Touring the cayman

By: Thais Ariza
Photos: Rolando Pujol

Playas del Este …..to get away from the noise of the capital city.

The best Havana beaches are located at Playas del Este, a tourism destination extending along the northern shore on the way to Varadero. There are eight beaches: the first Bacuranao, is some 15 kilometres from the capital, followed by Tarará, Mégano, Santa María del Mar, Boca Ciega, Guanabo, Trópico and Jibacoa –these last two, further away and solitary, are 70 kilometres past Santa Cruz del Norte, a fishermen villa, home of the famous Havana Club rum distillery.

Playas del Este was the last destination in Havana to consolidate its hotel inventory. This inventory dates back to the Cuandas Club inaugurated in 1944 with wooden cabins and later adding the Miramar Hotel founded in 1949 (both of them in Guanabo); in 1953 the Atlántico Hotel in Santa María offered conference rooms including foreign languages interpreting facilities. Later on, Bacuranao and Mégano villas followed in 1961 and Los Pinos, all of them grouped as a single villa in 1974; the Tropicoco Hotel was built in 1976 and named Marazul, plus the Arenal that opened as Itabo in 1985.

Just a few minutes away from Old Havana, this destination has an adequate tourism infrastructure, with some three thousand rooms, concentrated mostly in Santa María del Mar, the best and most extensive of all the beaches in the area.

The hotels in Playas del Este range from four stars – Blau Arenal and Breezes Jibacoa – to economy lodgings in villas and aparthotels – Villa Trópico, Club Atlántico, Tropicoco, Islazul Las Terrazas and Atlántico – as well as a dozen zones of resting homes. The International Marina, the International Diving Centre and the Sports Fishing Base operating in Tarará, satisfy the expectations of water sports lovers.

Beautiful underwater coral tapestry bottoms and submerged landscapes, blue-green crystal clear waters confined by fine and pure white sands, are undoubtedly some of the many reasons to choose Playas del Este as a perfect option to those who wish to enjoy the sun and sand, getting away from the city crowd.