Varadero

The dry season from December to April is the best time to visit, with sunny days, low rain and a pleasant breeze. From May to October it is hot, humid and rainy, often with short afternoon storms. The sea is warm enough to swim in all year.

The hurricane season runs from June to November, with the highest risk from August to October. Storms can close hotels and cancel flights, so buy travel insurance if you visit then.

Varadero Beach is the reason most people come. The sand is soft and pale, the water is shallow near the shore, and every section is open to the public.

Mansión Xanadú is a three-storey villa on a rocky point, built around 1930 for the American millionaire Irénée du Pont. It is now the clubhouse of the golf course, with a restaurant and a top-floor bar with wide sea views.

Parque Josone is a shaded garden in the middle of town, built in the 1940s around a small lake. You can rent a rowing boat, eat at one of its restaurants, or listen to live music in the evening.

Cueva Ambrosio is a small cave with dozens of pre-Columbian drawings on its walls. It lies inside the Varahicacos Ecological Reserve near the tip of the peninsula.

The Varahicacos Ecological Reserve also has short trails through dry coastal forest and El Patriarca, a giant cactus that is several centuries old. Further sights include the Delfinario dolphin park in a mangrove lagoon and the small Museo de Varadero in a 1920s beach villa in town.

Beyond the beach, these are the things visitors here most enjoy doing.

• Watch the sunset with a cocktail: the top-floor bar of Mansión Xanadú faces the sea and is popular at the end of the day.
• Spend an evening in the park: Parque Josone has live music most evenings, and you can rent a rowing boat on its lake.
• Speed through the mangroves: boat trips by small speedboat or jet ski follow the mangrove channels between the peninsula and Cárdenas Bay.
• Snorkel or dive: dive centres at the marinas run trips to nearby reefs.
• Play golf: Varadero has an 18-hole golf course on the grounds around the du Pont mansion.
• Ride in a classic car: open-top American cars from the 1950s offer tours of the town and peninsula.

The best day trips are an old provincial town, a historic port city and a boat trip to a cay. Havana is a long but popular day out.

• Cárdenas — about 30 minutes by car. A working town with horse carts and colonial streets, where the Cuban flag was first raised in 1850.
• Matanzas — about 45 minutes by car. A historic port city of bridges and old theatres. The Bellamar Caves just outside the city offer guided tours of crystal-covered galleries. On the way, Saturn's cave near the airport road, about 20 to 30 minutes from Varadero, has a clear underground pool where you can swim.
• Cayo Blanco — a small cay with a white beach and a coral reef east of the peninsula. Catamaran trips leave from Varadero's marinas, with about an hour of sailing before the first stop. Most trips take four to eight hours and include snorkelling and lunch.
• Havana — about 2 to 3 hours by car or bus. Many hotels sell full-day trips to see the old town and its classic cars.
• Zapata Swamp National Park — over 2 hours by car. A huge wetland for birdwatching and crocodiles, next to the beaches of the Bay of Pigs.

Varadero lies in Matanzas Province, and the province's other destinations make easy trips from the resort.

• Matanzas is the provincial capital, a short drive west along the coast.
• In the south of the province, Zapata Swamp National Park and the Bay of Pigs offer wildlife, diving and recent history.
• Havana is the main gateway city and a natural second stop on a trip to Cuba.

• By air: Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport (VRA), about 16 km west of Varadero, normally handles most holiday flights, and a transfer takes 30 to 45 minutes. José Martí Airport in Havana is about 2 to 3 hours away by road.
• Flight changes: Cuba's international airports are without aviation fuel, and only Terminal 3 at Havana's José Martí Airport is operating. Many airlines, including all Canadian carriers, Air France and Iberia, have suspended flights to Cuba. Check that your flight is operating, and which airport it uses, shortly before you travel.
• By bus: Víazul runs long-distance buses from Havana and other tourist cities to the Varadero bus station in town. The trip from Havana takes about 2 to 3 hours.
• By car or taxi: the coastal highway from Havana passes through Matanzas. A private taxi is the fastest option and can be shared.
• Entry: most visitors need a tourist card and must fill in the online D'Viajeros form before arrival. Verify the current rules before travel.

• Hop-on hop-off bus: the open-top Varadero Beach Tour bus runs along the whole peninsula, stopping at the hotels, the town and the marinas. Buy a day ticket on board, in cash.
• Taxis: official taxis wait outside most hotels. Agree the fare before you get in, as meters are often not used.
• Coco-taxis and horse carts: the small yellow three-wheel coco-taxis and horse-drawn carriages are fun for short rides in town. Coco-taxis offer little protection in a crash, so use them only for short, slow trips.
• On foot: the town is compact and easy to walk. Its numbered streets cross the peninsula from the beach to the bay. Hotels further east are too far apart to walk between.
• Cycling and scooters: bikes and scooters can be rented in town and from some hotels. Traffic is light, but roads are poorly lit at night.

More practical tips are on the official Cuba tourism site.

• Is a car worth it?: not for a beach stay. Taxis, the tourist bus and organised trips cover most needs. A rental car only makes sense for independent touring, and cars are expensive and often in short supply.
• Fuel: petrol and diesel shortages are severe in 2026. Filling stations may have long queues or no fuel at all, so plan every long drive carefully.
• Night driving: avoid it. Roads have little lighting, and you may meet carts, cyclists and animals without lights.

Most visitors eat at their all-inclusive hotel, but the town has good private restaurants, called paladares. Look for them along Avenida Primera and the side streets of the town centre. Grilled fish, shrimp and lobster are the local favourites, often with rice and black beans.

The restaurants inside Parque Josone are a pleasant choice for dinner in a garden setting. Supplies across Cuba are limited, so menus can be short and change from day to day. Bring cash for meals outside your hotel and leave a tip, as wages are very low.

Varadero is one of the safest places in Cuba for tourists, and violent crime against visitors is rare. Petty theft does happen, so do not leave bags or phones alone on the beach. Expect people offering cigars, taxis or currency exchange on the street. Change money only at official CADECA exchange offices, as street exchange is illegal and often a scam.

Cuba faces serious fuel and power shortages in 2026. The national power grid has collapsed several times, and long blackouts happen across the country. They can affect hotel services, transport, water and medical care, so check the latest travel advice before booking. The UK government currently advises against all but essential travel to Cuba.

• Cash: international Visa and Mastercard cards no longer work in Cuba. Bring enough US dollars or euros in cash for your whole stay, plus a reserve.
• Water: drink bottled water, both in your hotel and outside it.
• Mosquitoes: dengue and chikungunya are present in Cuba. Use repellent, especially at dusk.
• Sun: the sun is strong all year. Use high-factor sunscreen and avoid the midday hours on the beach.

Varadero was officially founded in 1887, when families from the nearby town of Cárdenas received permission to build summer houses on the peninsula. Visitors had already come since the 1870s, and the first hotel opened around 1915. Long before that, pre-Columbian peoples lived here and left the drawings you can still see in Cueva Ambrosio.

In the 1920s the American industrialist Irénée du Pont bought much of the eastern peninsula. His mansion, Mansión Xanadú, was built around 1930 and drew wealthy friends from the United States. A Cuban couple later built the estate that became Parque Josone. After the 1959 revolution, private villas were taken over by the state and opened to the public. In the 1990s Cuba turned to tourism for income, and most of today's large beach hotels date from that time.

Quick practical facts for Cuba at a glance: