Cayo Cocos - Diving Holiday Destination

Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean, at the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico. Cuba neighbours the Yucantan Peninsula of Mexico to the west, Florida to the north, the Bahamas and Haiti to the east and Jamaica to the south. Cuba features more than 300 beaches and three large mountain ranges.

There are excellent beaches on the mainland and on offshore cays, a few developed, many untouched, though access may be difficult. Cuba has an extremely strong Latin culture, superb Spanish colonial architecture in Havana, Santiago and other cities, communist political history and leader Fidel Castro, lively people, many styles of music including salsa and son, dancing. There is a large tourism industry, many mid-range hotels in resorts, some in cities but also some smaller more charming inns, some famous restaurants and bars. Endless activities, watersports, scuba, hiking, boat trips, fishing and inland tours.

For those more interested in watersports, Cuba sits on the world's second largest coral reef, largely virgin territory.

The reefs and walls of the Cuban maritime platform offer to divers of all standards, some of the best diving in the world. Cuban waters are pristine with very little pollution or coral destruction and and provide an underwater paradise of more than 50 species of coral, 200 species of sponges together with dozens of species of tropical fish. Many sites include diving to wrecks and caves on the marine platform.

Cuba is very aware that safety is a priority for divers and never dive with more than 5 divers per dive master. There are currently 10 recompression chambers in Cuba, manned at all times by highly qualified doctors. The safety record in Cuba for divers is one of the best in the world.

The island of Cayo Coco is linked by a natural causeway to Cayo Guillermo. Still largely wild with swamps and scrubland, the islands boast about a dozen large international hotels spread out. Beaches are very good and the massive coral reef off the north coast attracts divers from around the world. Resorts in the area include NH Krystal Laguna Villas & Resort (formerly El Senador), Melia Cayo Coco, Gaviota Playa Coco, Blau Colonial Cayo Coco, Tryp Cayo Coco, and Sol Cayo.

With over 15 miles of virgin beaches falling away to the world's second largest coral reef, it's no wonder that holidays to Cayo Coco in Cuba attract their fair share of beach and dive enthusiasts. After Varadero Cayo Coco is the biggest beach resort and it is easy to see why with its miles of beautiful sands and crystal clear ocean.

Although there are several fairly large hotels in Cayo Coco, and plenty of room for more, the resort remains a relatively undiscovered pearl, perhaps because of the lack of a nearby international airport. With a small domestic airport, Cayo Coco holidays are perfectly suited to being combined with a stay in Havana thanks to the short internal flight and the contrasting experiences offered at each.

If beaches, scuba diving, fishing and exploration are your scene you'd be hard pushed to find a better location worldwide for your holidays than Cayo Coco, Cuba

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