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Top Things to Do With Your Family in Varadero, Cuba

Visit Varadero Cuba and have an ultimate fun experience with our complete list of family-friendly activities and things to do!

Cuba libre! Cuba amaba! (Cuba Free! Cuba loved!) If you haven't been to Cuba yet – we strongly recommend you go as soon as possible to enjoy this beautiful country. The magnificent white soft sand of Varadero beach and people's hospitality will blow you away. But what other activities can you enjoy in Varadero? Plenty! From marine sports to interactions with dolphins and other aquatic life, from tasting the rum and cigars to learning about rich Cuban history, from dancing your nights away to indulging in delicious local food (NOT resort food!). There is plenty to see and things to do in Varadero Cuba. In this article, we present to you our complete list of Top family-friendly Varadero activities, excursions and experiences!

***This post may contain affiliate links and we may earn compensation when you click on the links at no additional cost to you. All product recommendations and feedback are ours and based on personal experience. Please refer to our Disclosure Policy. 

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Enjoy the Sun and Ocean!

Why do we go to Cuba in the first place?! To spend as much time as possible in the sun and near the ocean of course! There is a reason Varadero Cuba is one of the top winter sun destinations around the globe: of all the things to do in Varadero – the sun and ocean are rated amongst the best in the world!

TIP: Be mindful of the sun, however, and avoid getting sunburns in the first few days – your vacation in Cuba won’t be fun anymore. Check out our recommendation on the chemical-free sunscreens: 8 Best Sunscreens For Kids. Natural. Organic. Chemicals Free.

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Walk the Magnificent Varadero Beach

Did you know that Varadero Beach stretches for no less than 21-km (13-mi)?! That’s the entire northern shoreline of the peninsula at your disposal for a Varadero Grand hike! No shoes necessary – the beautiful soft fine white sand covers the entire length of the beach.

TIP: take some cash with you if you decide to hike the full length of the beach. This way you can take a cab back to your resort once you are tired. Generally from Varadero town to any resort all the way to Marina, the price is about 15 cuc. 

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Build a Sand Castle

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Whether you travel with kids or not, building sandcastles is so much fun! You can instantly reconnect with your inner child! Of all the things to do in Varadero – building at least one sandcastle should be at the top of your list for every family!

TIP: Once again, be mindful of the sun, as you can be easily carried away and be at work for hours! Make sure you use plenty of sunscreen (only natural sunscreen of course!) Take frequent breaks to dip into the sea to cool off to avoid heatstroke.

TIP: The best time for building sandcastles is in the early evening – final hours before the sunset. The sun is not that strong then.

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Visit Varadero Downtown

Varadero, sometimes called by locals in Cuba – Playa Azul (Blue Beach), is in fact over 500 years old. It was first mentioned in the year 1555. We imagine it was a little fishing village back in the day. However today Varadero is almost entirely a tourist town – booming with hotels and resorts. 

The downtown Varadero is clean and well-maintained. You’ll find many cute restaurants and cafes, little markets and cigar shops. It is fun to explore the antiquated buildings from the pre-Castro era, some as old as built by Spanish. There is a cool church right in the middle of the town that looks absolutely magnificent at night bathing in the moonlight. The central park, Parque Josone, is one of the nice places to hide from the sun. 

People are nice and most speak either English or Russian. We do encourage you to learn Spanish though – so much fun!

You can hire a horse ride, or a coco-cab (similar to tuk-tuks in India) or walk the streets to move from place to place – the town is not that big. But one of the most fun things to do in Varadero, as in the rest of Cuba, is to see and take photos of those cool classic American cars! You’ll find plenty in all shapes and colors!

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Hire a Classic Car

Speaking about classic cars… why stop at taking photos near a classic American car, when you can hire one and have a tour around Varadero town? Of all the things to do in Varadero, and in Cuba in general – a ride in a classic American car is likely the most popular and instagrammable activity 🙂 so do it!

You can hire a classic car taxi right to your resort – just speak with the doorman and they’ll get it for you.

You can wave the classic car taxi off the road – if it is available, it will surely stop. Typically a ride from any resort to Varadero town will cost about 15 cuc.

You can also get the car once in the Varadero town – the best selection of makes, models and colors. For 20-30 cuc they’ll drive you around the city center, tell you about the best places to eat (and can even drop you off at a dinner place and wait for you) and then drive you back to your hotel. 

TIP: Do bargain for the final cost of your tour. But if the discount is given, make sure to leave a tip.

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Rent a Scooter

Another way to get to Varadero downtown, or anywhere else around the Varadero peninsulae and even to Mazatlan is to rent a scooter. Each resort will typically have a rental facility. 

TIP: Make sure to pick up your scooter early in the day, as they “fly off the shelf fast”. In addition, plan your trip so you don’t have to be returning after the sunset in the dark – rental scooters do not have headlights, and parts of the highway do not have street lighting. 

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Ride a Double Decker Bus

Double Decker buses circulate between Varadero Marina and Varadero Downtown. Varadero Beach Tour buses are a fantastic “entry-level” option to explore the Varadero peninsula from end-to-end and check out possible Varadero activities from above. Enjoy an awesome drive to downtown with a nice warm breeze blowing through your hair, while getting a quick glance at the other resorts and quick peek at the Varadero Downtown itself before choosing where to hop off.

Did I tell you these are one-time payment hop-on hop-off busses that you can use all day? The cost is 5 cuc per person with kids under 5 traveling for free.

Typically you can catch a bus every 15 minutes, the last leaving Varadero downtown at 8:30 pm. 

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Shop Rum and Cigars

Varadero Downtown has a number of specialized stores where you can find rum and cigars that Cuba is so famous for. The most famous place is probably House of Rum – Casa Del Ron. For cigars – La Casa Del Habano. In Cuba all prices are standard, so when it comes to cigars and rum, you’ll see the same price no matter which store you are in. 

TIP: do NOT purchase cigars directly from locals – there have been reports of cigar fakes. 

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Visit The Local Brewery

Factoria Varadero 43 Cerveceria is a microbrewery located in the Varadero Downtown and sells craft beers and malts. The brewery has seats both inside and outside. Perfect place near the beach to escape the hot Cuban sun!

The beer dispensers are super-cool by the way – they are brought to your table and you can serve yourself – haven’t seen anything like that anywhere before 🙂

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Have a Lobster Dinner

Do not miss an opportunity to try out local lobster! Served fresh from the ocean and beautifully cooked – you can get lobster dinner in many local places. 

Two restaurants that we can recommend near Varadero downtown are: Casa Del Chef (less expensive, but simpler) and La Fiesta Del Carbon (a bit more pricey and higher-end)

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Dance Your Night Away

Varadero Downtown has plenty of night clubs and disco bars for any taste.

One of the unique places worth mentioning specifically is Mi Casa Beatles – The Beatles House. Here you can enjoy both – dinner and a live concert.

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Check out a Museum or Gallery

Varadero downtown has few museums and art galleries you can explore if you want an opportunity to hide from the outdoor heat! Here are a few you’d want to check-out:

• Museo Municipal Varadero 
• Taller de Ceramica Artistica
• Galeria Espacio 34
• House of Rum – yes, this one is a rum shop as well

There are no special art excursions offered in Varadero that we know of – you just walk along the city streets and pop-into those attractions yourself. Note: most are typically closing at around 6-7pm.

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Go Snorkelling

There are plenty of coral reefs all around Varadero. The ocean water is clean and the fish is colorful and fun to watch!

There are few ways to enjoy snorkeling experience near Varadero – as a part of a group tour or excursion, or by hiring an individual catamaran. In our opinion, the latter is best, as the tour would charge per person, while individual catamaran hire is per ride. Plus you won’t have a crowd of people attacking a reef all at the same time and you are not limited in time. Right at your resort, you’ll see signs put up offering private snorkeling experience (along with other Varadero activities) for only 20 cuc – take it!

TIP: Bring your own snorkeling equipment when traveling to Cuba. Yes, if you do not have it, you will be given their standard gear… but as we found out, the mask doesn’t always fit, and the snorkel is cheap stuff traditional snorkel. If you are used to dry-snorkel – they won’t have it. Want to know the difference between dry, semi-dry or traditional snorkel – check out this article.

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Enjoy Diving Activities

Diving is not overly advertised in Cuba, as opposed to places like Mexico, as there are not too many places that offer it. You’ll either really have to bring your own equipment or look really hard to find a reputable place that would take you out on a driving tour with their equipment. Chances are it will be quite expensive as well… 

The good news is: Cuba has some of the most outstanding spectacular diving sites in the world!

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Sail A Catamaran

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A Catamaran tour is one of the most popular excursions you can find offered in Varadero. A typical tour includes: sailing catamaran through the ocean waters, a stop for snorkeling at a coral reef, lobster lunch at an island, visit to open ocean dolphinarium and interaction with dolphins, open bar on board the boat. Few cons and pros to taking this tour: 

Pros: pricing makes sense – typical price is 85 cuc per person (with kids under 5 coming for free) that includes all of the above. Our catamaran had a super-cool staff that engaged the crowd and we were dancing and playing all-time on board.

Cons: usually too many people, long waiting times inline to get food at the lunch stop. 

TIP: When packing your swimwear for the trip to Cuba, don’t forget your long-sleeve top – one of those that surfers typically use – also called Rash Guard. Get one for the kids too. You will greatly appreciate on this particular tour. As the whole day will be spent in the sun, even the strongest of sunscreens may not prevent you from getting sunburns. 

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Hire a Yacht

An alternative to an organized excursion is to hire a private yacht at Varadero Marina. You can do the same program as catamaran, or do your own thing.

The obvious advantage is that it is just your family on board: you determine how much time you need to snorkel, you have amazing photo opportunities when visiting a dolphinarium – you are the only ones there. And as to the lobster lunch – there is no line up: the staff will fish out lobsters right from the ocean and cook for you on board.

‘The downside is the cost – in our experience two families – 4 adults 2 kids total – paid 640 cuc for the full-day experience.

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Play with Dolphins

If you travel with kids, chances are that your things to do in Varadero list has Dolphins at the very top. Right?! Good news you have few options to interact with dolphins. 

Firstly, a visit to an open-ocean dolphinarium is included in your Catamaran excursion – offered by all travel desks in Varadero. If you decide to take it, and kids under 5 come for free. 

Alternatively, there is a Dolphinarium right in the middle of the Varadero peninsula. They have a dolphin show, you can watch other aquatic animals living here and of course, you can swim with dolphins. Downside – this place is super expensive – adults are about 90 cuc, while kids under 12yo are 78 cuc. 

HACK: The dolphinarium staff typically does not allow pictures to be taken and has professional photographers snapping pics and selling to you for 10 cuc for each photo… However, we were allowed on the platform with a go-pro! Just make sure it is fixed to your clothing, hand or a hat and can't fall into the water or be water-damaged.

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Explore the Caves

Two caves are worth mentioning here: Cave Saturno and Cave Ambrosio.

Cueva de Ambrosio 

Cueva de Ambrosio is located at the Varahicacos Ecological Reserve. There is quite a bit of history around, and you can see cave drawings left by natives a long time ago. You can get to the reserve either by taking a formal tour, or simply driving there by taxi or scooter and explore for yourself.

Cueva de Saturno 

Cueva de Saturno is an absolutely magical place located at the far west end of Varadero. Saturno is a cenote cave – a popular snorkeling and swimming spot with the deepest point of almost 22 meters! Snorkeling gear is available for rent here, but bring your own if you can. Or you can simply choose to float in the water admiring the geological formations of the cave – both beneath and above you.

You can get to Saturno from Varadero as a part of the excursion tour of course – the Jeep Safari tour has it included. But you can also get there yourself either by taxi or by scooter. If you do – aim for arriving early in the day as it gets extremely busy with tours arriving later. 

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Taste Guarapo on a Sugar Cane Tour

A fun way to spend your day both exploring and learning, especially if the weather is not super nice for the beach – is to take Sugar Cane Tour. Your kids will absolutely love the steam train experience that comes with it!

Ride through Cuban backcountry with flourishing sugarcane fields stretching for miles to a sugarcane plantation. Here where you can tour the sugar mill and learn about the machinery and techniques used to process sugarcane, and try authentic guarapo – a sweet and delicious sugarcane juice (adults can have it mixed with rum) A tour through Cardenas and visit the Oscar de Rojas Museum are also included into this Varadero excursion. 

TIP: Bring your own reusable mug with you to get more guarapo and to avoid creating litter by accepting a plastic glass only to toss it into the garbage a moment later. Make sure to bring a sun hat and plenty of water.

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Take a Trip to Havana

There is plenty of things to do in Varadero, but one can not leave Cuba without the Havana experience!

Havana, the capital of Cuba, is definitely worth a visit. Check out our recent post: Havana, Cuba – Top Places to See and Things To Do With Family.

You have two options getting from Varadero to Havana – as a part of an organized excursion or by hiring a private car tour. Driving time to Havana from Varadero is about 2-2,5 hours – roads are pretty good everywhere in Cuba and there is not much traffic but we've seen plenty of construction, hence the delays. 

Varadero to Havana Excursion

The tour typically departs at 8 am and leaves Havana at 4 pm. You’ll be taken to Havana on a bus with other tourists. You’ll stop at the Fort, have lunch, then drive through new Havana (without stopping), go to the old Havana, take pictures at the Revolution Square, and spend two hours in some rum and cigar shop. 

In our opinion, this tour is too short, misses some fun places, and wastes your precious time bringing you to the rum and cigar shop as you can buy the same stuff in Varadero. …and you have a crowd behind you on all those photos! Oh… this sucks. 

By the way, if you want to explore Cuba by bus (by yourself, outside of regular tour buses), check out the tips of using Viazul bus company on my friend's blog [in Russian] “Как путешествовать по Кубе на автобусах Viazul“.

Hiring a Car

The better option is to hire a private car with a driver and take an individual tour. 

This way you are in control of the departure time (we made our car leave at 9am and had enough sleep), and time coming back (we paid a bit extra and stayed in Havana till 6pm). 

You most certainly get a classic car WITH air conditioning. You go wherever you want and spend as much time as you want in places of your choice. 

Your driver can act as your tour guide AND your photographer! 

The best part: the cost is not that expensive at all! Our tour with extra hours, additional art village location outside of Havana and tips ended up less than 200 cuc. 

Strongly recommend hiring a car and look forward to our next blog with the full visit itinerary!

Oh, by the way, if you ARE planning a trip to Havana, make sure to add Fusterlandia to your road trip itinerary! That's one place you can NOT miss! Check out the recent post: Fusterlandia at Jaimanitas: Most Unusual Artsy Discovery in Havana, Cuba

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Just in case you are also interested in some self-care tips for your Cuban travel, dropping few links here:

8 Best Natural Sunscreens For Kids. Organic. Chemicals-Free

How To Save Sun-Damaged Hair With Coconut Oil After Beach Vacation

Cuba Packing List For Totally Worry-Free Family Holidays

If you haven't been to Cuba yet, we encourage you to go check it out! We hope that our list of Varadero activities, excursions, attractions and things to do with your kids and the entire family is helpful!

If you have been to Cuba, and to Varadero specifically – drop us a line and tell us about your most favorite activities and experiences! We've last visited Varadero and Havana in 2019 – if you know of any new attractions or excursions, or find that any of our notes are outdated – please message us.

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Enjoy!

Cheerfully yours,

Alexandra, Alex & Cosmos

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