Cuba's most popular beach
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April 21, 2013:
Cuba's best beaches are on the north (Atlantic) side of the island,
and the most popular of all these beaches is a 22km-long
sandbar called Varadero.
Most tourists stay at all-inclusive tourist hotels,
but, as always, casas particulares
are a comfortable alternative to hotels full of tourists.
I stayed at casa de Kenia (45-612280).
Be sure to request the room by the beach.
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 My beach |
 My room |
 Miles of beaches |
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After Cubans from Havana,
the largest group of tourists in Varadero are from Canada.
There are flights from Toronto and Montreal non-stop to Varadero.
Booked online, a one-week vacation package
in one of Varadero's all-inclusive 4-star resorts,
including airfare, costs $1000 or less.
No wonder Varadero is Canada's #1 vacation destination.
The Blau Varadero is one of many mega-resorts here,
and more hotel resorts are under construction.
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 The Blau Varadero Hotel |
 Blau Varadero lobby |
 The tourist shuttle |
 Pescado a la Cubana |
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Varadero caters to tourists by providing
restaurants,
bars,
golf courses,
nature parks (such as the dolphinarium),
shopping malls
and shuttle buses to and from all these sites ...
all at reasonable, i.e. low, prices.
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 Varadero golf course |
 Varadero dolphin park |
 Flags of the tourists |
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Although beach resorts aren't my style,
I came to Varadero to see what most foreign visitors to Cuba see.
In fact, many tourists visit Varadero frequently
but have never seen any other part of Cuba.
Americans are very welcome here, but I didn't see any. In front of one of the resorts are the flags of its most frequent visitors. Note the absence of an American flag. Americans are missing out on an excellent vacation destination. 
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