a buffet lunch, an open bar and loungers.11 It is the best value in Caribbean snorkeling I know of, and the way to play it is to arrive at opening, swim the two clean hours before the Varadero tour buses land around midday, and let the bar be the afternoon.
Cueva de los Peces, ten minutes up the road, is two sites for the price of none: entry is free. Inland of the road is a flooded cenote about 70 meters deep — still, clear, ringed with small fish — and across the asphalt the sea side holds reef in easy depth. Snorkel gear rents on site for about US$3.12 Caleta Buena, south of Girón, closes the trio on the same day-pass model: a sheltered natural pool where rock shelves break the swell for beginners.
Three practical points, and they are the difference between a good day and a bruised one. Every entry on this coast is rock or old concrete ramp with urchins in the shallows — wear booties or water shoes; our what to wear snorkeling guide covers the rest. Go in the morning, always: the sea breeze builds after noon and puts chop and glare on every west-facing shore. And bring your own mask and snorkel. Rental gear in Cuba is scarce and tired — a travel snorkel set weighs less than the frustration it replaces, and there is no dive shop down the road selling a replacement strap.
Base at Playa Larga, the village at the head of the bay, where the casas particulares are the accommodation and the infrastructure both: your host cooks the fish, arranges the taxi, finds the guide, and changes your euros at the real rate. Rooms run from around US$23.13 It is also precisely the arrangement the US license rewards — every dollar into private hands — which is why this coast, of all of Cuba, is where American snorkelers point first. Scan the latest Punta Perdiz reports before you commit a day; in this economy, hours and food service move faster than any page can track.
Cayo Coco, Cayo Guillermo and the Jardines del Rey reef

Cayo Coco is the all-inclusive question, so let me answer it the way the brochures will not. No resort on these cays sits on a house reef. Walk off the sand anywhere on Cayo Coco or Cayo Guillermo and you get what the geology gives you: sand flats, then turtlegrass, then more sand — pleasant wading, fish in ankle water, and nothing a snorkeler flew here for.14 The coral is out on the barrier reef line and the small cays that ride it, and everything good is a boat ride. When a resort’s page says “snorkeling excursion available,” that phrasing is the tell, and I have written enough charter-desk copy to translate it: the reef is not here; we will drive you to it.
The ride is short and cheap, which is the honest good news. The standard excursion loads off the hotel beaches and at Playa Pilar, runs about two hours, and costs around US$20 with gear included — glass-bottom boats at 11:30 and 1:30, small motorboats on request.15 Off Playa Pilar at Cayo Guillermo’s western end, the run is to Cayo Media Luna, where coral gardens sit snorkelable on the sheltered side and the ocean side falls away deeper.14 Take the earliest boat that will have you; on a two-hour product, the morning slot is the entire difference between glass and chop.
Which resort, then, for the reader who arrived on that exact query? Choose by boat access, not brochure adjectives: Cayo Guillermo and the Cayo Coco beaches nearest the marina put you closest to the reef runs and Playa Pilar, and the current snorkeling operations at Cayo Coco are the thing to check the week you book. Name-brand advice is dead on arrival here: the hotel that was Meliá Cayo Coco in every guide you will read — this page’s old version included — lost that name in July along with every branded property on the strip, and the buildings now run under state administration while the naming settles.2 Hold any Jardines del Rey plan to two conditions: an operating airlift — from North America, that means the Canadian carriers’ November return3 — and a tolerance for state-run service in a fuel-rationed year. For Americans there is no judgment call to make: these are state-owned hotels, and staying in them is prohibited outright.16
María la Gorda
At the island’s far western tip, five hours from Havana on emptying roads, María la Gorda faces into the Bahía de Corrientes — flat, clear, west-facing water with coral heads in three to seven meters starting 90 meters off the sand, and the black coral forests that made the dive site’s name a little deeper along the wall.17 It is Cuba’s best snorkeling-plus-remoteness proposition: a one-hotel outpost on the Guanahacabibes peninsula with turtles, tarpon and the fish density that thin human traffic preserves.
Two hard facts govern it in 2026. The only bed and the only compressor belong to the state — the hotel and dive center are Gaviota operations18 — which takes it off the table entirely for US travelers under the current designations.16 And remoteness cuts both ways in a fuel crisis: a five-hour transfer each way is the first thing that fails when a country is rationing diesel. For Canadians and Europeans set on it, gear rents at about US$12 a day17 — bring your own — and the recent María la Gorda reports tell you whether the operation is actually receiving guests the month you travel.
Cayo Levisa
Every older guide, including the previous version of this one, sends you to sleep in Cayo Levisa’s beach bungalows. Delete that plan: the hotel is closed, and Cayo Levisa is now a day trip — a boat from Palma Rubia on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, out at 10 a.m. and back at 5, booked most reliably through your casa host in Viñales.19 The island still earns the ride: an undeveloped cay, a long white beach, snorkelable coral offshore, in a province the resort machine never reached. Treat it as Viñales’ beach day, not a destination.
Jardines de la Reina — what it is, and what it is not
The best marine environment in Cuba, and among the best left in the Caribbean, is the Jardines de la Reina archipelago 50 miles off the south coast: a national park of roughly 2,170 square kilometers — the region’s largest marine protected area — where decades of near-total protection kept coral cover and shark numbers at levels the rest of the basin lost a generation ago.201
Be clear-eyed about what that buys a snorkeler. There is no day trip and there is no shore. Access is by multi-day liveaboard out of Júcaro under a single concession, sold as scuba and fly-fishing itineraries, with 2026 departures still running.21 If a week on a dive boat is your holiday, it is a superb one. If you are a snorkeler, this is not your trip, and any page that files Jardines de la Reina under Cuban snorkeling — as this one once did — is padding its list.
The rest of the coast, briefly and honestly

Varadero is Cuba’s beach, not Cuba’s reef — twenty kilometers of superb sand with snorkeling that was never the reason to go. Cayo Santa María runs the same boat-based model as Cayo Coco with a longer ride to less reef, plus an extra American tripwire: its marquee resorts joined the State Department’s prohibited-lodging list in July 2025, before the general collapse made the point moot.16 Guardalavaca, on the Holguín coast in the east, is the exception worth naming — the one resort shore with real reef structure within swimming distance on a calm morning, and a strip that took Hurricane Melissa’s October 2025 landfall and reopened within a week; Brisas Guardalavaca kept serving guests through the storm itself.22 It lives and dies by the same airlift as the other zones.
Two staples of older Cuba lists are gone from this one for cause. Playa Rancho Luna’s December whale sharks appear on no operator’s published record and should shape no one’s plans. And Playa Jibacoa’s convenient shore reef came bundled with a resort whose operating company left the country; until something verifiable replaces it, it stays off the itinerary.
When to go
Water temperature is never the obstacle in Cuba. Everything else is seasonal.
| Month | Water °F23 | Season | Month | Water °F23 | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 78 | Dry — go | July | 85 | Wet, storm season |
| February | 78 | Dry — go | August | 86 | Wet, storm season |
| March | 78 | Dry — go | September | 86 | Peak hurricane risk |
| April | 80 | Dry — go | October | 84 | Peak hurricane risk |
| May | 82 | Wet season begins | November | 81 | Season ends 30 Nov; improving |
| June | 84 | Storm season opens | December | 79 | Dry — go |
Late November through April is the answer. The dry season delivers the settled weather and clear water,5 February’s 78 °F is warm enough that a rash guard or shorty covers a long morning — see what to wear for the threshold — and you are outside a hurricane season that has earned real respect here lately: Ian across the west in September 2022, Rafael into Artemisa as a Category 3 in November 2024, collapsing the national grid on its way, and Melissa through the east in October 2025 after devastating Jamaica.24 A September booking is a gamble stacked twice — against the storm map, and against a power system that now fails under far less provocation than a hurricane.
The American mechanics: legality, cash, paperwork
This is the section no snorkeling listicle writes, and in Cuba it decides the trip.
Legality. Tourism to Cuba is prohibited for US persons — the baseline, unchanged since the embargo. What is authorized is travel under twelve license categories, and the one that fits an independent snorkeling trip is Support for the Cuban People: a general license — no application, no permission slip — requiring a full-time schedule of activities benefiting private Cuban society, with records kept for five years.25 The 2026 executive order that shattered the hotel industry explicitly preserved these licenses.26 The compliant trip and the good trip are the same trip: casas particulares, private paladares, private taxis and guides, receipts and a simple day log. What 2026 removed is the other half of the market — with GAESA and the tourism ministry both sanctioned, no state-run hotel, marina or resort is a lawful vendor for an American.166
Cash. No US-issued card works in Cuba — credit or debit, any network — and nothing about 2026 has softened that.27 Budget the entire trip in cash: beds, meals, transfers, day passes, gear, emergencies. Euros and dollars both work, hosts exchange at the street rate that beats any official window, and small bills do the negotiating. Carry a margin and split it across bags; a cash shortfall has no in-country fix.
Paperwork. Cuba moved to a mandatory e-Visa on 1 July 2025 — the paper tourist card is history — and requires the D’Viajeros arrival form within seven days of travel, which issues a QR code to save offline.28 Flights are the volatile input: American still runs Miami–Havana daily with frequencies trimmed into October, United is suspended, and the Canadian carriers’ return — the cays’ lifeline — is promised for November at the earliest.93 Book refundable, and re-verify the week you fly.
Cuba snorkeling FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Can Americans legally go to Cuba to snorkel in 2026?
Yes, structured correctly. Tourism as such is prohibited, but the Support for the Cuban People general license still authorizes travel built around private Cuban businesses — casas particulares, private restaurants, private guides — with a full-time schedule of qualifying activity and records kept for five years. What changed in 2026 is the hotel side: after the GAESA and tourism-ministry designations, no state-run hotel is a lawful place for an American to sleep, which rules out every resort in the cays. The Bay of Pigs, where the snorkeling is shore-entry and the beds are private casas, fits the license better than anywhere else on the island.
Where is the best snorkeling in Cuba?
Punta Perdiz in the Bay of Pigs is the best snorkeling you can reach without a boat — fringing reef in four to seven meters of clear, sheltered water, a short swim from the shore. The best water in the country is Jardines de la Reina, but that is a liveaboard marine park sold as multi-day dive and fly-fishing trips, not a snorkel outing. Around the resort cays of Jardines del Rey, the good coral sits on the offshore reef line and is reached by a twenty-dollar boat run, not from the beach.
Can you snorkel from shore in Cuba?
In two places that matter. The western shore of the Bay of Pigs — Punta Perdiz, Cueva de los Peces, Caleta Buena — puts living reef within 50 to 150 meters of the road, and María la Gorda on the far western tip holds coral heads in three to seven meters within about 180 meters of the sand. The resort cays are the opposite: sand flats and seagrass inshore, reef offshore by boat. Entries in the Bay of Pigs are ironshore and old concrete ramps, so pack water shoes or booties.
When is the best time to snorkel in Cuba?
Late November through April. The dry season means clearer water and settled weather, and it sits outside hurricane season, which has hit Cuba hard three times in four years — Ian in 2022, Rafael in 2024, Melissa in 2025. Water runs about 77 °F in February and 86 °F in August, so winter mornings reward a shorty or rash guard but never require more. May through October brings heat, rain, storm risk, and — in the current fuel crisis — the hardest months for power.
Do US credit cards work in Cuba?
No. No US-issued credit or debit card works anywhere in Cuba, and that has not changed in 2026. Every dollar of a Cuban trip — beds, food, transfers, park and site fees, gear rental — is paid in cash, and euros or US dollars both circulate. Carry more than you think you need, in small bills, and split it between bags. There is no fixing a cash shortfall in-country.
Where to go next
- Want the all-inclusive-with-snorkeling trip that works this winter: snorkeling in the Dominican Republic — the nearest functioning version of what the cays sell
- Want shore entries and cenotes without the mechanics: snorkeling in Mexico — the Yucatán runs the Bay of Pigs playbook with flights every hour
- Still choosing an island: the best snorkeling in the Caribbean — how the region’s islands actually differ
Sources
Footnotes
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González-Díaz, P. et al. “Communities of corals and crustose coralline algae of the Jardines de la Reina National Park, Cuba: global stressors and resilience (2001–2017).” Scientia Marina. scientiamarina.revistas.csic.es. Coral cover above other Cuban and Caribbean reefs; widespread elkhorn. ↩ ↩2
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Naranjo, Ayose. “Spanish hotel chain Melia completes exit from Cuba.” Reuters, 24 July 2026, via WLRN and Euronext; “Meliá abandona Cuba definitivamente.” Hosteltur, July 2026, hosteltur.com. All 34 hotels, brand use ended 24 July 2026; Q1 2026 occupancy 34.1%; arrivals 328,608 January–April 2026, down 56% year on year. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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“Canada’s major airlines wind down flights to Cuba as Havana airport warns it will run out of jet fuel.” CBC News, February 2026, cbc.ca; “Air Canada postpones resumption of Cuba flights until Nov. 1, 2026.” PAX News, paxnews.com; Sunwing and Transat indefinite suspensions, Travelweek, travelweek.ca. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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“Cuba Travel Advisory.” US Department of State, Level 2, checked 8 August 2026, travel.state.gov; “U.S. Embassy in Cuba Issues Security Alert Following Major Blackout” (2 August 2026 total grid failure; six national collapses in 2026, three in July). Cuba Headlines, cubaheadlines.com; “2024–2026 Cuba blackouts.” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org. ↩ ↩2
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Knight, Franklin W. and Levinson, Sandra H. “Cuba.” Encyclopedia Britannica, britannica.com. The Caribbean’s largest island; dry season roughly November–April, wet season May–October. ↩ ↩2
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“United States Expands Cuba and Latin American Enforcement.” Bracewell LLP, bracewell.com; “US Continues to Expand Cuba Sanctions: New SDN Designations and Secondary Sanctions Guidance.” Baker McKenzie Global Sanctions Blog, sanctionsnews.bakermckenzie.com. GAESA designated 7 May 2026 under EO 14404; wind-down expired 5 June 2026. ↩ ↩2
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“Iberostar Closes Last 6 Hotels In Cuba.” FTN News, July 2026, ftnnews.com; “Spanish hotel chains Iberostar and Barceló follow Meliá and also withdraw from Cuba.” CiberCuba, 21 July 2026, en.cibercuba.com. MINTUR added to the SDN list 13 July 2026; Iberostar’s last six hotels closed 20 July; Barceló confirmed withdrawal 22 July. ↩
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“Confirmed: Blue Diamond Resorts ceases operations in Cuba.” Travelweek, travelweek.ca; “Blue Diamond Resorts to exit Cuba.” PAX News, paxnews.com. Wind-down from February 2026; ~62 properties; Gaviota administers the hotels. ↩
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“American Airlines Route Suspensions 2026.” VisaVerge, visaverge.com — Miami–Havana reduced by three to four of eight daily roundtrips on certain days, 5 August–5 October 2026; American still selling the route, aa.com, checked 8 August 2026; “United Airlines Halts Houston–Havana Route.” Cuba Headlines, cubaheadlines.com, suspension in force since September 2025. ↩ ↩2
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“Snorkeling at Punta Perdiz, Playa Girón.” Snorkeling Report, snorkeling-report.com. Reef 50–150 m from shore in 4–7 m of water; hours 11 a.m.–5 p.m.; sheltered inside the bay. ↩
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Punta Perdiz visitor reviews, 2025, on Tripadvisor (Attraction_Review-g2053537-d6856882), checked 8 August 2026. Day pass about €15 including lunch, open bar, gear and loungers; €23 as a packaged excursion. ↩
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“Cueva de los Peces.” Lonely Planet, lonelyplanet.com; “La Cueva de los Peces.” Fodor’s, fodors.com; “Cueva de los Peces — Bay of Pigs Snorkeling.” Scuba Libre Varadero, scubalibrevaradero.com. ~70 m-deep cenote; free entry; snorkel gear rental about US$3. ↩
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“The 10 Best Hotels in Playa Larga, Cuba 2026.” Tripadvisor (Hotels-g2053536), checked 8 August 2026. Casa particular inventory from about US$23. ↩
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“Snorkeling — Cayo Guillermo Forum.” Tripadvisor (ShowTopic-g666625-i11847-k8956287); “Playa Pilar.” CayoGuillermoCuba.net, cayoguillermocuba.net. Sand flats and turtlegrass inshore; coral gardens at Cayo Media Luna and the offshore islets. ↩ ↩2
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“Snorkeling Tours, Cayo Coco.” CayoCocoCuba.net, cayocococuba.net, checked 8 August 2026. About US$20 adult / US$10 child for ~2 hours, gear included; embarkation from the hotel beaches and Playa Pilar; glass-bottom departures 11:30 and 1:30. ↩
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“Cuba Prohibited Accommodations List.” US Department of State, state.gov; “Updating Cuba Prohibited Accommodations List,” effective 14 July 2025 (additions including Gran Muthu Cayo Santa María and Ocean Casa del Mar). Federal Register, federalregister.gov. Read together with the May–July 2026 GAESA and MINTUR designations, which reach the state hotel groups behind every resort in this guide. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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“Active Pursuits in María la Gorda.” Frommer’s, frommers.com. Coral outcroppings in 3–7.5 m within 90–180 m of shore; gear rental about US$12/day; the black coral valley on the wall. ↩ ↩2
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“María la Gorda Hotel.” Gaviota Hotels (official), gaviotahotels.com, checked 8 August 2026. The hotel and dive operation are Gaviota properties. ↩
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“Cayo Levisa — the practical side.” Cuba Travel Network, cubatravelnetwork.com; “3 Reasons to Visit Cayo Levisa, Cuba in 2026.” Cubas Best, cubasbest.com, checked 8 August 2026. Hotel closed; day excursions Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, departing Palma Rubia 10 a.m., returning 5 p.m. ↩
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“Jardines de la Reina National Park, Cuba.” Global Conservation, globalconservation.org. ~2,170 km²; the Caribbean’s largest marine protected area. ↩
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Jardines de la Reina 2026 itineraries and schedules. All Star Liveaboards / Avalon, allstarliveaboards.com, checked 8 August 2026. Liveaboard access from Júcaro; dive and fly-fishing itineraries running through 2026. ↩
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“Tourism Resumes in Holguín as Cuba Reopens After Hurricane Melissa.” TravelPulse Canada, travelpulse.ca. Guardalavaca, Esmeralda and Pesquero beaches reopened by 5 November 2025; Brisas Guardalavaca hosted guests through the storm. ↩
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“Varadero water temperature by month.” SeaTemperature.info, seatemperature.info, checked 8 August 2026. Monthly averages 25.4 °C (February) to 29.9 °C (August), rounded to whole °F in the table. ↩ ↩2
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National Hurricane Center Tropical Cyclone Reports: Hurricane Ian (AL092022), nhc.noaa.gov; Hurricane Rafael (AL182024), landfall in Artemisa as Category 3, 6 November 2024, nhc.noaa.gov, with the nationwide grid collapse reported by NBC News; Hurricane Melissa’s Cuban landfall 29 October 2025 as Category 3 with over 700,000 evacuated, Euronews. ↩
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31 CFR § 515.574, “Support for the Cuban People.” law.cornell.edu. General license; full-time schedule of qualifying activities; five-year recordkeeping. ↩
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“New Cuba Executive Order Adds Targeted Sanctions Authority While Preserving CACR Licenses.” Akerman LLP, akerman.com; OFAC Cuba-related General License 1 and FAQs, 7 May 2026, cubatrade.org. EO 14404 leaves existing CACR authorizations, including travel general licenses, in effect. ↩
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“Can I use credit or debit cards in Cuba?” InsightCuba, insightcuba.com; “Cuba International Travel Information.” US Department of State, travel.state.gov. US-issued cards do not work; bring cash for the full trip. ↩
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“Cuba e-Visa is Now Required.” Passport Index, discover.passportindex.org; “Cuba Visa 2025: the new mandatory e-Visa.” WeRoad, weroad.com. Mandatory e-Visa from 1 July 2025; D’Viajeros form within seven days of arrival, QR code required. ↩

Nick Brisson — Co-founder, OutsiderView
Nick was born in Florida and grew up in Puerto Rico. He spent over ten years in Key West working in the boat charter industry, put four to five years into snorkeling and spearfishing the Florida Keys reef, and lives in Jacksonville Beach now, where he surfs year-round.