dolphinarium cayo santa maria

This was one thing on my bucket list I really wanted to do and I must say it was everything I imagined it to be!!!!!<3

The dolphins are very cute, but they live ina dirty water! Cubans are very dirty people, so they don't care about the place where are kept these animals .

This was part of our catamaran tour which was great but the dolphins seemed sickly. One was really interactive and the other looked older and sad. :( I love animals and this made me upset to see. My husband and I felt upset after this part of the tour.

Wild orcas and dolphins live in large, complex social groups and swim vast distances every day in the open ocean. In captivity, these animals are denied the opportunity to engage in almost any natural behavior. They are forced to perform meaningless tricks and often torn away from family members when they’re shuffled between parks. Most die far short of their natural life spans.

On my Bucket List. It was like an "OUT OF BODY EXPERIENCE", absolutely AMAZING!!! I'm animal lover & I was very worried about the treatment of the Dolphins. They are extremely well cared for, their enclosures are very large & in the ocean. They absolutely LOVE what they do. Everyone should experience this one on one with one of the most Intelligent animals on Earth!!! I will NEVER forget that moment.

Dolphins were beautiful! I felt sad they were in captivity although I believe they were well taken care of. I did not appreciate the bartender trying to charge for the drinks....and then when we didn't let him, we backed off and then said it was for the tip. The food and service was mediocre. The toilets were not clean and had no paper. I always feel that I am not getting my money's worth but I don't appreciate someone trying to openly pull a fast one....

Definitely the place I would recommend to a family trip really nice show and swimming with dolphins it's quite good the bad thing it's that it does not last enough ... 40 minutes approximately, one more thing you are not able to go in water with any item so if you want to take pictures of the swimming you will need to purchase the official ones. Definitely worth the money

This was an all day event. It started out on a catamaran, went snorkelling for 45 mins, went to a private beach covered in stat fish for 45 mins, had a lobster lunch and then went swimming with the dolphins. It was very hot on the boat so make sure to bring a hat and sunscreen. Great value for the money.

I swam with Dolphins in Dominican , but this time was way better. Fun , fun , fun. My daughter was the most happiest I have ever seen her.

Loved the dolphins and the care they were getting. Very much like their natural environment. Have seen dolphins before kept in swimming pools and thought it was cruel but not here. Very nice and great value and great food too !!

This dolphinarium is built in natural waters. The dolphins seem happy and have fish swimming with them. There was no evidence of pacing or other stereotypical behavior, in fact, the dolphins just seemed to interact with us ( following us and waving back to our waving as we were just walking beside enclosure) without any reward expected or given. The show was very good. Entrance with show a very reasonable 5 CUC per person.

I did the excursion with the catamaran and dolphin encounter with 11 of my friends last month (January 2015) and we loved it!I've done dolphin encounters, swims and sea lion encounters in Bahamas before and paid much more (which is expected when comparing these 2 islands). Now, to be fair, at my experience in the Bahamas, we did get to spend the day at the Blue Lagoon island as well... But... This trip came with a catamaran adventure, lunch and open bar!This trip was about 100 CUC per person, for those we are asking. Photos are extra (I don't remember how much, but we got a package for all of us to share and make our own copies of and it was affordable).We were picked up by a double decker bus with no roof - which already had us all excited. What a great view! Just beware of trees. Some of them CAN and WILL hit you (a few of us got hit pretty good lol). We arrived at the dock and pretty much immediately got on the catamaran - which is great because waiting sucks :POnce we got out on the water, the crew introduced themselves and the bar opened. The nets are always fun to lay on but they are very uncomfortable, bring a towel (or two!). Previous catamaran rides I've been on had padded nets, which are way more comfy, but I'm not complaining :) The rum punch was my choice drink and it was awesome! I'd recommend bringing your own cup for a few reasons.. 1, you can bring a cup with a lid, so no spills on the nets! 2. The plastic cups are small, less time spent at the bar with a bigger cup! and 3. You can bring your drink with you everywhere off the catamaran. :) It was a bit cold for us in the morning (overcast), but it was beautiful in the afternoon!First stop - Snorkelling! They provide you the snorkel gear and you even get to keep the mouth part :) This isn't the best place I've snorkelled, but it was nice. Lots of small fishies! Be sure to bring bread or bananas to get more fishies around you and for good pictures :)After that, you get back on the catamaran and go to the dolphin place. As soon as you get off, you can see the dolphins in their enclosures. Some people from our boat snuck into the performance area and were petting a dolphin, which isn't really cool. I mean, ya I get why you did it. But just for the safety of yourself and the dolphin, not cool. They need a BIT more security it seems :S Anyway, as soon as you get there, you get put into groups to do your interaction (unfortunately I do not have pics of this yet). It's the regular stuff, you pet the dolphin, get a kiss, get splashed, etc. I personally prefer to swim with them, but that does cost more $$$. After your interaction, you get lunch. Chicken or lobster. GET THE LOBSTER! It was probably the best thing I ate in Cuba! It was a nice lobster tail, a piece of fish, some shrimp, rice and cabbage coleslaw. Plus, they brought plates of fries to our table too! You get a drink, a fruit buffet and a chocolate ice cream dessert. Pretty sweet deal :) After that, you can go buy your photos and look at the dolphins... There's isn't much of a gift shop. They should really look into getting an actual shop with some stuff in it. It's a good way to kill time and it gets people like me to buy crap I don't need :DThe only thing I noticed is that these dolphins generally have pretty beat up noses. I don't remember the ones in Bahamas looking so cut up... HOWEVER, in Bahamas I know many of theirs are born in captivity and I think a lot of the ones in Cuba were rescued, so that could explain it. The trainers looked like they really loved their animals, so that was nice to see <3After this, you hop back on the catamaran for more drinks and music! They take you to an island where you can swim for a bit and look for starfish (please don't take them home! It's fine to take them from the water for pictures, as long as you put them back!). There isn't anything on the island and it's too rough to explore, so you'll most likely be in the water... Which is VERY shallow VERY far out lol But it was nice, we all had a great time!After that, it's back to the catamaran for more booze, music and fun in the sun while they take you back to the bus. Be sure to tip your crew!P.S. This is a full day excursion :)

was worth the 73cuc per person, and the 18cuc per person for photos. IN the water interactions and bonding with the dolphin.

This was included with our catamaran trip and was great for food and Dolphin interaction. The food is lobster and everyone in our group appreciated.

Loved it here! Been there twice, & was very impressed both visits! Food is good, & dolphins are beautiful!