Varadero, Cuba--First time traveller?

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Victor

Shopping. Buy cigars, rum, orange juice, sugar
Food. For visitors the food is excellent

What to do. You can go and visit fidel and give him a big kiss

What to see. Go to the Habana Vieja and take a look at the buildings over there. But be careful, they are crumbling

Things not to do. DO NOT criticize the regime !

You might bring back fidel and his little brudder. We would be very grateful.
You can stuff them and put them in display . You would make millions with people going to see them

aMazeMe

Wait the excitement. Discover for yourself and experience the wondering people, wonderful in travelling.. let advice NOT become your trip.
Safe Tour Travel..:-)

Tropicales

You will have an amazing time! And your flight will only be about 3 hours (if you're from Toronto). Riki has given you good advice. You were asking about what to bring back. Cubita coffee, rum, honey, wood crafts, leather, silver and shell jewellery are just some of the few things that would be nice to bring back. They are excellent quality and beautiful handiwork.

Take a look at the sites for shopping, food/restaurants, activities to do.

While in Varadero, you can also go swimming with the dolphins if you like.

Among the main attractions of Varadero if the ecologic beach, a natural reserve a little farther away from the main beaches. You can enjoy a practically virgin beach which has one of the oldest trees in Cuba: El Patriarca, a treelike cactus dated by the specialists as previous to the Spanish conquest, and the very first saltern in Cuba and Latin America, built little after the Spanish arrival. A visitor walking along the beach can see Cayo Piedra, one of the small virgin islets, typical of this peninsulaâ€™s geography.

Varadero also has a fair choice of fun activities. In its beaches sailboards, aquabikes, rowboats and horses are available for rent. Catamaran rides, parachutes, winged boats are some other options. Visitors can rent cars, bikes and motorbikes. There's a carting track, an amusement park, several golf courses, a marina offering yacht cruises and visits to important landmarks like Laguna del Tesoro, and a dolphinarium where the visitor can enjoy a superb dolphin show as well as swim with dolphins.

http://www.gocuba.ca/en/destination_exc_varadero.asp
Sight-seeing excursions:
- Restaurants specializing in Asian, Cuban, Italian, Spanish and international cuisine as well as barbecued meat and shellfish promise satisfaction for every taste.
- Cafeterias offer light, quick food when thatâ€™s what hits the spot.
- Coppelia Ice Cream Parlor has your favorite flavors of creamy Cuban ice cream.
- Cabarets feature Cuban and international drinks and rhythms.
- Theater and Amphitheater, where variety shows, the International Festival of Music (presenting the many genres of popular music) and the Electronic Music Festival are held.
- Rent-a-car letâ€™s you go where you please.
- Movie theaters show Cuban and foreign films (in the original language with Spanish subtitles)
- Tour museums in Varadero, Cardenas and Matanzas help you get to know the area and its history.
- Optional sightseeing, excursions and overnight trips can be reserved in all Varadero hotel and villa tourism bureaus.

Always be respectful to people there. Cubans are warm and kind....but be very careful you do not speak derogatorily about their political system. Whether a Cuban may agree or not, it's not smart to do and they won't trust you either for different reasons.

Don't change all your money over all at once. You can lose in the exchange when coming back home. CUC have no value outside of Cuba.

US-based credit cards are not accepted...but all others are.

Take an adapter/converter with you if your hotel uses European outlets.

Also be sure to take batteries, sun lotion, mini first aid kit (such as band-aids, aspirin, etc) as those items can be very expensive to purchase.

Travel light, keep it simple and enjoy yourself.

As Riki mentioned, it would be nice to be able to bring some little gifts for the friends there if you are able to. From what I understand there are some airlines that are permitting an extra suitcase up to 50 lb with humanitarian needs with no extra charge.

Cuba is very safe, but you still need to be smart and careful wherever you go in this world. Don't walk around looking like a tourist and wear regular casual clothes like a Cuban would. Keep your personal belongings directly on you to avoid pickpocketing, as can happen in major cities.

And one more thing to do........HAVE FUN!!!

lisa e

While in Varadero you MUST go check out the Americana Mall!!! On the second level of the mall they have a Pizza Nova and let me tell you, it's not anything like our Pizza Novas! It's 100xs better. It was sooo good that a bunch of us went 4 times to eat there. Yummmmy. Very affordable as well. If you are going to rent any scooters be careful as you are not insured. If you get into an accident you will have to pay the $5000.00 before you are allowed to leave the country! By friend had this happen and he was stuck there for almost 2 months before he got out...Maybe that wasn't a bad thing though...lol. Where are you staying??? What hotel? Cuba is extremely safe and you will for sure have a great time! I have been numerous times and I just came back 4 weeks ago and I am leaving again in 3 days!!!! Going to Cayo Coco for a week and then backpacking for another week solo. I hope you have fun and I know you will meet a tonne of folks that you will keep in touch with, both locals and fellow canadians!

Annies

The Cuba-Junky website has lots of information about Varadero and
Cuba

Check this out: http://www.cuba-junky.com/matanzas/varadero-home.htm

Succes

Riki

You are in for a real treat. Havana is definitely a "must see, You can easily arrange that tour and others that may interest you. Your destination rep will be selling them. There are markets in Varadero where you can buy inexpensive souvenirs at a better price than the resort shops. There aren't too many don't dos mainly because Cuba is such a safe destination, however don't wear expensive jewelery or invite strangers to your room, so for the most part just use common sense. The food at your resort will be varied offering some typical Cuban food but lots of choice as far as Canadian or European tastes go. Check the sites below for lots more info. You will be using the Convertible Peso while in Cuba,, you can't buy them until you arrive where you can buy them at the airport or your resort. They have no value outside Cuba so spend them there or save some for your next visit which most likely you will be planning before you leave and save 20 CUC for the departure tax. Please remember to take gifts for our Cuban friends who have had such a difficult year because of the hurricanes. You are in for a great time.
http://www.cuba-junky.com/cuba/what-to-bring.html
http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic

doâ„“â„“fÎ±yce.

me and my friend are going in less than 3 weeks !
second time for me!
i had NO clue what i was going to do in cuba, but it just all came together. yur like, NEVER inside of the hotel. yur out in the pool or the beach, trust me.
food in cuba is kind of repetitive, but its still yummy :)
i just brought back a few souveneirs, as i will again =] nothing to big though :) biggest thing we brought back were bongo drums.
DO NOT DRINK ANY TAP WATER THERE ! you can get seriously sick. brushing teeth is okay , though :)

hopee youu have fun !
i know i will !
i cant waiit :D

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