D


a


G L E S


L L


R A E m R L L


S S


T I


caribbean | regions A great hammerhead shark


swims off the coast of Alice Town, Bimini, Bahamas


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA


ATLANTIC OCEAN Freeport City


GULF OF MEXICO


Havana Matanzas Santa Clara CUBA FEATURE


CAYMAN ISLANDS (U.K.)


Cienfuegos


Sancti Spiritus


Ciego de Ávila Camaguey Las Tunas a Holguin


Bayamo Guantánamo Santiago de Cuba


J JAMAICA Kingston Matthew Town Cap-Haitien Gonaives Port-au-Prince Santiago


HAITI DOMINICAN REPUBLICAguadilla Barahona


San Francisco de Macoris Jacmel


Santo Domingo


WATER WONDERLAND


E CARIBBEAN SEA ARUBA NICARAGUA E (NETHERLANDS)


As famous for its underwater world as it is for its sugar-white beaches, the Caribbean offers divers endless treasures. By Tamsin Wressell


COSTA RICA PANAMA VENEZUELA


Stretching from the Gulf of Mexico and Cuba towards South America, the waters here are warm and calm, giving way to an array of diving opportunities. From wrecks and coral reefs to sinkholes and migrating humpback whales, we’ve rounded up some of the best diving spots in the Caribbean.


Bimini, Bahamas BEST FOR: SPOTTING HAMMERHEAD SHARKS Diving-wise, this part of the Bahamas is best known for its shark encounters. Roughly


PACIFIC OCEAN


between December and April every year, hammerhead sharks and bull sharks settle into the warm waters off the coast of the Bahamas’ Bimini Island. Reef sharks, blacktip sharks and tiger sharks are all frequent visitors to this spot, too. Dives to see them are fairly shallow (from around 20 feet), making it ideal for beginners, and beyond the sharks, there's beautiful coral reef as well as shallow wrecks and caverns. While it’s possible to dive a few of the reefs around the shore, most trips involve a short boat ride.


COLOMBIA


Something Special, Bonaire BEST FOR: HUMPBACK WHALE MIGRATION With humpback whales migrating through the waters of the Dutch Caribbean Islands between January and April, diving in Bonaire comes with a unique opportunity to dive alongside them, as well as with pods of bottlenose dolphins. Something Special, which is named after a local rum, is a dive site on the central west coast of the island with particularly high biodiversity. Garden eels, eagle rays and frogfi sh are all common sights when diving


BRAZIL Worldwide Destination Guide 2024/25 | ASTA | 63 5


NETHERLANDS ANTILLES


A N San Juan


PUERTO RICO (U.S.A.)


Nassau THE BAHAMAS Andros


TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS (U.K.)


Grand Turk (Cockburn Town) W


VIRGIN ISLANDS (U.K.)


E EANGUILLA


VIRGIN ISLANDS (U.S.A.)


ST EUSTATIUS ST KITTS & NEVIS


MONTSERRAT (U.K.)


St John’s Plymouth


ANTIGUA & BARBUDA


Basse-Terre DOMINICA Roseau


MARTINIQUE (FRANCE)


GRENADA


ST LUCIA Kingstown


ST VINCENT & THE GRENADINES R


Fort-de-France Castries


Bridgetown BARBADOS St George’s


Port of Spain Trinidad Tobago


TRINIDAD & TOBAGO San Fernando


GUADELOUPE (FRANCE)


I


A


i


E


L S


c I L


S


N


k


T


N


S


a


a E


D


n


h R


A


a A T


G


r


e r


l o


a


F


t


B


o f


Windward Pass


a


h


t s


a


i


m


r a


a l e


S t


B n


i


d


IMAGE: GETTY


Yucatan Channel


a


C


n


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44