Dive Review of Memories of Jibacoa in
Cuba/Memories of Jibacoa, Varadero

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Memories of Jibacoa: "Good beach, poor diving", Jul, 2018, by Jocelyn Gill, ON, CA ( Reviewer 3 reports). Report 10455.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I’ve been to a number of Cuban dive destinations (Cayo Largo, Havana, Santiago de Cuba), and this one was the worst. It’s very unfortunate that Cubans need to over fish these waters. The result of this over fishing was a distinct lack of any large vertebrates such as groupers, barracuda and cera, sharks, turtles, southern sting rays, green morays, manta rays, and mammals, etc. There was also a distinct lack of large schools of fish such as blue chromis, tangs and creole wrasse. However, there were a few surprises, such as soap fish, scrawled cow fish, orange file fish, glassy sweepers, and a large Caribbean squid. The dive master has also habituated a large spiny lobster that was a hit with our newbie diver. The dive master guided us through coral cuts and nice archways to show us the other attractions: 3 coral encrusted canons, and 3 anchors. Hurricane Irma (2017) left quite a bit of damage, overturning large elkhorn corals and ruining a large expanse of staghorn coral. There is, however, signs that the coral is growing back. It will take many years for the corals to look their best again, I’m sure. The snorkeling was average, but I’m sure it will improve with time as the reef recovers. Needless to say, macrophotography was the only real option. Any macro photographer will find something worth photographing if they put their mind to it. We were able to dive our own profile, but, when we asked for an afternoon and a night dive (I was looking forward to trying out my fluorescent photography set up), we were told that the dive masters stop working after the morning dives (usually 2). We asked if we could rent our tank for a beach dive (night dive?) and were told that Cuban law prohibits tourists from diving in Cuban waters without a certified guide. We offered to pay a premium price for a night dive, but they were simply not interested. Diving with gloves is also prohibited, (no touch policy). It’s a shame they implement such (good) rules for protecting their reefs, but still allow overfishing off their beach. The service at the dive center was mediocre. The dive personnel were not quick in helping bring our dive gear to the 23 foot open air panga that was launched from the beach. We were a foursome of older divers (58 to 65) and would have appreciated a bit of help. Perhaps this is result of a Communist attitude? (everyone takes care of themselves?), or perhaps they have not perfected the “ins and outs” of the service industry. It was obvious to me that their hearts were not in it. The attraction to this resort was the beach, which was top notch. The accommodations were for the most part, adequate, and the hotel staff were quick to see to our needs. The food was typical resort food, which was also adequate but not outstanding. The hotel briefing was informative, but the music entertainment was truly top notch. There was also a show every night featuring dancers and singers, but, being “older” we retired for the night early. If you are an experienced diver and bring your own gear to destination sites, I would say give this destination a pass. If you are new to the sport, or want to only snorkel, give it a try. It’s a cheap holiday for a chance to get wet.
Websites	Memories of Jibacoa
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Red Sea, Indonesia, Komodo, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, St Lawrence seaway, lakes and quarries in Canada, Caribbean islands (many), Mexico (Cozumel, Puerto Vallarta), Florida, Belize, ABC islands, Roatan, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland.
Closest Airport	Varadero	Getting There	Sunwing Vacations
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	30-31°C / 86-88°F	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	50-70 Ft/ 15-21 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	No afternoon nor night dives available.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	no
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Underwater photographers with a ton of experience might want to give this destination a pass. If you are looking for a cheap dive destination to practice your macro photo techniques, there are small critters that are fun to photograph, like arrow crabs, light bulb tunicates, Pederson shrimp in corkscrew anemone, and of course, señior spiny lobster.

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Dive Review of Memories of Jibacoa in Cuba/Memories of Jibacoa, Varadero

Memories of Jibacoa: "Good beach, poor diving", Jul, 2018,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Memories of Jibacoa in
Cuba/Memories of Jibacoa, Varadero