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Maria la Gorda Cuba Cruise Port Guide
Location:
This is a tender port.
Printable map to take along on your cruise.
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Monthly Climate Averages for Maria la Gorda Cuba
Maria la Gorda is in Pinar del Rio province in western Cuba. It is mostly synonymous with the diving camp that is situated there. The entire settlement consists of a hotel, diving center, small shop, sandy beach and 2 restaurants.
Tours Excursions Transportation:
If you walk a few kilometers away from the camp, towards the top of the peninsula, you see interesting landscape -- mangrove swamp and the sea are divided by wall of old shells/corals. Some big (50 cm) empty shells there.
Diving is the main activity on offer. A range of options are available, and snorkeling trips go out with every dive.
Nearby Places:
Shopping and Food
As in any third world country, most of the merchandise available is designed for tourists to take back home. The biggest Cuban exports for tourists are rum, cigars, and coffee, all of which are available at government-owned stores or on the streets. For genuine merchandise, you should pay the official price at the legal stores.
Watch out for:
- Real-looking discount cigars of dubious authenticity being offered by street touts.
- "Friendly" locals inviting tourists to bars for a drink (normally a Mojito) or to a restaurant; the tourist will be charged two to three times the normal price, and the spoils split between the establishment and the "friend".
- Short-changing in bars or taxis or giving national pesos (CUP) in change for convertible pesos (CUC).
Being that all restaurants are owned by the government and run by underpaid employees, the food in Cuba is notoriously bland. Within Cuba, the best food will generally be found in your casa particular or in paladares (locally owned restaurants in private homes).
Currency:
CUC is the currency most tourists will use in Cuba. It is how you will pay for hotels, official taxis, entry into museums, meals at restaurants, cigars, rum, etc. Conversion into CUC can be done at exchange houses (casa de cambio, or cadeca). These are located in many hotels and in other places throughout the cities. The Euro is widely accepted, unfortunately the US$ is not.
ATMs are rare in Cuba. Credit cards are not widely accepted.
Communication:
The official language of Cuba is Spanish.
The emergency number in Cuba is: 116.
In many cities the only way for tourists to access the internet is through the government's communications centers ( ETECSA ), it is not cheap and there is good chance that someone is "watching" your doings on the PC.
Opening Hours and Holidays:
Holidays in Cuba
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