Plan your Cuba dive trip: where to dive, when to go, where to stay and the rules for getting there.

Panorama of Trinidad, Cuba, with colonial rooftops and the Escambray Mountains

About Cuba: History and Culture for Visiting Divers

The island above the waterline

A short guide to Cuba's regions, history, economy and everyday etiquette, so you understand the place between dives.

Knowing a little Cuba history and culture makes a dive trip far richer. The guides on your boat, the family running your casa and the town you drive through all carry stories from five centuries of colonial rule, revolution and isolation. This page gives you the background in a few minutes.

The regions of Cuba

Cuba is divided into 15 provinces plus the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud. Travelers usually think of it in three parts:

  • Western Cuba: Pinar del Río, Artemisa, Havana, Mayabeque and Matanzas, plus Isla de la Juventud. This region has the capital, the tobacco valleys of Viñales, Varadero, the Bay of Pigs and María la Gorda.
  • Central Cuba: Cienfuegos, Villa Clara, Sancti Spíritus and Ciego de Ávila. Home to the colonial towns of Trinidad and Cienfuegos, the Jardines del Rey resort cays and the port for Jardines de la Reina.
  • Eastern Cuba: Camagüey, Las Tunas, Holguín, Granma, Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo. Mountains, the beaches of Santa Lucía and Guardalavaca, and the Afro-Caribbean culture of Santiago.

A short history

Before 1492. Cuba was home to the Taíno and other Indigenous peoples, who fished the same reefs divers visit today.

Spanish colony. Christopher Columbus reached Cuba in 1492, and Spain colonized the island in the early 1500s. Havana became a key port for Spain's treasure fleets, which is why the coast is dotted with forts and why so many shipwrecks lie offshore. Sugar plantations built on enslaved African labor made the colony rich in the 1800s.

Wars of independence. Cubans fought Spain in the Ten Years' War (1868–1878) and again from 1895. The United States entered the conflict in 1898, and Cuba became formally independent in 1902, though under strong US influence for decades.

Revolution. In 1959 Fidel Castro's revolutionaries overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. The new government nationalized businesses and moved closer to the Soviet Union. The US imposed an embargo, and in April 1961 a US-backed force of Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs, at the beaches of Playa Larga and Playa Girón, and was defeated within days. A museum in Playa Girón tells the story. The 1962 missile crisis followed the next year.

The Special Period. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Cuba lost most of its trade and subsidies. The severe hardship of the 1990s pushed the government to open the island to international tourism, and dive centers grew with the new resorts.

Recent years. The US and Cuba restored diplomatic relations in 2015, but many restrictions returned from 2017 onward. Miguel Díaz-Canel became president in 2018, the first leader since 1959 not named Castro. Cuba legalized more private small businesses in 2021, the same year it ended its dual-currency system.

Colonial houses on a cobbled street in Trinidad, a living piece of Cuba history and culture
Trinidad's colonial center grew rich on sugar in the 1800s.

The economy you will see

Tourism, money sent by Cubans abroad, nickel mining, tobacco, rum and medical services are the main sources of income. Since the pandemic Cuba has faced a deep economic crisis, with high inflation, shortages of food, fuel and medicine, and frequent power cuts. Many people have emigrated. As a visitor you will notice long queues, empty shelves in state shops and a fast-growing private sector of restaurants, cafés and small stores. Spending your money in casas particulares, paladares and with private guides puts it directly in Cuban hands.

Culture and etiquette

  • Language: Spanish. A few phrases go a long way, especially outside resorts.
  • Tipping: salaries are very low, so tips matter. Tip dive guides and boat crew, casa hosts, drivers and restaurant staff.
  • Gifts: useful items such as medicine, toiletries or dive spares are often appreciated more than souvenirs. Ask first.
  • Photos: ask before photographing people, and avoid photographing military or police sites.
  • Music: son, salsa and rumba are everywhere. An evening at a local music venue is part of any Cuba trip.

Ready to dive? Start with the best dive sites in Cuba and our Cuba travel guide for divers. The photos of Trinidad and Havana on this page come from photographers credited on our photo credits page.