Varadero

The beach is Varadero. The Hicacos Peninsula runs out into the sea for about 20km, and almost its whole northern shore is one unbroken strip of pale, powdery sand on calm, clear, turquoise water. The sea warms to around 28°C in late summer and rarely drops much below 24°C in winter, so swimming is a pleasure all year. Near the shore the water is shallow and usually gentle, sheltered by the shape of the coast.

The town end, around the numbered streets, has public stretches shared with Cuban families on weekends. Further east the sand fronts the large resorts and feels quieter and more spacious, ending in the empty coves near the tip of the peninsula. Winter cold fronts sometimes bring wind, waves and red-flag days, and the hurricane season from late summer into autumn brings occasional rough spells.

Most visitors eat at their resort, and resort buffets and à la carte restaurants are reliable rather than memorable. In town, a handful of privately run restaurants serve Cuban staples like ropa vieja, black beans and rice, roast pork and grilled lobster or fish, sometimes very well, but the range is narrow and depends on what ingredients can be found. The real pleasures are simple: a mojito or daiquiri made with local rum, fresh tropical fruit, and strong, sweet Cuban coffee. Anyone who travels mainly to eat will find little here.

Varadero is a resort strip, and its sights are few and small. The best is the Xanadu Mansion, built by the Du Pont family in the 1920s on a rocky headland and now a clubhouse for the golf course, with sea views from its top-floor bar. The small Municipal Museum in an old wooden summer house tells the story of the resort's early days, and the Cueva de Ambrosio in the Varahicacos reserve holds pre-Columbian cave drawings. The town's low wooden and stone villas from the early twentieth century give some character, but a few hours cover it all. Cuba's real history and architecture lie in the cities beyond the peninsula.

Evenings in Varadero mostly happen inside the resorts, with lobby bars, poolside drinks and nightly animation shows. Those who leave the hotel find a small, cheerful scene in the town, mainly along the central avenue and around the streets in the low sixties: a few open-air bars, salsa clubs where locals dance with real skill, and a disco set inside a natural limestone cave. On weekends Cuban visitors from nearby towns add life. It is a place for dancing to salsa and reggaeton with a rum in hand rather than for late clubbing, and most nights wind down well before dawn.

The land itself is flat and narrow, a low limestone peninsula of scrub, mangrove and resorts. The Varahicacos Ecological Reserve near the tip has short trails through dry forest, giant cactus and caves, and the Cueva de Saturno inland is a freshwater cenote in a cave. The water is where most outdoor time goes: catamaran trips to the small cays offshore, snorkelling and diving on reefs and wrecks, kitesurfing when the winter winds come, and deep-sea fishing. Inland, the green Yumuri valley near Matanzas offers walks and views, and the Zapata wetlands, rich in birds and crocodiles, are within a long day. There are no hills worth hiking near the resort.

The great day out is Havana, about two hours west by road, where Old Havana, the Malecón and the classic cars fill a long day; many visitors wish they had stayed longer. Closer to hand, Matanzas, about forty minutes away, is a port city of bridges and rivers with a fine nineteenth-century theatre and an old French pharmacy preserved as a museum, and the nearby Bellamar caves. Cárdenas, a short drive south, is a quiet working town of horse carts and colonial streets. To the south, the Bay of Pigs and Playa Girón, with their history museum, make a longer outing. Trinidad and Cienfuegos are too far for a comfortable day.

For a beach vacation with small children, Varadero works well. The sea is shallow, warm and usually calm right off the sand, the all-inclusive format takes care of meals and many resorts have kids' clubs and children's pools. Cubans are warm and affectionate with children. Beyond the beach there is little made for them: a dolphin centre, glass-bottom boat and catamaran trips, Josone Park with its lake and rowing boats, and a cave or two. Families should bring medicines, sun cream, nappies and any special foods with them, as these can be hard to find locally, and medical facilities are basic.

Varadero is long and thin, with resorts strung along about 20km of a single main road. The older town end is a compact grid of numbered streets that is easy and pleasant to walk. Further east the hotels are spread out, and moving between them relies on the open-top tourist bus that runs the length of the peninsula, taxis, horse-drawn carriages and the small round coco-taxis. Rental bikes and scooters are handy on the flat roads. Leaving the peninsula means a pre-booked transfer, a tour, a long-distance tourist coach or a hired car with a driver.

Shopping is limited to what a beach visitor needs and a few Cuban souvenirs. Open-air craft markets along the main avenue sell carvings, crochet, paintings and Che Guevara T-shirts, and resort shops stock the essentials. The things worth buying are Cuban rum and cigars, best from official shops where they are genuine. A small mall serves the hotel zone, but there is no fashion, design or department-store shopping, and everyday items can be hard to find.

Varadero is one of the more affordable ways to have a white-sand Caribbean beach vacation, mostly because all-inclusive packages here undercut many rival resorts. Outside the package the picture changes. Taxis, excursions, private restaurants and anything aimed at foreigners are priced for visitors rather than locals, and imported goods are costly. Travellers who book an all-inclusive and stay put spend relatively little; those who want to roam on their own will find it closer to middling.

Live music is everywhere in a casual way: son and salsa trios in hotel lobbies and restaurant terraces, and full bands at the town's dance clubs, where the playing is often very good. Resorts put on cabaret-style shows with feathers and rumba, and some evening excursions add folkloric performances. There is no theatre, opera or concert hall to speak of. For serious Cuban music or ballet, the trip to Havana is the answer.

Wellness in Varadero means resort spas and a slow rhythm. The larger hotels have spas offering massage, facials and treatments, often in open-air cabins by the sea, though standards and supplies vary. There is no bathing tradition, thermal spring or hammam culture to seek out. What the place does offer is genuine unwinding: long, warm, quiet days with nothing to organise, especially in the calmer resorts towards the eastern end of the peninsula.