Cuba Honeymoon Guide

Cuba’s rich culture, unique political history, intoxicating music and lively attitude (despite economic hardships) make it one of the most interesting honeymoon destinations in the world – complete with all the 5-star facilities you need for a perfect Caribbean honeymoon.

There is a lot more to a Cuba honeymoon than sun, sea and sand. Discover one of the Caribbean’s most fascinating holiday destinations in one of the last remaining Communist-block nations.


Best beaches in Cuba

With a choice of more than 300 white-sand beaches you're sure to find the right beach in Cuba, from lively Varadero to the secluded powder-white beaches of Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo.

The best beaches in Cuba, include …

Varadero

Pick your own spot to sunbathe and swim on this 21km-long strip of palm-fringed white sand that runs along the Península de Hicacos, facing the calm waters of the Caribbean.

This is Cuba's premier beach-resort destination, lined with cafes, bars, restaurants, nightclubs and a choice of around fifty 5-star all-inclusive hotels that feature a wide range of facilities including umbrellas, sun loungers and water sports equipment.

Try the family friendly Tryp Peninsula Varadero, which hosts the best kids club in Varadera. Or choose the adults only Super Clubs Breezes Varadero or the stunning Paradisus Varadero, set on a remote and gorgeous section of beach and boasting five bars and four restaurants.

Sunbathe on the pristine white sand, go sailing, kayaking, diving and snorkelling over the nearby coral gardens and see dolphins perform at the nearby Delfinario.

Varadero is located on the north coast of Cuba, around 140km east of Havana (a 2-hour drive).


Playa Paraíso

Unwind on this gorgeous white-sand beach that sits at the sheltered western end of an uninterrupted 25km-long stretch of beachfront fringing the southern shore of Cuba.

Sunbathe on the fine white sand and go swimming in the clear Caribbean Sea. Take your own food and drinks, as there are no facilities here except for some thatched-roof palapas.

Come for a day or stay longer at the nearby Sol Cayo Largo, an all-inclusive 4-star resort set on Lindamar Beach.

Cayo Largo is an island located off the southwest coast, around 177km south of Havana. It is easily reached by air, and a shuttle bus connects the marina with all the hotels.


Playa Sirena

Dip your toes into the soft sugar-white sand of this idyllic beach that shelves into clear shallow water perfect for swimming and snorkelling over the offshore coral gardens.

Facilities include umbrellas and sun loungers for hire as well as a beachside restaurant operated by the marina.

Water sports include Hobie Cats, windsurfers and sea kayaks. Cayo Largo also offers excellent scuba diving, snorkelling and fishing.


Cayo Coco & Cayo Guillermo

Unwind at one of Cuba’s most pristine beach destinations – two idyllic cays separated from the mainland by a 27km-long causeway.

Sunbathe on the palm-fringed shimmering white sand, swim in the calm, crystalline turquoise waters and dive or snorkel the offshore coral reefs teeming with rainbow-hued fish. Spot numerous birdlife overhead, including pink flamingos, white egrets and ibis.

Facilities include umbrellas, sun loungers and a variety of water sports equipment, all provided by a string of all-inclusive beachfront hotels.

Try the Melia Cayo Coco, a stylish adults only resort on Cayo Coco or the Melia Cayo Guillermo, an imposing luxury hotel on neighbouring Cayo Guillermo.

Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo are located on the northeast coast of Cuba, around 98km north of Ciego de Avila and 550km east of Havana.

The Aeropuerto Internacional Jardines del Rey receives direct international flights from North America, Europe and several Caribbean nations.


Playa Mégano

Sunbathe on the soft sugar-white sand of this unspoiled beach that shelves into shallow crystal clear waters perfect for swimming.

Use the facilities of the luxurious Occidental Royal Hideaway Ensenachos on a day pass or stay longer and be pampered with a range of creature comforts. This and other beaches offer the perfect base for exploring nearby Remedios and Santa Clara.

Playa Mégano is located on the tiny islet of Cayo Ensenachos in the region known as la Cayería del Norte.


Playa Ancón

Unwind on the white sands of this 3km-long beach that shelves into clear turquoise waters that are perfect for swimming, snorkelling and diving the offshore reefs.

Playa Ancón is the perfect base to base yourself and explore nearby Trinidad.

Come for a day or stay longer at the charming Brisas del Mar Trinidad hotel. Facilities include umbrellas, sun loungers and water sports equipment for hire.

The nearby tiny offshore island of Cayo Blanco offers one of the region’s best dive spots. Playa Ancón is located on the south coast, just 13km from Trinidad.


Playa Esmeralda

Dip your toes into the soft powder-white sands of this idyllic beach, one of several that indent the shoreline of Guardalavaca – one of Cuba’s most attractive beach destinations.

Sunbathe on the pristine beach, swim in the clear turquoise waters, snorkel coral gardens just a few short strokes from the beach and choose from several dive sites.

Come on a day trip or stay longer at the luxurious all-inclusive Paradisus Rio de Oro, a five-star adults only eco-resort set on a tree-covered cliff top overlooking Playa Esmeralda.

Guardalavaca is located on the north coast of Cuba, around 14km from the provincial capital Holquin and 70km from the nearest airport, Aeropuerto International Frank Pais.


What to do and see in Cuba

Relax on a choice of uncrowded white-sand beaches such as Cuba’s premier beach resort of Varadero, a 20km-long stretch of uninterrupted powder-white sand lined with upmarket, all-inclusive, family friendly resorts.

Take time to explore the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Old Havana and colourful Trinidad. Ride a 1940s-era Buick or Dodge taxi through crumbling Centro Habana.

Stroll Havana’s famous waterfront, the Malecón, from Habana Vieja to the Hotel Nacional in Vedado, where you can watch the setting sun while sipping a mojito (Cuban rum cocktail) on the hotel’s outdoor terrace.

The Hotel Nacional was a favourite pre-revolution haunt of US movie stars and gangsters such as Al Capone and Lucky Luciano.

Down a beer at La Bodeguita del Medio, a favourite watering hole of Hemingway or at Castillo de Farnes, where Castro and Ché once toasted the success of the Revolution.

Walk in the footsteps of Fidel Castro and Ché Guevara: hike a trail through remote cloud forest to the Comandancia de la Plata, the one-time command post hidden in the Sierra Maestra mountains, from where Castro mounted his successful guerrilla war against the Batista dictatorship in the late 1950s.

Alternatively, visit the museum and mausoleum of Ché Guevara in Santa Clara where, in 1959, Guevara and 300 rebels defeated 3000 of Batista's troops, leading to the dictator's flight from Havana just days later.

At the museum in Playa Girón, see artefacts including personal effects, captured CIA battle plans and a film from the ill-fated US-backed ‘Bay of Pigs' invasion in 1961.

Hike up to Cuba's highest mountain – Pico Turquino in the Sierra Maestra, or through the marshland and forests of the Zapata Peninsula, which teem with wildlife. Horseback ride though sugar cane fields around Trinidad and in the hilly landscape around Pinar del Río.

Explore more than 50 underwater dive sites around Varadero and the stunning beach-fringed cays along the northern coast, including one of the world's biggest coral reefs at Cayo Coco.

Discover more reefs at Isla de la Juventud of the south coast – Robert Louise Stevenson's inspiration for Treasure Island.

Try rolling cigars at a tobacco factory in Pinar del Río, Trinidad or in Havana’s Real Fábrica de Tabacos Partagás.

Be entertained at noon each Sunday by the renowned folkloric group Clavé y Guaguanco at the weekly celebration of Afro-Cuban music and dance held in the Callejón de Hammel, a narrow, two block-long alleyway crammed with the colourful paintings of artist Salvador González.

After dark, head to the Tropicana in Havana for the country’s longest running and best cabaret show, complete with graceful dancers and exuberant costumes. For great jazz, visit La Zorra y El Cuervo or enjoy sultry boleros at El Gato Tuerto.

Discover Cuba’s often crumbling, pre-revolution, colonial-era architecture and learn more about the country's unrelenting passion for its revolutionary heroes at several fascinating museums.

Don't miss these must-see attractions in Cuba…

La Habana Vieja

(Old Havana) –  Explore the colonial streets of Old Havana – frozen in a time warp but now lovingly resorted. Discover majestic boulevards, elegant plazas and narrow cobblestone alleyways lined with colonial buildings, forts and churches.

See colonial-era art artefacts at the Museo de la Ciudad, Havana's preeminent museum.

Admire the Baroque Catedral de San Cristobal (St Cristobal Cathedral) – perhaps the country’s most distinctive historical site, located in the atmospheric Plaza de la Catedral.

Visit the Museo de la Revolución to learn about the history of modern Cuba since the revolution, then explore the Castillo de la Real Fuerza, the oldest of Havana's three forts.

Monumento Ernesto Ché Guevara

(Santa Clara) – Ponder this huge sculpture of Cuba’s revolutionary hero, set overlooking a vast plaza.

See artefacts of Ché in the museum and pay your respects to the doctor-turned-guerrilla fighter in the mausoleum holding his remains.

The mausoleum also includes the tombstones of 37 other revolutionary fighters killed with Guevara during his failed mission to Bolivia.

Trinidad

Stroll the cobblestone streets of this UNESCO World Heritage Site, lined with colourful pastel-painted buildings and magnificent colonial-era mansions, including the 18th century Museo Romantico.

Plaza San Juan de Dios

(Camagüey) – Explore one of the largest cobblestone plazas in Cuba, lined with 16th to 18th century colonial churches and colonial houses adorned with red-tiled roofs and iron-grilled windows.

Museo El Chorro de Maíta

(Guardalavaca) – See preserved remains and artefacts of American Indians who predated the arrival of the conquistadors.

Set on a Taíno burial ground dating from the late-15th century, it is the largest and best American Indian cemetery discovered in Cuba.


Where to stay in Cuba

Cuba offers an amazing selection of honeymoon accommodation options. In Havana, try the elegant Hotel Saratoga, which overlooks the bustling streets of Old Havana, or stay at the boutique Hotel Victoria, located at the Plaza de la Revolution.


Best time to honeymnoon in Cuba

The best time to visit Cuba is during the winter dry season from mid-November through to mid-April when the climate is cooler, averaging a high of 27°C (81°F) with minimal rainfall.

For hot weather, visit Cuba during mid-March to late-May, or from late-October to early-December.

Cuba is a year-round destination, but during May through October the weather is hot and sultry, with the likelihood of thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening. June to November is the official hurricane season – and best avoided.

For more climate info: Cuba Weather Guide


How to get to Cuba

Cuba is the most westerly of the Greater Antilles group of islands, located 145km (90mi) south of Florida in the northern Caribbean.

At 11 million hectares, Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean (roughly the size of England).

The most convenient route to Cuba is by air to José Martí International Airport (HAV), sometimes known by its former name Rancho-Boyeros Airport, located 15km (9mi) southwest of Havana.

The airport receives daily non-stop fights from North America, Europe and other Caribbean nations.

Havana is the principal gateway to Cuba, connecting flights to nine other airports scattered around the country, including international airports at Camagüey, Cayo Coco, Cayo Largo, Ciego de Avila, Cienfuegos, Holguin, Manzanillo, Santiago de Cuba and the beach resort of Varadero.

By sea, mainstream lines like Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Holland America make regular calls to Havana.

Find out how to get to Cuba


How to get around Cuba

Buses are the most efficient and practical way of getting around Cuba. The state-run Víazul network offers a regular daily schedule to most places of interest to overseas visitors.

The train service is extensive, but is often slow, unreliable and generally lacking in comfort. Modern train carriages are being introduced on the most popular routes.

Taxis are freely available in cities and towns, and are also an option over longer distances if you are traveling in a small group. Rates are approximately CUC$0.55 per kilometre.

Bicycle hire is also gaining a foothold in Cuba, with numerous operators offering a variety of bikes for hire in Havana.

Rental cars are expensive and driving can be a challenge for a number of reasons, not least being the lack of signposts. However, if you prefer the individual freedom that a hire car brings, hiring a car with driver may be the better option. Overall, the cost is roughly similar.

Find out more about how to get around Cuba


More about Cuba…


Latest update: Cuba: 3 July, 2022



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