Cuba Dive Safety and Hyperbaric Chambers

Good Cuba dive safety starts at home. Many of the island's best sites are hours from a city hospital, medical supplies are short, and evacuation is slower than in more developed dive destinations. None of that should stop you diving in Cuba, but it should shape how you dive and what you pack.

Hyperbaric chambers in Cuba

A hyperbaric (recompression) chamber treats decompression sickness and arterial gas embolism by putting the diver back under pressure while breathing oxygen. Cuba has a long tradition of hyperbaric medicine, and chambers have operated in several places near the main dive areas, including:

• Havana: the hyperbaric medicine center at the Dr. Luis Díaz Soto naval hospital in Habana del Este.
• Matanzas province: a chamber at the underwater medicine center of the hospital in Cárdenas, the closest to Varadero and the Bay of Pigs.
• Isla de la Juventud: chambers at the hospital in Nueva Gerona and, historically, near the Siguanea Bay dive base.
• Santiago de Cuba: a chamber at the military hospital serving the southeast, so ask in advance how civilian divers are referred.

Equipment, staffing and opening hours change, and power cuts affect hospitals too. Do not rely on an old list. Before your trip, ask your dive center which chamber they use and how they would get you there, and call your dive insurer's emergency line to confirm what they currently recommend for Cuba.

Dive insurance is not optional

Cuba requires all visitors to hold medical insurance, but a standard travel policy may exclude scuba diving or cap the cost of recompression treatment. Choose a policy that clearly covers:

• Scuba diving to the depths you plan, including any liveaboard trips.
• Hyperbaric treatment and emergency evacuation.
• A 24-hour emergency line that can arrange care in Cuba.

Specialist dive insurers, such as Divers Alert Network (DAN), offer this cover. US travelers should check whether their insurer can operate in Cuba at all, because of US sanctions.

Dive conservatively

Far from a chamber, the best treatment is prevention:

• Stay well inside your computer's no-decompression limits and make a safety stop on every dive.
• Keep the deepest dive first, ascend slowly and leave long surface intervals.
• Drink plenty of water. Cuba's heat and sun dehydrate divers quickly.
• Avoid alcohol before diving and between dives.
• Wait at least 18 to 24 hours after your last dive before flying, as major training agencies advise.

Check the boat and the gear

Ask whether the boat carries emergency oxygen and a first aid kit, and look at them yourself. Check any rental gear carefully: test the regulator, inspect hoses and O-rings and confirm that your tank is full. On remote walls, carry a surface marker buoy and a whistle or other signaling device, because currents can carry divers away from the boat.

Marine life and other hazards

Sharks in Cuba are not a significant risk to divers who follow the guide's briefing. Fire coral, sea urchins and stinging hydroids are more likely to cause problems, so keep your hands off the reef and wear a thin full suit even when the water is warm. On land, sun, heat and mosquitoes are the main concerns.

Have a plan

Write down your insurer's emergency number, your dive center's contact details and the nearest chamber, and share them with your buddy. Carry copies of your insurance documents on the boat. If you feel symptoms after a dive, such as joint pain, numbness, unusual fatigue or breathing problems, tell the guide straight away, breathe oxygen and call for help.

For more on preparing, see what to expect from Cuba dive centers and our Cuba travel guide for divers.