Lying on a sheltered peninsula to the east of Havana and not far from Matanzas, Varadero is Cuba’s main beach resort. It is the nicest beach resort on the island, and indeed one of the finest in the Caribbean, with a pretty substantial tourist infrastructure which is generally inaccessible to the average Cuban.
Varadero Beach (Playa Las Calaveras) is the main attraction and has been labelled by some quarters as the ‘world’s greatest beach’. Mega hotels and resorts front the wide expanse of sand where all sorts of water sports activities are on offer, along with a string of refreshing beach huts selling drinks and snacks.
All types of water sports are available on Varadero Beach, as well as away from it. The sailing, fishing and scuba diving and snorkelling are particularly popular and you can charter your own yacht and go for a spin around the local cays. There are two-dozen dive sites here alone, including an underwater park where vessels have been purposely sunk.
You can also swim with the dolphins in Varadero at the Dolphinarium, as well as go skydiving at the International Centre for Air Sports and play golf at the Varadero Golf Club; Cuba’s only rated 18-holer. Another popular part of Varadero is Josone Park—a beautifully manicured park with lots of side attractions—while the Bellamar Caves, the Artisan Market, and Xanadu Mansion will keep culture-vultures happy.
Nightly entertainment options in Varadero are good and consist mainly of bars and discos. There are also theatres and Cuban cabarets in town although the resort caters almost exclusively to tourists. Most big hotel/resorts also have their own entertainment, with piano bars and lounges, and there are good choices for those with kids as well.
Varadero has a good spread of hotels and although they are generally out of range of most Cubans, prices are reasonable. Everything from small hotels to large international chains is available, but if you do fancy going cheap, Cuban brands are evident. Hotel Varadero Internacional on Avenue las Americas is one of the plushest in town along with the Varadero Golf Club Hotel.
The majority of tourists to Varadero fly into Juan Gualberto Gomez International Airport, which is just outside town and receives flights direct from Europe and Canada. If you are already in Havana, three buses leave the main bus station for Varadero daily, a three-hour trip, while the resort is connected to the capital by a four-lane coastal highway (Via Blanca) for those with hire cars.
The weather in Varadero is generally either hot or hotter. The winter, from December to April, is the ‘hot’ part and the peak season, when most North Americans and Europeans hit the beach. Temperatures are good and it rarely rains. The summer months of July and August, on the other hand, is the ‘hotter’ period and is also humid and rainy.
The rainy season encompasses the entire summer, running from May to October, while the hurricane season generally overlaps from June to November. Cold spells in the winter feature bracing winds coming down from North America and lows of 10°C can happen. The busiest times in Varadero are Christmas, Easter and late July, when hotels absolutely must bebooked in advance.
