Wednesday, June 10, 2009

VARADERO CUBA

Varadero is a resort town in the province of Matanzas, Cuba, and one of the largest resort areas in the Caribbean. Varadero is also called Playa Azul, meaning "blue beach" in Spanish. Aerial photo of Varadero.

Varadero is situated on the Hicacos Peninsula, between the Bay of Cárdenas and the Straits of Florida, some 140 km east of Havana, at the eastern end of the Via Blanca highway. The peninsula is only 1.2 km wide at its widest point and is separated from the island of Cuba by the Kawama Channel. This spit of land however extends more than 20 kilometers from the mainland in a northeasterly direction and its tip, Punta Hicacos, is the northernmost point of the island of Cuba. At the northeastern end of the peninsula there is a nature reserve with virgin forests and beaches. The Hicacos Point Natural Park is a 3.12 km² (1.2 sq mi) ecological preserve established in 1974. It contains the 250 m 820 ft long Cave of Ambrosio, Mangón Lake home to 31 species of birds and 24 species of reptiles and the ruins of the La Calavera The Skull Salt Works (one of the first salt works to be constructed by the Spanish in the New World).[3] The cays developed off shore, such as Cayo Piedras and Cayo Cruz del Padre are the western most part of the Sabana-Camaguey Archipelago.
Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport, situated west of the peninsula, is Varadero's airport. It is the second-most-important airport of the island after José Martí Airport in Havana, and serves international and domestic flightsThe first mention of Varadero was in 1555.4 The place was first used as a dry dock (Spanish: varadero) and the salt mines of the peninsula closed in 1961supplied most of the Spanish Latin America Fleet since 1587. However, the foundation date of Varadero as city was only on December 5, 1887, when ten families from the city of Cárdenas obtained a permission to build their vacation homes between today's 42nd and 48th Street.

It was established as a municipality Spanish: municipal at the administrative re-distribution of July 3, 1976[5] from territories previously part of Cárdenas.
edit Tourism Varadero Beach gets 500,000+ visitors per year.Varadero is foremost a tourist resort town, boasting more than 20 km of white sandy beaches. The first tourists visited Varadero as early as the 1870s, and for years it was considered an elite resort. In 1910 the annual rowing regatta was started; five years later the first hotel, named Varadero and later Club Nautico, was built. Tourism grew in the early 1930s as Irénée du Pont Nemours, an American millionaire, built his estate on the peninsula. Many famous and infamous people stayed in Varadero, for example Al Capone.
After the Cuban Revolution in 1959, many mansions were expropriated from their rich owners. As a symbol of the new integrated tourism for Cubans and foreign visitors of all social classes, the Park of the 8000 Cubicles Parque de las 8000 Taquillas was built in 1960. Visitors could leave their belongings in the basement of the park, had access to sanitary installations and gastronomic services on the first floor, and could rent bathing articles and swimsuits. The surroundings of the park became the center of the city. Between the 1960s and 1980s Varadero transformed itself into a cultural centre. During those years the central park 8000 Taquillas located between 44th and 46th Street saw countless concerts, festivals and sporting events.
Varadero BeachThe 1990s brought the start of another hotel building campaign, mostly in the 4-star and 5-star segment. Many of the hotels are operated or co-owned by foreign businesses like Melia, Barcelo, TRYP, etc. (France's Club Med used to have a property but has since left Varadero. As international tourism was opened up, the local population expanded with the arrival of people, some in key economic positions, from other parts of Cuba. As a consequence, Varadero has lost much of its social and cultural life and its traditions. The central park, the cinema and various cultural meeting places were neglected in favor of a hotel-centred all-inclusive-tourism and finally closed. The International Carnival, an initiative of Cubans and foreigners started in the 1980s, also ceased.
In addition to its most valued resource, the beach, Varadero has natural attractions such as caves and a chain of easily accessed virgin cays. There are also cultural, historical and environmental attractions in the vicinity, such as the cities of Matanzas and Cárdenas, the Zapata Peninsula and the resort of San Miguel de los Baños. Varadero, which is a free port, also possesses facilities for scuba diving, deep-sea fishing, yachting and other water sports.
Varadero receives about 500,000 visitors per year.
Varadero is primarily visited by European, Latin American and Canadian tourists. The number of U.S. tourists visiting Varadero, although increasing, has been limited because of the restrictions that make it illegal for U.S. citizens to visit Cuba as tourists.
VARADERO VACATIONS

VARADERO HOTELS


















VARADERO VACATION

Varadero Beach has a high concentration of all inclusive Hotels located along the most popular stretch of stunning white beaches in Cuba. Varadero holidays offer a cosmopolitan atmosphere with a fabulous array of water sports on offer that include snorkelling, diving and water skiing. Other things to do in Varadero include deep sea fishing, sky diving or exploring local caves or visit the local towns of Cardanas or Pinci del Rio to witness a more traditional Side of Cuba. Holidays to Varadero are not just about the fantastic accommodations and stunning beaches, try out the local bars, restaurants and nightclubs to soak up the traditional Cuban atmosphere with the help of the salsa beats and tumblers of rum! Varadero Hotels are mostly Luxury all inclusive with fantastic amenities to make your stay in this wonderful resort the holiday of your dreams.

Hotetur Sunbeach Varadero :All Inclusive Hotel, from €52 --> €30


Hotel Hotetur Palma Real Varadero All Inclusive Hotel, from €75 --> €42


Hotel Internacional Varadero All Inclusive Hotel, from €82 --> €56


Hotel Oasis Turquesa Formerly RIU Turquesa Varadero All Inclusive Hotel, from €68


Hotel Club Kawama Varadero All Inclusive Hotel, from €76


Hotel Barceló Marina Palace Varadero All Inclusive Hotel, from €105

VARADERO GENERAL IMFORMATION


VARADERO INFO

Cuisine
Restaurants specializing in Asian, Cuban, Italian, Spanish and international cuisine as well as barbecued meat and shellfish promise satisfaction for every taste. Cafeterias offer lighter meals and fast food as well. Coppelia Ice Cream Parlour has countless flavours of creamy Cuban ice cream.
Entertainment
Varadero’s plentiful cabarets feature Cuban and international drinks and rhythms. Theatres and the Amphitheatre host variety shows, while others, such as the International Festival of Music and the Electronic Music Festival feature many genres of popular music. Movie theatres show Cuban and foreign films in the original language with Spanish subtitles.
Sightseeing
Deep in the cliff overlooking Matanzas Bay is Bellamar Cave, one of the Caribbean’s largest and most beautiful underground formations. Two kilometres of underground passages are covered in peculiar stalagmites, stalactites and calcite crystals

VARADERO ATTRACTIONS & PLACES TO VISIT


 VARADERO HOLIDAYS

PLACES TO VISIT

Varadero Beach
Cuba's trademark beach boasts fine, white sand and an average year-round water temperature of 24ºC-26ºC.
Cayo Piedra Underwater ParkThis park to the northeast features several shipwrecks where schools of colourful, tropical fish and crustaceans gather.


Varadero Golf ClubIs a magnificent 18-hole championship course on the peninsula, marked by an intricate system of lagoons in the British “links” tradition.
This well appointed international convention centre incorporates shopping malls, restaurants and amusement centres.
Near the beach has typical tropical vegetation in its gardens and groves, as well as lagoons. Several old mansions have been converted into restaurants.
Ambrosio Cavean archeological site first used as a ceremonial spot by the area's primitive inhabitants and later by runaway slaves, has well preserved pictographs.
A 600-year-old-cactus as tall as a tree grows at the end of the Hicacos peninsula, near a natural salt pit where leathers and meats were prepared over the centuries.
CárdenasIs noted for three unusual monuments: replicas of a bicycle, a horse-drawn carriage and a crab cast in concrete that represents the abundant crustaceans in the area.