VaraderoWhere dreams come true
Men and women hailing from far off lands come up to Varadero, Cuba's world class beach where many dreams whose realization appeared so farfetched then, now come truer than true. As they approach the famous peninsula, the air seems to have a different density, coming in the form of a delicious elixir to breathe. The outdoors landscape, the singular vegetation, the weather, its surrounding crystal clear waters, the powder thin and clean sands... the invasion of Varadero's seducing power into your soul is now close at hand.
The dawn of tourism Buccaneers who used this strip of land to supply their vessels with water, salt and other provisions during the colonial rule are said to be the first “European tourists” ever to visit the peninsula. In 1880, a group of well to do families founded the village of Varadero with their minds set on a future that bore watching at the time. The first houses were built and some hotels popped up a few decades later. During the first half of the past century, Varadero became the summertime vacationing hub for Cuba's privileged bourgeoisie and a fledgling tourist resort especially for U.S. travelers, whose reminiscences still drag on in certain names and construction styles.
By 1990, there were 21 hotels tabbing as many as 4,439 rooms in Varadero. Yet, that decade marked the beginning of a development onslaught that put Varadero on the map as a major tourist circuit on the island nation. In the year 2000, the number of hotel facilities had soared to 45 with 12,141 rooms combined. From the ongoing year to 2004, a total of 1,077 new hotel rooms should be added to its stockpile.
Underpinnings for tourist development Varadero's best known attraction is its 20,375 meter long peerless beach carpeted by white and powder fine sand. However, this marvelous strip is complemented by an array of other natural beauties like caves, lagoons, keys, endemic flora and wildlife, as well as sites and locations featuring top notch conditions and a special flair for water sports.
Ambrosio's Caves, a ritual site shrouded by 72 puzzling pictographs and tabbed as one of the largest expressions of this kind in the insular Caribbean; the Muslims' Cave that served as a dwelling haven, and Calero's funeral cave where researchers found the remains of what might have well been Cuba's oldest men, swagger the traces and prints of the first human beings ever to live in the region.
The Mangon Lagoon is the primed water reservoir in this area, providing habitat for some 12 species of wading birds and a safe shelter for 19 migrating birds.
South of the peninsula, some of the most remarkable keys around are Libertad outfitted with a tarmac and a docking pier and Blanco Key, featuring 4 kilometers long of excellent beach. A variety of recreational activities and nature tourism are available on both keys. Eastward between Cruz del Padre and Mega keys, an out of the way underwater park stretches out along the lengthy marine platform. Coral reefs of beautiful shapes caught between a coastal strip running from Matanzas to Varadero is just another valuable choice. Scuba diving centers like Barracuda have set up shop for tourists to enjoy these and other underwater wonders.
There's no better spot than the Varahicacos Ecological Reserve to steal a closer peek at a flora diversity marked by the presence of some tree like cactuses, some of them as old as 600 years. A particular wildlife mostly enriched by birds and crawlers could delight those who love nature.
Tourist resorts Varadero has been the recipient of one of the country's heaviest investment processes ever, a situation that has brought lodging quality up a notch or two. Comfort and elegance carry the torch in these facilities most of them labeled as 4 star and 5 star establishments also complemented by high professional standards and a flair for good service expressed in human warmth, briskness and initiatives that combine to guarantee visitors satisfaction to the utmost.
The mighty existence of marinas such as Puerto Sol, Gaviota and Marlin the latter run by Cubanacan Nautica S.A. purvey all gears, tackles and conveniences for anglers and scuba-diving buffs, let alone luring seafaris, tours to the nearby keys and underwater rides.
Great options in the marinas for the development of active tourism, like the eye-popping experience of a ride on the Aqua Ray provided by Jungle Tour. Another attractive modality is waiting for those bold enough to hit the silk through the services of the International Parachuting Center.
As part of the extra hotel network available there, restaurants serve an assortment of gourmet choices while nightclubs offer tourists the chance of wallowing in genuine expressions of Cuban culture.
Varadero's Juan Gualberto Gomez International Airport near downtown Varadero eases access from overseas and communication with other destinations nationwide. It's likewise a major linkage for Multi destination, a developing tourist product in the Caribbean whereby one day trips to several day stays are rendered. Cancun Playa del Carmen-Tulum and Cancun Chichen Itza, among other packages, are good cases in point. Spots to remember The dolphin seaquarium presents shows with trained dolphins three times a day. This is no doubt an excellent recreational offer for kids and grownups alike. Cueva del Pirata (The Pirate's Cave) a nightclub built inside a cavern- provides tourists with great nightly entertainment. The Josone Park, knocked together around the Laguna de la Paz (The Peace Lagoon) and unusually melting the kindness of nature into buildings of highly priced architectural values, stands for an intimate location where, besides spiritual relaxation, visitors can revel in specialized restaurants, an arcade featuring state of the art games or a full-blown service for birthday parties, weddings and other festivities and celebrations.
Some of the island nation's top of the chart acts and musical bands add a distinguishing cultural chord to this amazingly beautiful park.
The Varadero Golf Club, whose 18 hole course tops the list of the Caribbean's trimmest greens and flaunts its roots among the region's best six fields, stresses its world class prestige day by day, not only due to its jaw dropping surroundings, but also to its across the board technical layout.
The Xanadu Mansion today hosting the Varadero Golf Club's clubhouse stands royally tall as the building it used to be in the 1930s when it was owned by French born billionaire Irenée Dupont de Nemours.
The Plaza America Conference Center a facility hosting a considerable chunk of the upcoming Tourism Convention from May 6 to 10 will showcase its potentials for holding events and for the development of incentive tourism among many other possibilities.
The future Many longstanding dreams from the past are now coming true beyond the wildest expectations. Varadero, though, goes on to be one of the most bludgeoning tourist resorts. Nature, so prodigious in this particular nook of Cuba, and its legitimate culture spontaneously melted into the tourist product join the well known sun and beach offer to lay the groundbreaking foundations that will foster both the development and strengthening of Varadero's well earned reputation within the tourist industry.
Español
English
Français
Deutsch
Italiano
Русский