Cuba's Varadero Beach is one of the best
Posted Jan 26, 2012 By John M. SmithEMC Lifestyles - Varadero is well known for its over 20-kilometre-long, wide white sand beach and calm ocean tides. It's a great destination for enjoying such water sports as kayaking, snorkeling, windsurfing, scuba diving, and fishing, and it's also a wonderful place to simply relax and soak up the sun or actively participate in a long walk along the sandy shoreline.
This latter activity, of simply walking along the beach, is especially popular here, so don't be surprised if you see many vacationers simply doing thisas I did. I often left my resort, the five-star Iberostar Varadero, in the early morning, to simply enjoy a long stroll along the beach, embracing the wonderful feel of the soft white sand and the calm ocean water on my bare feet. I passed many luxury resorts, where guards stood on duty (security), and I saw many vendors who were selling hats, jewellery, and other such items right on the beach. On one particular morning, I continued my stroll all the way to "Playa de Oro," where I struck up a conversation with a guard/ resort worker who informed me that I was "far away" from my particular resort. However, it didn't bother me at all to simply reverse directions and casually walk all the way back. After all, the weather was pleasantly warm, the sun was shining, the sky was a bright blue, and I was accompanied on the beach by many other vacationers enjoying the same activity. Besides, by the time I got back to my resort, a stop at the beach bar for some "refreshment" was "on tap"! I then rejoined my wife at one of our resort's pools and relaxed.
We enjoyed our all-inclusive stay at the Iberostar Varadero, but we found the food had been better on a previous visit to Cuba's Playa Pesquero in the Holguin area. Our best dining experience at the Iberostar Varadero was at the Manzoku, a Japanese restaurant, where the main course was cooked and prepared for us right at the table. We were joined at our large, round table by several other visitors, including a mom and son from Calgaryand a man celebrating his 40th birthdayand we were all entertained by our group's cook.
Our particular resort was very clean (twice daily room service), and my wife liked to leave our maid, Magnolia, little gifts. In return, she would leave a personally designed heart-shaped blanket on our bed and would leave our curtains fancily tied.
One of the nice things about the popular Varadero Beach area, in general, is the great number of resorts found here, so the visitor has lots of choice with quite a price range. It even has its own airport, the Juan Gualberto International Airport, offering direct flights to/ from our area. The visitor will also find lots to do here, including cultural, historical, and natural attractions. There are several interesting nearby caves and a chain of cays, the Bellamar Caves, for example, contain ornate crystal sculptures, pictographs, and underground rivers and ponds. Some of the area caves are actually located underwater, but they can easily be explored by divers, for example, La Cueva de Saturno, a cavern flooded with a mixture of both inland and sea water, has beautiful stalagmites and stalactites. Varadero is also home to Cuba's first championship golf course, the Varadero Golf Club. There are also the nearby cities of Cardenas, with its narrow streets and statue of Christopher Columbus, and Matanzas, often referred to as the "City of Bridges" or the "Venice of Cuba" to visit. And it's not so very far (about 140 kilometres) to Cuba's capital, Havana, so it's very possible to take a day tour from your resort. (I'd certainly recommend doing this and will write about this next week).
Varadero Beach is located on a narrow peninsula (Hicacos) that's only 1.2 kilometres wide at its widest point, and it's an enticing winter escape. And after a day on the beach, you'll find lots of discos, cabarets, nightclubs, and outdoor amphitheatres available for partying into the wee hours, including opportunities for dancing to a great variety of music, including Latin jazz and Afro-Cuban salsas and merengues. Our particular resort offered nightly entertainment shows and a plethora of organized daytime activities including dance lessons, water aerobics, water volleyball, shuffleboard, table tennis, and darts.
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