Jardines de la Reina

Jardines de la Reina is a chain of mangrove islands and reefs strung for well over a hundred kilometres off Cuba's southern coast, protected since the 1990s and among the healthiest reef systems left in the Caribbean, largely because almost nobody is allowed in. There are no hotels and no airstrip; visitors come on a small number of licensed liveaboards, the number of divers in the water at any time is capped, and commercial fishing is banned. The result is what Caribbean reefs used to look like: silky and Caribbean reef sharks circling in numbers, goliath grouper the size of armchairs hanging under coral heads, healthy elkhorn stands, and saltwater crocodiles patrolling the mangrove channels where you can snorkel with them if you are brave. It is expensive and hard to reach, and that is precisely what has preserved it.

What you actually see

• The shark dives - silky and Caribbean reef sharks in numbers rarely seen elsewhere.
• Goliath grouper - enormous grouper sheltering under the coral heads.
• The mangrove crocodiles - snorkelling the channels where they patrol.
• Intact reef - elkhorn and staghorn stands of a kind now rare in the Caribbean.

When to go

November to April brings the calmest crossings and clearest water; the summer is hotter with a hurricane risk from around August. Trips run to fixed weekly schedules and must be booked far ahead, as the permitted number of boats is small.

Honest expectations

This is a serious expedition with a serious price: liveaboard packages run to thousands, the crossing from Júcaro takes most of a day, and there is no option to visit for an afternoon. Permits are capped, so trips sell out a year in advance. Diving here is for the experienced, with current and open water. There is no phone signal and no way off the boat once you are out.

Nearby

Júcaro and Ciego de Ávila are the mainland gateway; Trinidad is a few hours west.