2. Best Dive: Cuba

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Already sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department as an educational tour, this 11-day live-aboard yacht excursion helps fund research 
and conservation work by trip leader David Guggenheim, a marine scientist, underwater explorer, and founder of the Washington, D.C., nonprofit Ocean Doctor. The location: Gardens of the Queen National Park, an archipelago of 250 coral and mangrove islands, located 60 miles off Cuba’s southern coast, that Fidel Castro established as a marine protected area and a no-take fishing zone. Only 1,000 divers are allowed each year, so you’ll be one of the few to see whale sharks, sperm whales, sea turtles, goliath groupers, and some of the most pristine coral reefs anywhere on the planet. The package includes a chartered flight from Miami and a night at the five-star