Cuba’s Most Beautiful Beach

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.   To sum up Varadero, it is a long beach town. We stayed at a local Cuban’s casa (house) near the bridge to enter the resort town. There are two main streets that go all the way down the strip. Pick a casa close to Avenida 1ra (Avenue 1st Street) because you will be 5min walking distance from the beach! Everything to do is on this street. There are restaurants, cafes, bars, stores, resorts, clubs and etc.
 
You can honestly just walk everywhere, but other transportation can get you there faster and it’s cheap. You can take the bus, taxi, cocotaxi (yellow bulbous taxi), and even a horse-drawn carriage. A key tip to getting around is that the intersecting roads connecting to Avenida 1ra are in numerical order. The further down you go, the higher the street numbers get bigger. I’ll say it takes about 2 full days of exploring to see most of or all of Varadero.
 
 

Transportation

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Estimate for Group of 3-4:
20min taxi from the airport to Varadero: 40 CUC
* Never take the first price, we could’ve gotten a better deal if we tried: 25 CUC – 35 CUC
 
10-15min by any taxi: 5 CUC
 
10-15min by cocotaxi: 5 CUC
 
10-15min by horse carriage: 5 CUC
 
4h taxi from Varadero to Trinidad: 90 – 120 CUC
(30 CUC per person)
* Our host referred her taxi driver friend, who helped us book other taxi drivers for our other casa
 
 

Reason to Go

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Playa Varadero (Varadero Beach) is breath taking. The water is amazingly blue and your skin feels amazing after a swim because of the salt water. The sand super clean, no pointy rocks or dirt, just white sand and pretty sea shells. Truly one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever been too. I highly recommend to go if you love the beach.
 
 

Things to Do

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Have fun in the sun! Go to the beach and walk down the main street.
 
Playa Varadero (Beach)
 
Avenida 1ra (Main Street)
 
 

Where to Eat

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Varadero is known for their beach and not for food unfortunately! My favourite meals were at cheap cafeteria restaurants. Your casa should also offer breakfast and/or dinner for 5 CUC!
 
Cheap ($ – 3 CUC to 10 CUC)
Average ($$ – 10 CUC to 15 CUC)
Expensive ($$$ = 15+ CUC)
 
El Almendros Cafeteria / Cuban Food ($)
Chicken, rice and beans, cole slaw, and lentil soup
= 3 CUC per person
 
Pequeño Suárez / Seafood ($$$)
For 3 people:
2 Pulled Pork Entre
1 Lobster
1 Beer
1 Mojito
1 Daiquiri
= 25 CUC per person
* Alcoholic drinks range from 1 CUC – 3 CUC / Water is 1 CUC – 1.5 CUC
 
Casa Del Cafe Cubita / Coffee ($)
A cup of Americana for 1 CUC
An Expresso (Express) for 1 CUC
It’s around the right side of Avenida 1ra, near Lai Lai Restaurant.
* Cuban Coffee is amazingly strong
 
Panaderia / Fresh Bread ($)
It’s around the right side area of Avenida 1ra, walk away from the main street and look around the residential area.
* Bakery prices will be in local pesos (MN)
 
 
 

Cuba’s Most Beautiful Town

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Trinidad is hands down the most colourful town in Cuba. We stayed at another local Cuban’s casa (house) near one of the Plazas (town squares). There are two main Plazas in Trinidad, Plaza Major and Plaza Carillo. Pick a casa close to one of the Plazas because everything is in walking distances between these Plazas. There are restaurants, cafes, bars, art galleries, and gift shops, and etc.
 
Trinidad is overall walkable, you should be able to see most of all of the town within two days. The roads changes from smooth dirt roads to bumpy uneven cobble stones, depending where you walk. Be sure to bring comfortable and durable shoes or sandals. The rainy days are not bad, but it can pour for a half hour and flood the town. Then hours after the rain, the water is pushed out by the locals because the draining system is very slow. Double check the weather when you’re there when booking tours, you have to book at least a day in advance.
 
The tour I went on was the Topes de Collantes Tour to Guatemala Waterfall for 40 CUC (50 CAD). Our transportation was a military truck that takes us up the mountain. The tour took us to a coffee plantation, hiking to the waterfalls and a watering hole, complementary lunch, and a ride back to the town.
 
When it comes to night life, the Plaza Major is the place to go because everyone is there. If you want to go to a club, there is only one and it is inside a cave! The Disco Ayala (Cave) has an admission of 5 CUC and one drink ticket. It’s not disco music, instead Spanish Top 40’s. There was a good mix of locals and tourist.
 
 

Reason to Go

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Trinidad is way more local in comparison to Varadero. It is becoming a tourist destination, but you can see more of the Cuban culture there. The town buildings looks a little unfinished, but majority are painted in bright bold colours, which makes the town really stand out. The locals put more money into the interior because why make the outside fancy? Our casa was just a door with a brightly painted front little wall and once you walk in, the house gorgeous. Food is pretty good here, you have a lot more choices I feel. Even though I’ve only went on one tour, it’s a tour you should go, the Topes de Collantes Tour to Guatemala Waterfall. Same goes for the Disco Ayala (Cave), it is worth checking out.
 
 

Things to Do

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Plaza Major (Town Square)
 
Plaza Carillo (Town Square)
 
Disco Ayala (Club)
 
Parque Natural Topes de Collantes (Hiking)
 
 

Where to Eat

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Trinidad has pretty good food! My favourite meals were the food carts and the restaurants I recommended below. I felt there are more options than Varadero and comparable with Havana’s taste and quality. Your casa should also offer breakfast and/or dinner for 5 CUC!
 
Cheap ($ – 3 CUC to 10 CUC)
Average ($$ – 10 CUC to 15 CUC)
Expensive ($$$ = 15+ CUC)
 
Anita Cafe / Breakfast/Brunch Food ($$)
Meal + Drink
= 10 CUC per person
* Best Cuban Sandwich I had in Trinidad!
* Mushroom Risotto
* Fresh Smoothies
 
Giroud / Tapas Food ($$)
Fried Pork Ribs (Catillo de Cerado) x2
Chorizo platter (Table de Cherizo)
Mediterranean platter (Table de Mediterranean)
Croquettes (Tuna)
Including 4 drinks
4 people = Under 10 per person
* Perfectly cooked with awesome BBQ sauce
 
Street Food ($)
You will see food carts day or night, usually cost around 1 – 2 CUC
I had an amazing pork burger, churros, and single size margarita pizza while I was there.
 
 
 

Cuba’s Capital City

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There is so much to see in Havana! The best spot to start is at Parque Central because that is where all the taxis would take you when you want to go into the heart of the city. The buildings are mixes of new and old, colourful, grey, and beige. There are many restaurants, bars, cafes, shopping boutiques, artist galleries, barber shops, cigar shops, and etc. My favourite part is Cuba’s artwork, which you can see anywhere, on the streets, in artist galleries, and Fabrica de Arte Cubano (Cuban Art Factory).
 
Check out the artist galleries during the day, you will see artists painting and selling their artwork on the street. Fabrica de Arte Cubano is a must-see night time event, opened at 8pm till 3am except for Monday to Wednesday. You will receive a little paper stub to record the drinks and food you had and pay when you leave (Do not lose the paper, its a 30 CUC fee if lost. Around 10pm, the Art Factory becomes a club, each room will have different DJs and playing different music from mixes of latin, hip hop, pop, edm, and etc.
 
 

Transportation

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20min taxi from Havana to to the airport: 25 CUC
 
10-15min by older yellow taxi: 5 CUC
 
10-15min by new yellow taxi: 20 CUC
 
10-15min by vintage car: 20-30 CUC
 
4h taxi from Trinidad to Havana: 90 – 120 CUC
(30 CUC per person)
 
 

Reason to Go

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Havana is a city filled with art and history. If you go to Cuba, you have to check out the city at least once to see the true Cuban locals and cultures. To me, the art scene is the major highlight. Areas to walk around are the Malecon, Vedado, Centro Habana, and Old Havana.
 
 

Things to Do

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Fabrica de Arte Cubano (Cuban Art Factory) (Art Gallery/Club)
 
Jazz Club La Zorra Y El Cuervo (Jazz Club)
 
Malecon (Boardwalk)
 
Vedado (Avenida 23 Street – Main Street)
 
Centro Habana (Center of Havana)
 
Old Habana (Old Havana)
 
 
 

Where to Eat

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Since there’s so many places to eat, you’ll encounter hits and misses. I found the better choses were the seafood! Your casa should also offer breakfast and/or dinner for 5 CUC!
 
Cheap ($ – 3 CUC to 10 CUC)
Average ($$ – 10 CUC to 15 CUC)
Expensive ($$$ = 15+ CUC)
 
Cafe Presidentes / Cuban/Italian ($$)
* Pastas and pizzas are the better choices
 
Topoly / Iran Breakfast ($$)
* Cute decor and everything is overall very good
 
El Figaro / Tapas Bar ($$)
* Friendly bartender and good sharable food
 
25NM / Cuban ($$)
* Big Portion
* Chicken choices
* Garbanzo Fritos (Fried Chickpeas)
 
Paladar El Idilio / Seafood ($$$)
* Great grilled meats and seafood