Dive Review of Avalon Diving/Avalon 3] in
Cuba/Garden of the Queens

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Avalon Diving/Avalon 3]: "Fish Sanctuary", Jun, 2024, by Susan M Fuchs, IL, US ( Reviewer 6 reports with 4 Helpful votes). Report 13062.
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	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	The dock for the Avalon boats is in a very small town. It is 5 hrs from Havana, which you SHOULD VISIT. Old Havana is very picturesque and there are many museums to visit. The old-restored cars tend to be taxis. Dollars are accepted at restaurants, and the exchange rate is much better than at a bank (100-325 Cuban pesos=$1). There were Caribbean reefs sharks on almost every dive, but they didn't bother you. On a few dives there were numerous tarpon swimming at you. There were many, many groupers, some nassau, other black in various sizes. Lots of blue tangs, black durgeon, fairy basslets, porkfish, grunts and parrotfish galore! The food was rather bland-if you like spicy bring your siracha. We had lobster every night- never thought I would get tired of it, but I did. There was ground beef, fish, and vegetarian options with lots of rice at lunch and dinner. Deserts were a bit of a "guess what this is", except for the cake. We were allowed 2 drinks per night- mojito, beer or wine for free. The rooms could use more accessible storage space and hooks. In between the 2 beds a small cabinet would be helpful (rather than placing my glasses and kindle on the floor). The crew was very attentive, and the divemasters would point out fish that several people were hoping to see. You actually leave the large boat via small boats (rather than pangas), and you could take off your weight belt then your BC and the crew would hoist it out of the water. The back ladders to return to the boat were sturdy. Boats rides were 10-20 minutes. We didn't see a crocodile in the mangroves, but did see a small one near the boat.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Caribbean, Indonesia, Thailand, Palau
Closest Airport	Camaguey	Getting There	Havana then 5 hr bus trip or Camaquey and 2 hr bus trip
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	85-86°F / 29-30°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	10-50 Ft/ 3-15 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Dove in 8-9 people groups. Initial time limit was 60 min but then extended to 70 +
Liveaboard?	yes	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		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	There were 2 photo tables on board. People brought power strips, so recharging batteries was easy. There was also an air gun to dry off your camera. On the small boat you placed your camera on the floor (no water bin), and on return you placed the camera in a dedicated water tub.

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Dive Review of Avalon Diving/Avalon 3] in Cuba/Garden of the Queens

Avalon Diving/Avalon 3]: "Fish Sanctuary", Jun, 2024,

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 Diving/Avalon 3] in
Cuba/Garden of the Queens