South & Central America

Beach Resorts

Cuba is blessed with some of the most beautiful, white sandy beaches in the Caribbean and offers sun lovers the perfect climate to indulge in a huge variety of watersports from scuba diving to snorkelling and sailing to fishing as well as the age-old art of sun worship.

The high quality of the beaches in Cuba is sadly, on the whole, not really matched by the quality of hotels that grace its stunning white sands. Beach hotels can be found in various parts of the country with Varadero being the largest, busiest and most brash of the beach resort areas.

The small islands or cayos that are dotted along the northern coast such as Cayo Santa Maria and Cayo Las Brujas tend to be quieter with equally lovely beaches.

For those who prefer a more simple and rustic beach experience, the western province of Pinar del Rio is ideal. Cayo Levisa to the north is a small island reached by boat with a nice little hotel which was made famous by Ernest Hemingway who used to fish this area. Also on the far south-western tip of Cuba, Playa Maria La Gorda offers some of the finest diving in Cuba amidst the colourful corals and rich marine life.

N.B. From around May to end of June/early July, it is possible to encounter mosquitos on beaches where there are mangroves in the vicinity (mainly the cayos), but these are non-malarial.

Our preferred hotels are:

The Royal Hideaway  (Cayo Ensenachos)

Melia Las Dunas  (Cayo Santa Maria)

Villa Las Brujas  (Cayo Las Brujas)

Mansion Xanadu  (Varadero)

Melia Paradisus  (Varadero)

Hotel Maria La Gorda  (Playa Maria La Gorda)

Cayo Levisa Hotel  (Cayo Levisa)