Cuba - Lonely Planet [189]
Marina Gaviota has a seven-hour Seafari Especial Tour, which is similar to the Cayo Blanco excursion, but includes a chance to swim with dolphins held in an enclosure on a coral key called Rancho Cangrejo (CUC$85).
Festivals & Events
Golf tournaments are held at the Varadero Golf Club in June and October and the annual regatta is in May. Varadero also hosts the annual tourism convention the first week in May when accommodation is tight and some places are reserved solely for conference participants.
Sleeping
Varadero is huge – there are at least 50 hotels. For budget travelers, traipsing around on foot looking for available rooms is a sport akin to marathon running. Book ahead or concentrate your efforts on the southwest end of the peninsula where hotels are cheaper and the town retains a semblance of Cuban life.
As with all other resort areas in Cuba, it is illegal to rent private rooms in Varadero and the law is strictly enforced.
BUDGET
Hotel Turquino (Formatur; Map; Av 3 btwn Calles 33 & 34; s/d CUC$15/30; ) This Hotel Escuela, which acts as a training ground for Cuban students vying to work in the tourist industry is the best bargain in town, barring a night out on the beach, and is handily situated two blocks from the Víazul bus station. Some of the rooms are mini-suites with a fridge, microwave and seating area and, although the furnishings are a bit drab, everything is clean, functional and spacious.
Villa La Mar (Islazul; Map; 61-45-17; Av 3 btwn Calles 28 & 30; s/d CUC$37/42; ) Varadero’s best budget deal is the no-frills, no-pretensions Villa la Mar where you’ll dine on fried chicken, meet paying (in pesos) Cuban tourists and fall asleep to the not-so-romantic sound of the in-house disco belting out the Cuban version of Britney Spears.
MIDRANGE
Hotel Dos Mares-Pullman (Islazul; Map; 61-27-02; cnr Av 1 & Calle 53; s/d breakfast only CUC$50/60) This complex is actually made up of two hotels situated three blocks apart. The Pullman is the more striking building, a turreted castle-like abode with heavy wooden furniture and rocking chairs on the front porch overlooking the street. Old-fashioned but comfortable rooms include a quadruple. Dos Mares is a more modern three-story building 70m from a cracking niche of beach. Rooms are a little on the dark side.
Club Herradura (Islazul; Map; 61-37-03; Av de la Playa btwn Calles 35 & 36; s/d breakfast only CUC$50/67; ) Plain from the front, but infinitely more attractive on the oceanside, this four-story, crescent-shaped hotel is right on a recently replenished section of the beach. Accommodation is spacious, if a little dog-eared, with timeless wicker furniture and some good balcony view rooms facing the beach. A pleasant all-round unpretentious vibe.
Hotel Acuazul Varazul (Islazul; Map; 66-71-32; Av 1 btwn Calles 13 & 14; s/d breakfast only CUC$55/70, all-inclusive CUC$75/110; ) This old stalwart stands like a royal blue sentinel at the entrance to Varadero, tempting all who pass. With its 78 rooms having benefited from a recent face-lift and the food buffet looking like it’s had a Hell’s Kitchen revamp, things are looking up at this once-austere prerevolutionary concrete pile. Other benefits include a swimming pool, 24-hour internet and a fantastic Infotur office on-site. The downside is the nightly show, which is tacky even by Varadero standards. Next door the Varazul has one-bedroom apartments with kitchenettes and small balconies.
Apartamentos Mar del Sur (Islazul;