CUBA - 8 DAYS

Embark in Cienfuegos on Cuba’s south coast.  After having settled in on board, take a stroll through the town’s colonial-era buildings with a local historian who will point out the Spanish fortress and castle, and provide you with a backdrop to Cuba’s history and cultural heritage. 
In the afternoon, head for the inlets and bays that are frequented by dolphins and dive in with a snorkel for a closer encounter.
In the evening, ead back into the city to dance at Cienfuegos Club in Punta Gorda. Enjoy the delights of the Cuban disco with live music.

Sixty miles off the southeastern coast, Jardines del Reina (Gardens of the Queen) National Park encompasses a chain of 250 virgin coral and mangrove islands.  It is Cuba’s first marine park and the largest ‘no-take’ marine reserve in the Caribbean.

Due to its intact connectivity between seagrass beds, mangroves and coral reefs, as well as the remoteness of the area and its long history of protection, Gardens of the Queen represents a “baseline” for an early Caribbean marine ecosystem; a pristine ecosystem that is home to healthy populations of Caribbean reef sharks and Goliath groupers, important grazers like rainbow parrotfish and long-spined sea urchins, and recovering endangered species such as  elk horn coral and hawksbill sea turtles.

There is also an extraordinary area back in the mangroves where dive operators over many years have developed a relationship with a few resident American crocodiles!

Overnight passage to Cayo Largo.

The Island of Youth (Isladela Juventud) was discovered by Christopher Columbus in his second voyage to the New World.  It used to be a safe shelter for pirates, corsairs and buccaneers, and it has been the source of many legends that still prevail today.  Explore the island with a local guide and learn about the piratical history of the area - the stories will delight guests both young and old.

Its waters offer one of the most significant diving zones in the world, the Punta Frances National Marine Park at the Colony (southwest of the island).

If you are not diving, take the yachts tender will to visit these protected areas with a specialist snorkel guide, who will show you one of the best snorkelling locations in Cuba.  

Overnight passage back to Cayo Largo for disembarkation the next morning.