Varadero

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Aerial photo of Varadero

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

1 Geography
2 History
3 Tourism
4 Photo gallery
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Geography

It is situated on the Hicacos Peninsula, 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 extends 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.

[edit] History

The first mention of Varadero was in 1555.^[1] However, the foundation date of Varadero as city was only on December 5, 1887, when ten families settled in the area that now occupies the famous resort.

[edit] Tourism

Varadero is first and foremost a tourist resort, boasting more than 20 km of white sandy beaches. Tourism grew as Irénée du Pont Nemours, an American millionaire, in the early 1930s built his estate on the peninsula. But the first tourists visited Varadero as early as the 1870s, and for years it was considered an elite resort. However, hotels began to appear in the 1950s, and after the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the beach's many mansions were expropriated from their rich owners. Many famous and infamous people have stayed in Varadero, like Mafia boss Al Capone.^[2]

Its most valued resource, the beach, has added natural attractions such as the caves and rasp, a rosary of virgin keys easily accessed, the wealths of a natural typical scenery that conserves in the most oriental portion of the territory, and others of cultural, historical and environmental character narrowly related to the cities of Matanzas and Cárdenas, the Peninsula of Zapata and the resort of San Miguel de los Baños. The fact that the city also counts with the Convention Center Plaza America, reinforces its potentiality as destination for congresses and incentives tourism. Varadero, which is a free port, possesses good conditions for the scuba diving, deep-sea fishing, yachtism and as well other kinds of nautical activity.

Since the early 1990s, most of the peninsula has been developed for tourism, with many of the hotels being operated or co-owned by foreign businesses.

As of 2006, Varadero is primarily visited by European and Canadian tourists. The number of American tourists visiting Varadero, although increasing, has been limited because of the restrictions that prevent U.S. citizens from flying directly from the U.S. to Cuba. Unlike many other Cuban tourism centers, Cubans can visit Varadero (though their use of some of the hotels is restricted). The town has a population of 8,000 inhabitants.^[3]

Juan Gualberto Gomez Airport is Varadero's airport. It is the second-most-important airport of the island after José Martí Airport in Havana.