Cuba... Caribbean with a Difference.

Advantages: Tropical Paradise, Havana, All inclusive hotels.
Disadvantages: Scary Customs.

...(plantain, breadfruit etc) and more standard fare (bacon and eggs for breakfast) my wife was very impressed that she could have ice cream for breakfast. Drinks as well are included and a variety of Caribbean cocktails were consumed including the Mojito, basically rum, and soda water with sugar and mint. Varadero itself did not really have a huge amount to offer, there were quite a good number of high end clothes shops (good as I had no clothes and was buying on my travel insurance). It is mainly hotels and beaches and has a large nature reserve. I guess it would be possible to have a very relaxing and filling holiday hanging around the hotel and beaches but personally I like to get out and about so on with the excursions. Nature Preserve Cuba has a massive nature reserve and we took a trip into it on double jetskis, this...

hero164 24.10.2007 · Read review
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Review of Varadero (Cuba)

Varadero - Safe, Sunny, Wonderful!

Advantages: Very safe, beautiful beaches, friendly
Disadvantages: Not too much of the 'real Cuba' to see.

...Varadero is a large tourist resort on the Atlantic coast of Cuba and is a peninsular of I spent two weeks in Varadero with my partner at the beginning of June 2008. What a stunning location. Varadero beach is the most beautiful beach I have been on in my life, with its stunning white sand stretching up the coastline and mild temperature Atlantic Ocean to bathe in. I love this beach! The beach is, of course, the main reason so many tourists visit Varadero! There's always loads of water sports going on there too! There is more to do than just the beaches however. With all the hotels offering All Inclusive packages (and it seems almost every tourist is indeed on one of those) the tendency seems to be for many never to venture beyond the gates of their complex, which is a real shame. First and foremost this is one of the safest...

staceycav 14.11.2008 · Read review
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Review of Varadero, Cuba

Varadero & Hotel Iberostar Tainos

Advantages: Beautiful beaches & pretty cheap when you get there
Disadvantages: Lots of begging in Havana

...don't agree with it. Those are hotel facilities and if no-one is using them, they should be available for other guests to use. This alone would put me off staying here again as it the pool was like that EVERY DAY. Varadero is a tourist-based town with very little of the real Cuba. However, if you like the beach, it is fabulous here and the hotels do have all the food and drink and amenities you won't find in the local towns. There is not really much to see in Varadero but there is a local park called Parque Josone. This is a beautiful public park with a lake in the centre. You can hire a small boat to use on the lake. There are different types of animals to see here and there are nice places to eat. There is also Varadero Museum which is housed in an architect's house dating from the 1920s. Inside are several displays on archaeology...

Maureen100 08.05.2005 · Read review
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Review of Varadero (Cuba)

Sandals Royal Hicacos Beach Resort Varadero

Advantages: Excellent service, climate and people
Disadvantages: menus need a review, water features...

...Introduction 'Welcome to the independent people's republic of Varadero', our driver commented dryly as we passed the security checkpoint at the start of this 20km peninsula of hedonism. 'You are now leaving Cuba'. He had a point, and the point is this: If like thousands of Brits, Canadians Germans and the odd sanction-busting Yank you fly direct into Varadero on a charter flight, you are probably looking for a week or two of blistering Caribbean sun, a few cold ones and the cosseted pampering of an all-inclusive resort. If that's you, then look no further. However - and it's a biggie - if you chose Varadero over, say, Jamaica, because, well, it's Cuba innit, then you might be disappointed. This isn't Cuba, it's bland, sterile, feels like it could be anywhere in the sub-tropics, and outside of the seňor or seňorita who...

anthonylees 21.10.2003 · Read review
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Review of Varadero (Cuba)

Cuba's Resorts Are All Over Veradero

Advantages: The beaches and beautiful people
Disadvantages: Hustlers and aggressive souvenir merchants; expensive trips to Havana

...Veradero may not be Rio De Janeiro, but it has its own sets or charms. Among are the resorts, the beaches, the constant sunshine and the people. Veradero is a beautiful place. In my mind, it is one of the richest cities of Cuba thanks to the tourism industry. If you intend to spend some time hanging around a pool and enjoying the Caribbean ocean, this is the place for you. Just know that you are not going to be close to Havana. Any time you want to go there, it will cost you some money. Going to Old Havana can be an exciting trip for you if you get the time to see some of the historic buildings. On any given week, you can expect to find a lot tourists from European countries such as Germany, Belgium, France and so on. I think the Germans outnumber everybody else. Every now and then, you will run into some other nationalities...

digitalshare 10.02.2001 · Read review
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Review of Varadero (Cuba)

Varadero - a mum's guide!

Advantages: No need to take too much spending money!
Disadvantages: The all inclusive can induce 'cabin fever' after a while

...Spent two weeks at the Sol Coral/Sirienus All Inclusive resort on the lovely Varadero beach. The fact that water sports are included in the package means that you can really get away with spending nothing at all during the day. The kids will find it cooler by the sea edge and the water is extremely shallow and warm - v. safe! A nice added extra was that the beach loungers and canopies are also free. My main complaint would be the standard of food - several people were ill after eating under cooked meat and food which birds pecked at. Still, it is was very cheap and I guess you get what you pay for! Our room didn't have the hairdryer it promised nor the fridge, but the later was brought up to the room after we queried this. Unfortunately my hair was a state for the rest of the holiday ( ... what do you mean it didn't make...

LynnMac 11.08.2004 · Read review
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Review of Varadero (Cuba)

Sandals Royal Hicacos...... its.....blah!

Advantages: Excellent staff. Right on the beach. Very clean.
Disadvantages: Very dated. Limited food choice. Bizarre entertainment.

...Fisrt of all I would like to say that this is a review for the Sandals Royal Hicacos and not Cuba or Varadero as a place to visit. I can't fault Cuba as a holiday destination.... it's fabulous! I`ll get straight to the point instead of giving a blow by blow account of my entire holiday. We stayed at this resort of 2 weeks in July 2007. Good Points: The staff were wonderful. Especially the waiters/waitresses and the maids. They are paid buttons and work very hard for tips but they don't at all come across as pushy and never actually ask for or expect a tip. Every day the maid cleaned our room and arranged our towels into some sort of amazing sculpture! Swans, hearts, flowers.... we saw it all... literally works of art... with towels! Our maid wrote us a little welcome letter and a little "hope you enjoyed your stay and will...

LGRAY26 10.03.2009 · Read review
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Review of Varadero (Cuba)

Sandals Royal Hicacos

Advantages: All inclusive, laid back, peaceful
Disadvantages: 2+ hour journey from Havana

...something that bothered me too much. On the flight back, we stopped in Jamaica and had to leave the plane for it to be cleaned. We ended up with the emergency seats and had loads of leg room. This time the headsets worked and the screen worked also. Immigration/Customs On landing, it took us an hour to get through Immigration and customs. We had been at the front of the airplane and were one of the first to disembark. However, those at the back of the plane had a 2 hour wait to get through it. When you go through immigration, you have to go one at a time. They asked a few questions- Have you been to Cuba before? Where are you staying? Etc. Once they stamp your tourist card they unlock the door for you to go through. Once through you go through a metal detector and x-ray machine. I have been told they are looking for contraband. It was...

ukusa 26.11.2004 · Read review
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Review of Varadero (Cuba)

  Sandals Royal Hicacos Resort & Spa

Advantages: great food, lovely beach, lots of amenities.
Disadvantages: not as advertised, lousy service sometimes, expensive.

...We chose Sandals Royal Hicacos in Cuba as our Honeymoon destination. The resort is very nice, but it is not what we expected from a Sandals resort and was certainly not worth the price that we paid for it. We stayed for 2 weeks from 21st July 2003. We booked through The Holiday Place (online) in the UK; we spent many weeks looking for offers for either an all-inclusive or a cruise for our honeymoon. We eventually chose a Sandals resort (this resort was the cheapest) as we thought it would be the most luxurious and pampering holiday from all those offered. From the advertising that Sandals gives on TV and in brochures, their resorts certainly look perfect for Honeymoon couples. Our travel agent sent through our tickets in the wrong name (yes, we should have double-checked them, but like you don't have enough to organise when you...

redridinghood 23.08.2003 · Read review
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Review of Varadero (Cuba)

Beautiful BUT..

Advantages: Beautiful country, very friendly,food is good
Disadvantages: some places are dirty

...Cuba is one of the largest Caribbean islands and is still very underdeveloped and if you bear that in mind you wont be disappointed. The cubians income is about $10 a month so they rely on tips and good faith to keep their families. Some areas are very poor and dirty but unless you go for executions you don't really see this part of Cuba. The island itself is beautiful, with sandy beaches and warm blue sea. We went in October '98 with our 19 mth old daughter, Jessica. It was an all-inclusive holiday and I would highly recommend going anywhere on holiday with this as you don't have to worry about food or drink, just spending money and we went for 2 weeks. The people are very friendly in the resort in which we stayed in, which was Super clubs Ponterina, Varadero. The hotel was two towers of seven floors each, but one was closed due to...

chrissiepops 20.02.2001 (02.03.2001) · Read review
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