Welcome to an unforgettable journey through the charms of Varadero, the shining diamond of the Cuban Caribbean. In a setting where the sun caresses dream beaches, Varadero stands as one of the most emblematic tourist destinations in Cuba. From dream beaches to cultural and natural jewels, Varadero displays a range of possibilities that promise to captivate every traveler eager for discovery and adventure. In this article, we present the places of interest that you can visit during your trip to this spa, recommendations and all the information you need in one place. Enter with us the most fascinating corners of Varadero and discover why this destination is much more than sun and beach.
1. Its beaches
It is the great treasure, with its 22 km of fine white sand and warm waters of an indescribable turquoise. Relaxing in its transparent waters without much waves is one of the best experiences you will experience.
2. Josone Park
📍 1st Avenue btw/ 56th and 59th Street
📞 +53 45 66 7228
In it you will find the most extensive green areas in Varadero, it is a true natural oasis if you want to disconnect from the beach. It has an old neoclassical style mansion built in 1942 by a couple named José and Onelia. They baptized this little paradise by combining their names: Josone. It is made up of nine hectares of varied vegetation, surrounded by trees and flowers, with beautiful landscape. You can explore it through boat rides on its lake, you will love having a picnic and children will love running in its large green areas. In addition, it has a wide gastronomic offer with various restaurants.
3. Varadero Boulevard
📍 1st Avenue btw/ 62nd and 64th Streets
This seven-hectare space is located between streets 62, 63 and 64, with interior passages, which has various commercial and gastronomic offers, as well as a 10-room hostel, and shows visitors Cuban values such as coffee, tobacco and rum in their respective homes.
4. Oasis Square
📍 Vía Blanca Highway Km 130
📞 +53 45 66 8930
Recently created, it is a charming place due to its proximity to the Paso Malo Canal, ideal for spending time with family and friends, it has various entertainment and gastronomic offers to create wonderful memories for those who visit it. Three restaurants are available to travelers, all themed, such as Tokyo Sushi, specializing in Japanese food. For its part, the Seafood Restaurant offers an extensive menu based on delicacies such as lobster, shrimp, crabs and other seafood, while the Tapas restaurant invites you to enjoy exquisite combinations of these appetizers, along with a wide variety of drinks. For drinks, the Mojito bar.
The facility includes a Spa, a wellness center that provides hairdressing, barbering, manicure, pedicure, massages, body or facial treatments and a relaxing hydrothermal circuit. On the nights from Wednesday to Monday there is a party room with a bar, shows and the tempting invitation to move your body to the rhythm of Cuban music. Finally, a shopping gallery that includes a market, boutique and two mixed stores.
5. House of Rum
📍 1st Avenue and 63rd Street
📞 +53 45 66 8393
It is the favorite place of thousands of tourists who visit it every year. Here you can learn how good Cuban rum is made, which is manufactured from sugar cane honey.
In the first room there is a model in which it is explained from the entry of cane to Cuba, on the second trip of Christopher Columbus to this geographical area, in addition to the beginnings of the sugar industry and the promotion of distilleries to produce the liquor The sketch abounds on the extraction of alcohols, the work of the first sugar mills, the use of slave labor brought from Africa in the cane fields of the island, and the extraction of honey that gives the cycle to obtain the different types of spirits. In this venue you will combine the pleasure of tasting a good liquor with the knowledge of the historical roots of a product from the country that is a leader in international markets.
6. Habano House
📍 1st Avenue btw/ 63rd and 64th Street
📞 +53 45 63 1030
It is a store with a wide variety of internationally famous Cuban cigars and cigars. It is ideal for connoisseurs and for those travelers who want to be captivated by the aroma of tobacco, its history and the entire completely artisanal and manual process of the famous Cuban cigar by its master tobacco maker.
7. Xanadú Golf Club/Mansion
📍 South Highway km 8
📞 +53 45 66 7388
Located in one of the most paradisiacal and wonderful places on the Hicacos peninsula, “Las peñas de San Bernardino”. The Xanadú Mansion stands out for being a construction from the beginning of the 20th century, declared National Heritage since 2013, where you can currently enjoy accommodation and a restaurant with a unique view of the beach. The Varadero Golf Club, 18 holes, par 72, is the only one of its kind in the country. You can have facilities such as: Green Fee for 18 and 9 holes, bag rental, ball buckets, cart rental, golf lessons, lockers.
8. Church of Santa Elvira
📍 1st Avenue and 47th Street
It is located next to the 8,000 Taquillas park near the beach and is the most visited in the city thanks to its location. It has a central nave of 15.75 meters, where the altar stands, made of bricks and veneered with white Carrara marble. Its sober, simple style, with certain Romanesque influences, strength and the use of local sandstone, in the solid construction has allowed it to maintain a good state of conservation. You can make a daily visit completely free, in addition to being able to attend mass at the church of Santa Elvira in Spanish, at 10:30am every Sunday, which is one of the recommendations to enjoy your visit.
9. Handicraft Market
The artisan fairs are part of the cultural life of Varadero, offering a variety of products to the visitor, who always finds a pleasant souvenir. The main fair is located on Calle 15 and 1ra Avenida, with several existing throughout the center of Varadero.
10. Hicacos Shopping Center and Leisure Club
📍 1st Avenue btw/ 44th and 46th Street
📞 +53 45 66 7147
You can do some shopping in this place, in addition to enjoying gastronomic offers in its cafes and spending leisure time with interactive games, 6D Cinema, board games, playground and eyeplay.
11. House of Music
📍 Beach Avenue btw/ 42nd and 43rd Streets
📞 +53 45 66 8918
It is a center for cultural promotion, a party place, to have a few drinks, dance and enjoy live musical groups of various genres from all over the country. They offer a very varied program with concerts almost every day of the week and with the best groups such as Los Van Van, La Charanga Habanera, Bamboleo, Pedrito Calvo and many more.
12. The Beatles Bar-Restaurant
📍 1st Avenue btw/ 59th and 60th Street
📞 +53 45 66 7329
Decorated with images and posters of Liverpool's big four, it offers excellent menus and a wide variety of national and international cocktails. You can listen to good recorded music and live performances by local rock groups.
13. All in One Fun Park
📍 South Highway and 54th Street
Es un popular espacio, ideal para el esparcimiento de la familia. Variadas y emocionantes opciones de entretenimiento te esperan en este concurrido lugar. Puedes alternar entre los carros locos, la estrella, la montaña rusa, el juego del martillo, los elefantes y avioncitos voladores, el carrusel, la pista de autos para los pequeños y muchos otros, además hay sala de realidad virtual. En la bolera podrás jugar partidas de billar y bolos, así como recuperar las energías degustando las pizzas y sándwiches de la cafetería. Como una opción adicional está el centro comercial que además de las diferentes tiendas de ropa, calzado y alimentos, incluye una juguetería y una perfumería. Y hay señal Wi-Fi 😉 puedes ir con tus tarjetas de conexión por horas NAUTA y conectarte.
14. Photo hostel
📍 1st Avenue and 30th Street
No one will believe you went to Varadero if you don't take your photo on this site. It is a space on this wonderful beach where, from a photo booth, you can take memorable snapshots.
…and here we are some of the team 😅 leaving the evidence that we love Varadero and we know it inside and out. We are always looking for the best recommendations for our travelers. From left to right: Anaili and Yely.
15. Varahicacos Ecological Reserve
📍 South Highway, Km. 12
📞 +53 45 66 8148
⏰ Open: every day from 9am to 4:30pm
The ecological park is probably one of the most captivating and outstanding nature reserves in Cuba. If you are a lover of ornithology, this is a magnificent area that you will enjoy a lot. The Varahicacos reserve is an excellent place for watching both terrestrial and aquatic, migratory and endemic birds. You will have the opportunity to discover reptiles in all its corners; Almost all of them, like the iguana, are native inhabitants of the peninsula. You can also find a centennial cactus called “El Patriarca”, more than 500 years old. There is a main trail that is easily covered in 1 hour.
16. Ambrose Cave
📞 +53 45 66 8018
It is located on a hill known as “La loma de la caseta” within the ecological reserve. It consists of 5 galleries connected to each other where you can find one of the most important pictographic sets in the Caribbean.
17. Saturn Cave
📍 Airport Highway, km 11 ½, Matanzas
📞 +53 45 25 3833
It is located about 12 km from Matanzas. One of the must-see places on your visit to Varadero is a flooded underground gallery 150m long and more than 20 feet deep, which makes it an ideal setting for speleodiving. It offers unique settings, housing a large number of stalagmites and stalactites, next to a small lake with transparent waters, with depths of up to 20 meters, where you can snorkel or swim.
18. Varadero Dolphinarium
📍 South Highway km 12
📞 +53 45 66 8031
⏰ Open: every day from 9am to 5pm
Show times: 11am and 3:30pm
Swimming with dolphins schedules: 9:30am/11:30am/2:30pm/4pm
It is an excellent option for family fun, you can enjoy impressive shows in which dolphins perform pirouettes with hoops, juggle, play with balls and jump, the little ones will love it. It is one of the most touristic places in Varadero, it offers two dolphin shows daily, in addition to the shows and photos, with an extra charge, you can swim fifteen minutes with the dolphins. A fabulous experience that many have already enjoyed.
19. Coral Beach
If you are interested in snorkeling or diving, you have to visit this beach, one of the most beautiful in Varadero. It is located in the center of the road between Varadero and Matanzas. It has the largest coral reefs in Cuba and Latin America, with a total of 2 km of coral that provides the perfect setting for practicing water sports. You will be able to swim around 500 species of fish and mollusks, a truly unique experience for underwater photographers.
20. Cayo Blanco
You can only go as an excursion, reserving the day before you want to do it at the tourist commercial offices that are at various points on the first avenue in Varadero. You will enjoy its paradisiacal virgin beaches, which you will reach by catamaran. Its coral reef offers an idyllic environment for diving. It is surrounded by mangroves, which are the habitat of numerous species of fauna, such as numerous birds, the Cuban iguana and the strange black coral, in danger of extinction. The island has a ranchón-type restaurant, where you can taste typical Cuban snacks and drinks. Also, there is a small craft stall where you can buy some unique pieces. During the excursion you will enjoy an open bar, entertainment with many games and music. In short, it will be an unforgettable day in a spectacular natural setting.
21. Plaza América Convention Center
📍 South Highway km 11
📞 +53 45 66 7895
Main convention and fair center of the spa. It is commonly used as the main or alternative venue for the International Tourism Fairs that are organized on the island, so it is very well equipped from a technological point of view to fulfill such purposes. It is also the Shopping Center par excellence of Varadero due to the presence of more than 30 stores inside. It also provides services for organizing social meetings and festive or business banquets.
22. Plaza Las Morlas
📍 South and Final Highway, Varadero
📞 +53 45 66 7330
This majestic facility is located right at the end of the Hicacos Peninsula. It has varied gastronomic, entertainment and service offerings that make it the most complete and modern non-hotel option in Varadero. In addition to a Marina for nautical activities with capacity for more than a thousand berths and 13 pontoons for moorings with additional services. This tourist town has a magnificent commercial promenade where there are multiple options designed, above all, for lovers of the sea. A gallery of shops and boutiques, a minimarket, a bowling alley, several specialized restaurants (including the Kike & Kcho sailor), an ice cream parlor, several bars and venues for shows make Plaza Las Morlas a lively and attractive space at any time of the year. .
23. Varadero Skydiving Center
📍 Kawama Final Airport, Santa Marta
📞 +53 45 66 2828
The International Skydiving Center, located on beautiful Varadero Beach, offers instruction and fun for flight lovers. The center has instructors specialized in tandem jumping and individual jumping techniques for experienced clients. Other recreational options are ultralight rafts, paramotors, free fall filming and photography, among other attractions. Important international events have been held at the Varadero Skydiving Center. It is located very close to the Marina Dársena, the Barracuba International Diving Club, the Varadero Amphitheater and several hotels.
Where to stay during your visit to Varadero
If you want to get away from the large all-inclusive resorts and live a truly unique experience helping the local economy, we suggest staying in private homes. They are the most authentic way to delve into Cuban culture, we have a lot of cool houses in this destination,check them out here 👇
Where to eat in Varadero
If you would also be interested in knowing the best places to eat in Varadero, we invite you to discover them in this post 👇
How to get to Varadero
There are three main alternatives to travel from other tourist destinations in Cuba to Varadero:
- Bus: It is the most economical way of transportation. We always recommend booking in advance on the official Viazul website, some destinations have trips every day, others on specific days. Check all the information on their website.
- Collective taxis: They are a type of taxi in which you share the same taxi with other travelers who are going to Varadero just like you, and you pay for your seat only. It is generally managed directly with the host in the house, who will be in charge of booking your transfer for the day you need the trip.
- Private taxis: They are the most expensive, but also the fastest and most comfortable way to get directly to your destination without delays along the route. Prices usually vary depending on the distance between destinations. The hosts always have the contacts of their trusted taxi drivers and can help you manage the trip.
At the end of the day, Varadero is much more than a typical Caribbean beach destination; It is a treasure full of surprises and unforgettable experiences. From its white sands to its vibrant cultural spaces, every corner of Varadero tells a unique story and leaves a lasting impression in the hearts of those who visit. Whether you immerse yourself in its crystal-clear waters, explore its fascinating caves and natural parks, or delve into its rich history and culture, Varadero never ceases to amaze and amaze. With its undeniable charm and unmatched hospitality, Varadero rises as an essential destination for any traveler in search of unforgettable adventures. No matter how many places you visit in Varadero, there will always be something new to discover and enjoy in this Caribbean paradise. Also, be sure to take a look at these articles about others must-see destinations in Cuba.
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