All activities / Scuba Diving / Jardines de la Reina
Scuba Diving in Jardines de la Reina
A 150-kilometre chain of mangrove cays and coral reef 80 kilometres off Cuba's southern coast, closed to commercial fishing since 1996. One of the healthiest reef systems left in the Caribbean, reachable only by liveaboard.
Why here
Jardines de la Reina is the closest thing the Caribbean has to a time capsule. Protected as a marine park since 1996 and off-limits to fishing, its reefs still hold what most of the region has lost: dense schools of snapper and jacks, Goliath grouper the size of oil drums, and sharks that approach rather than flee. Six species work these waters, Caribbean reef, silky, nurse, lemon, blacktip and the occasional great hammerhead, with whale sharks passing through in season and American crocodiles patrolling the mangrove channels. One operator holds the whole park. Avalon Cuban Diving Center runs the sole concession, capping the archipelago at a few thousand divers a year from a small liveaboard fleet and the floating Tortuga hotel.
Best months
Diving runs roughly November to June, with the calmest, clearest water from December to May. Water sits in the high 20s Celsius most of the year. The close, reliable shark encounters are the draw. This is remote diving, several hours by boat from Jucaro, with no shore option and no walk-up access.
Getting there & around
Access is by liveaboard only, boarding at the fishing port of Jucaro in Ciego de Avila province after a long road transfer or a domestic flight from Havana. Trips run as fixed multi-night cruises, booked well ahead through the single concession holder. There is no day-diving and no independent access to the park.
Skill levels: intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (1)
Avalon Cuban Diving Center
OutfitterAvalon holds the sole diving concession in Jardines de la Reina and runs the marine park from a small fleet of liveaboards and the floating Tortuga hotel out of the fishing port of Jucaro. For thirty years it has capped visitor numbers and worked to protect the reserve, and its dives are built around the close encounters with healthy shark populations, Caribbean reef, silky and more, that the park is known for.