The city lies on the east side of Bahía de Cienfuegos, a deep, 88-square-kilometer bay with an umbilically narrow entrance and in which, as one 19th–century traveler remarked, “ all the navies in the world could rendezvous and not crowd each other.”
Cienfuegos’ appeal lies partly in the European flavor of its colonial hub, with a wide Parisian Style boulevard and elegant colonnades.
Approaching from the Autopista, the two lane highway enters the city from the north and widens into a broad boulevard, the Paseo del Prado which leads to the town’s historic core and later becomes the Malecón, a wide seafront boulevard stretching south one km along narrow peninsula ending at Punta Gorda, a once –exclusive residential district that recalls 1950’s North American suburbia, with Detroit classics still parked in the driveways of mid-20th-century homes.
Small beaches on the Caribbean Sea surround this urban center; such as Rancho Luna and El Inglés. The 50 scuba diving spots, between the entry channel of Jagua Bay and Boca Ambuila, are fascinating - apart from the famous Notre Dame coral column, there are sunken ships and abundant species of fish. Making this Cuba vacation spot perfect for any scuba lover in your family.