Western Cuba
We’ve compiled the best of the best in Western Cuba - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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1. Playa Varadero
Visitors know it as Varadero, but locals call this 20-km (12 ½-mile) stretch of white-sand Caribbean beach Playa Azul, for the intense azure skies mirrored in the blue water. This spectacular beach along the north shore of the Hicacos Peninsula, is on a narrow finger of land that juts out into the Florida Straits. It segues into shallow, warm Caribbean waters, ideal for swimming and paddling. You can walk for miles along the beach, past the variously color-coded cabanas and lounge chairs of the 50 or so hotels that have access to the beach. There are, however, a few rocky areas where the sand disappears, so don’t set off on a long beach walk without sandals or beach shoes. Although the hotel properties and lounges are for guests only, there is no rule against walking along the shore and taking a dip in the sea whenever you need to cool off. Most hotels supply kayaks or small boats, but divers and snorkelers will have to take excursions to other waters. Sunsets and sunrises are spectacular all along the beach. You can even have the beach to yourself when other hotel guests have departed for the dinner and evening shows. Amenities: food, drinks, lounge chairs and sun shades, toilets and showers, provided by hotels all along the beach, for guests only. Best for: swimming, sunning, walking, jogging, sunsets.
Avenida Playa, Varadero, Matanzas Province, Cuba -
2. Playa Girón
This windswept stretch of beige sand extends along the length of the Hotel Playa Girón property. Pretty beach umbrellas and lounges for hotel guests dot the beach. Access is through the hotel. Despite the pleasant, colorful umbrellas, the view from the beach is marred by a huge, crumbling concrete sea wall, a barrier against rough Caribbean seas. On the positive side, the wall keeps the inner beach calm for swimming. If you can look beyond the unsightly concrete, sunsets here are beautiful and cooled by strong breezes. Diving and snorkeling sites are a short drive from the beach. Amenities: food and toilets in Hotel Playa Girón. Best for: swimming; sunsets.
7206 Hotel Playa Girón, Playa Girón, Matanzas Province, 43000, Cuba -
3. Playa Sirena
This superb 3-km (2-mile) white-sand strand is the only beach on the island with picture-perfect palm trees. All the hotels arrange ferry and bus shuttles to this sliver of a peninsula off Cayo Largo's western tip. The marina here, shared by all the hotels, has a restaurant and a bar and a full range of water sports, including diving, snorkeling, and boat rentals from kayaks to pedal boats to Hobie Cats. If the beach gets too crowded, you can arrange a boat to take you to nearby, deserted keys such as Cayo Rico and Cayo Iguana. For a taste of the best of Cayo Largo, without renouncing the cultural experience of Cuba, there are day-trip packages from Havana and Varadero that include a 40-minute flight, half a day and lunch on Playa Sirena, snorkeling the offshore reef, and a visit to Cayo Iguana. Amenities: food and drink; toilets, water sports. Best for: snorkeling; walking.
Cayo Largo, Isla de la Juventud, 25300, Cuba -
4. Punta Francés
With no fewer than 56 dive sites—with such evocative names as Tunnel of Love—the waters around Punta Francès are truly a diver's paradise, with underwater caves, varied fauna and sunken ships to explore. Legends of sunken treasure and Spanish galleons add romance, but divers are more likely to explore a modern ship that was sunk after being used for target practice.
Colony Puerto Sol Hotel Marina and Diving Center, Isla de la Juventud, Isla de la Juventud, 25300, Cuba -
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