Jardines de la Reina

Jardines de la Reina — Cuba

Jardines de la Reina (Gardens of the Queen) is a 150-km-long archipelago of small islands, mangroves, and reefs off Cuba's south-central coast. It is protected as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, accessible only by liveaboard from the port of Júcaro, and it produces some of the most extraordinary Caribbean diving left on Earth.

Why It Looks Like the Caribbean Did Fifty Years Ago

Jardines has been managed under a strict quota system since the early 1990s. The number of liveaboards permitted to operate is small. Fishing is prohibited inside the reserve. Commercial development is absent. The result is a reef system that looks — and feels — like what the Caribbean Caribbean-wide looked like before decades of overfishing and coastal development did their work.

Goliath groupers (Epinephelus itajara) — fish that once inhabited every suitable reef from Florida to Brazil but have been extirpated from most of their range — are present here in numbers. They inhabit the caves and canyon walls, erupting into sight at close range with a casual authority that makes clear they're accustomed to occupying the top of the food chain.

Silky sharks (Carcharhinus falciformis) and Caribbean reef sharks are on virtually every dive. Hawksbill and green turtles in numbers. And then there are the American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus) — the Gardens of the Queen is one of the only dive destinations in the world where you may encounter a crocodile underwater, gliding through the mangrove channels between dives.

Getting There

Liveaboards depart from Júcaro, roughly 500 km southeast of Havana by road. International flights arrive in Havana (HAV) or Cayo Coco's Jardines del Rey Airport (CCC). Operator booking from the US requires navigating OFAC regulations for Cuba travel.

Practical Info

• Depth: 5–30m | Difficulty: Intermediate
• Access: Liveaboard only from Júcaro — no day-trip access
• Best season: December–May (calmest seas)
• Marine life: Silky sharks, Caribbean reef sharks, goliath groupers, hawksbill and green turtles, American crocodiles