Map of Cuba & Travel guide
Varadero is a beach resort in the province Matanzas from Cuba and one of the largest resorts in the entire Caribbean region. It has many luxury hotels and each year is visited by a large number of vacationers. Varadero is also called Playa Azul, meaning "blue beach" in Spanish.
The vacation resort is situated on Hicacos Peninsula, between Bay of Cardenas and Straits of Florida, at 140 km east of Havana. The peninsula is only 1,2 km wide at its widest point and is separated from mainland by Kawama channel. Varadero is a tourist resort and has more than 20 km of white sandy beaches. Tourism industry started growing in the early 1930, when Irenee du Pont Nemours, an American millionaire, built a villa on the peninsula. But the first real tourists visited Varadero in 1870 and for years it was considered a luxury resort. Hotels began to appear from 1950. After the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the beach's many villas were expropriated from their rich owners. Many famous people spent a vacation in Varadero, like Mafia boss Al Capone.
Varadero is the most famous beach resort from Cuba attracting tourists with its natural beauty, but also with its cultural and historical attractions. Varadero, which is a free port, has excellent conditions for scuba diving, deep-sea fishing, sailing, yachting, and other water sports. Being a so renowned vacation resort the region has a plenty of luxury hotels and villas. Since 1990 most of the peninsula has been developed for tourism and many hotels are operated or co-owned by foreign companies.
Varadero is a resort mainly visited by European and Canadian vacationers. The number of American tourists visiting Varadero is limited because of the restrictions that prevent U.S. citizens from flying directly from the U.S. to Cuba. Unlike many other Cuban vacation resorts, Cubans can visit Varadero (though their use of some of the hotels is restricted!).