Catamaran trip to Cayo Iguana and the reef

The catamaran day from Cayo Largo strings together everything the island's water is known for. Boats leave Marina Marlin at the northwest tip and stop twice on the reef, about an hour each, for snorkelling. Lunch is seafood (chicken on request), eaten with the boat moored off a beach or sandbar, and there is time to stand in a natural pool: a shallow sandbank out at sea, with starfish on the bottom.

The other stop is Cayo Iguana, a rocky cay in a protected reserve where hundreds of Cuban rock iguanas live and walk right up to people. They are wild, with sharp teeth and claws, so take the leaves the crew hands out and leave hotel snacks behind. Wear shoes that grip on rock. The whole day is about eight hours with hotel pickup and an open bar; a short boat hop to the iguanas alone, about an hour, also leaves from the marina.