Dive Review of Avalon 3 in
Cuba/Jardins de la Reina

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Avalon 3: "Sharks and more sharks", Jan, 2024, by Joel Horie, UT, US ( Sr. Contributor 24 reports with 18 Helpful votes). Report 13189.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Cuba Jan 2024 Avalon III This was a Backscatter organized trip, primarily for shark and crocodille photogrphy and fish count.The entire ship was booked for divers, with almost all being photographers. Normally, three dives a day from pangas, with surface intervals on the ship.We saw numerous sharks each dive, except for crocodille attempts and a mangrove dive. Hard corals seemed to be stressed to caribbean standard. Fish in normal quantities. A greater variety of groupers of varying sizes than I have seen elsewhere(Bonaire, Caymans, Roatan, etc.) Most days were sunny and warm. If you want multiple opportunites to photograph reef sharks and silky sharks, this trip is for you. I did not see a crocodile, though we did three dive attempts. Although I rated this particular trip a 1* for beginners, I think the Avalon 3 would be fine on a normal dive trip. They normally only do one shark dive during a week and normal dives are dive master led tours. Dives were from large panga style boats, with 3/4 soft tops, so plenty of shade. AL80 tanks in racks and if you ordered AL100s, they were set flat on the deck. tanks were refilled on the boat. All hard gear could stay on the boat. Divers loaded their own soft gear and cameras, each dive. Shark dives were from fixed moorings. A scent box on the bottom was used for reef sharks and was hung below the boat for silky sharks. Divers rotated in turn, for photo ops. The Backscatter reps did a great job on the briefings and tried to keep thing moving along on the dives. During the 12 days, the Avalon 3 moved a short distance twice. On the Avalon 3, the dive platform had two hot showers, and tubs for dive gear rinsing. Up on the dive deck was a very large camera rinse tank and two large doublel level camera/gear tables, with compressed air. Plenty of hanger space for wetsuits, full length benches on both sides for gearing up. A full sized ice commercial ice machine. A head and the laundry room(source of hot towels after each dive) were also, just off the dive deck. Just before the door into the salon, were individual cubbies, for each diver. Large salon with couches and tables for charging. We had a suite with balcony. It had a roomy bathroom and plenty of luggage storage under the beds. We were port side aft most suite and the generator noise was noticeable on the balcony. The room was quiet inside. Next level up was the dining room and aft outdoor lounge area. UP one more level, was the upper deck lounge chairs, hot tub, and shaded bar area (just beer). Meals were buffet. Breakfast included cooked to order eggs. Fresh baked bread at lunch and dinner. On surface interval, there were snacks and drinks on the dining room outdoor lounge. Beer and wine availible, but no full bar. Wines were from spain or south america. If you need particular cocktails or wine, you should BYOB. We flew Delta from SLC-ATL-MIA. Spent a might in MIA. Flew Delta MIA-HAV and spent two nights in HAV. On return, we spent one night in HAV, then a night in MIA, then flew MIA-ATL-SLC. Customs and immigration on arrival at HAV was as easy as any place in the caribbean. The only travel glitch, was a 45 minute wait for our checked luggagein HAV. All our bags arrived intact, but we and about 5 other passengers were waiting after all other passengers had received their bags. It didn't apply to us, but luggage can be selected for secondary screening and duty fees. It seemd to be passengers bringing in large amounts of gifts/commodities for family. We enjoyed HAV and the hotel Grand Aston. We did the tourist old car tour of Havana and also a walking around the old town. Carry toilet paper and hand sanitizer/wipes. Small denomination cash(US$ or Euros) for street musicians, street snacks, bottle water, etc. there are a number of small museums the charge a small admission fee. As mentioned in most tour books, US based credit cards probably won't work most places. We paid cash at local stores and restaurants.
Websites	Avalon 3
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Hawaii, Belize, Caymans, Socal, Bonaire, Roatan, Cabo Pulmo, Cozumel, Caicos, Phillipines, Indonesia
Closest Airport	HAV or SCU	Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy, dry	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	79-80°F / 26-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	60-80 Ft/ 18-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Enter as a group, but could return to boat on your own.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Nothing special on the pangas(cameras sat on deck), but full facilities on the Avalon 3. Rinsing, compressed air gun, storage shelfs, clean towels for cameras.

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Dive Review of Avalon 3 in Cuba/Jardins de la Reina

Avalon 3: "Sharks and more sharks", Jan, 2024,

Photos Submitted with this Report

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 Avalon 3 in
Cuba/Jardins de la Reina