The Bay of Pigs is a long, narrow inlet biting north from the Caribbean into the Zapata peninsula. The eastern shore — Playa Larga at the head, Playa Girón at the mouth — is the part most travellers come to see, both for the Cold War history and for the surprisingly good snorkelling and shore-diving along the rocky drop-offs just metres from the road.
The road runs the length of the bay through cactus scrub and small villages, with frequent pull-offs where you can swim and snorkel straight from the shore. Concrete monuments along the road mark where individual Cuban soldiers died defending against the invasion in 1961; the Museo de la Batalla de Girón at Playa Girón documents the operation from the Cuban perspective. Most visitors base themselves in casas particulares in Playa Larga or Playa Girón for a couple of nights.