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Cayo Levisa Cuba

You will find several sites for scuba diving and snorkelling on Cayo Levisa off the coast of Pinar del Rio in Cuba.

Otherwise there really isn't much to do apart from kicking off your shoes, reading a book, sipping mojitos or just swimming and enjoying your Cuban vacation in the Caribbean waters. 

The tourist island of Cayo Levisa is mostly mangroves but there is a great beach on the north side which is where the scuba diving resort is located. That area is also good for snorkeling.

The jumping off point to reach to Cayo Levisa is in Palma Rubia in Pinar del Rio, about 146 kilometres from Havana. The boat ride to Cayo Levisa is about a half hour long. The international diving center and the bungalow hotel is run by the Cuban hotel chain, Horizontes and the tour business of Manotour.

Getting to Cayo Levisa

Economical daily land transfers are available from/to Havana or Viñales hotels, coinciding with the daily boat schedule departing the Palma Rubia dock. The 20 minute boat ride is included in the hotel pricing.

To get to Palma Rubia from Havana by car, drive the northern highway from Mariel to Bahía Honda and continue on for another 40km (25 miles) west to Palma Rubia. If you're coming from Viñales, drive north to La Palma and then another 21km (13 miles) northeast to the embarkation point.

Image from CayoLevisa.info

Hotel Cayo Levisa runs two boats daily to Cayo Levisa leaving from Palma Rubia at 10:30am and 5:30pm. The trip takes around 30 minutes. It may be possible to hire a boat to take you out if you miss the morning trip, but don't count on it. Return boats from Cayo Levisa leave for Palma Rubia at 10am and 5pm. If you don't have a pre-arranged tour to the island, the boat ride should run you CUC$25 per person round-trip, including lunch on the island.

Since the North side is shallow, the dock is on the south side and a walking path will take you to the north side. If you are arriving by private boat, be sure to watch out for very shallow areas around Cayo Levisa.

Frommers has a little write up about Cayo Levisa and there is an interesting story about the troubles of travel in Communist Cuba.

The Havana Journal has good information about Cayo Levisa and there is a photo of the dock there.

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