Cuba’s cruising options are as exciting as they are enigmatic. There is a unique draw to this tropical island that combines salsa- and rum-filled nights with days exploring Cuba’s lush green forest, 289 beaches and spectacular dive sites.
Cuba is a great ‘stepping stone’ charter spot, a short crossing from the Bahamas, Belize, Honduras and Florida. With red tape being cut back over recent years, Cuba is embracing superyacht visitors. Marina developments are springing up and private jets are suitably accommodated.
Fly into bustling Havana to start your charter from Marina Hemingway, or Ciengfuegos, the ‘Pearl of the South’. The best weather and calmest seas are found along the south coast, particularly between October and April.
No Cuban tour is complete without a stop in Havana, the bustling capital. Dilapidated charm and historical gravitas aside, it is a hotbed of Latin American culture, set in a jumble of colonial-meets-Soviet-brutalist architecture.
It’s not all aging guitarists smoking cigars and playing Buena Vista Social Club; a new generation of music is springing up and representing Havana’s modern aspirations, including urban soul, electronica and jazz. Don’t miss Hemingway’s two favourite watering holes: La Floridita for a daiquiri and La Bodeguita del Medio for a mojito.
From Havana, head to the island’s far western tip, the least developed part of Cuba, where there is superb snorkeling and diving for all abilities.
Find an anchorage in the bright turquoise waters of the Bahía de Corrientes bay, nestled in the Guanahacabibes National Park. The water is so clear that swimming in the bay feels like you are flying 30 metres above the seabed. Then head east to the Isla de la Juventude, for the untouched beaches of Cayo Largo and Cayo Rosario.
One of the oldest Cuban European settlements, Sancti Spíritus in the heart of Cuba offers a window into the early years of Colonialist rule, having been founded 500 years ago as one of Diego Velázquez's seven original villas.
Take in the quaint Parque Sefafín Sánchez, ancient bridge, local museums and churches. A UNESCO World Heritage site since 1988, Sancti Spíritus is less crowded than nearby town of Trinidad, which is more popular for its brightly-painted buildings, cobbled streets and yacht-ready port.
The stunning Valle de Viñales national park offers natural inland wonders for the energetic and adventurous. Huge limestone buttresses loom over emerald-green tobacco plantations dotted with skyscraper palm trees, with hiking, climbing and caving on tap.
The small farming town of Viñales offers a chance to see a more rural way of life, with cowboys still roaming the fincas on horseback. Activities range from simple hikes over a few kilometers, taking in swimming holes and sunrise vistas, to vertiginous ascents of the limestone mogotes for experienced climbers.
Although the Dominican Republic rarely – and rather unjustifiably – used to get little more than a cursory nod from yacht captains en route to a more popular yacht charter destination, the tides could be turning for the friendly and diverse country.
Having long been a Caribbean haunt of the glitterati – from film stars to European royals – Jamaica holds a special place in the hearts of those who visit. Once the largest city in the Caribbean, Port Royal in the south was a 17th Century hub for pirates.
From big-wave surfing and tropical rainforest tours to swashbuckling tales of piracy and colonial pillaging, Puerto Rico has something for everyone. Old San Juan was founded in 1521 and is the oldest European-founded settlement in the Americas; its troubled past was literally written on the walls of the fortresses battered by ancient cannonballs.