Playas del Este

Introducing Playas del Este

Habana's pine-fringed Riviera, Playas del Este, begins at Bacuranao, 18km east of central Habana, and continues to the east through Tarará, El Mégano, Santa María del Mar and Boca Ciega to the town of Guanabo, 27km from the capital. This is where all of Habana comes to lounge on soft white sands and bathe in aquamarine waters. About a dozen large resorts are scattered along this 9km stretch of beach, with the largest concentration at Santa María del Mar (Santa María). For a more affordable and local experience here, you can rent a private room in Guanabo (where most Cubans stay) or a little beach house in Boca Ciega. The latter is great for families, as are the spacious houses at Villa Marina Tarará.

The hotel area of Santa María is now heavily patrolled by uniformed security guards to keep prostitution in check, and the prostitutes withdrawn to the western end of El Mégano and Guanabo. If you come to Santa María with Cuban friends, expect the police to ask for their identification. If everything isn't in order, it's trouble. The heavy security presence makes this area safe and hassle-free, but it also eliminates much of the local color, and at times Santa María can be like a graveyard. You'll find Cuban families on the beach at Guanabo, Cuban holidaymakers at Boca Ciega, foreign tourists and their friends at Santa María, and men and women in search of each other at the western end of El Mégano. A very pretty part of Santa María is accessible from the parking area on Calle 13.

Cheap tour packages to Santa María are readily available in Canada and Europe, and the resorts provide a base from which you can visit Habana while enjoying a relaxing seaside holiday. Alternatively, these beaches provide an easy and effortless escape from Habana should you need feel the need for it. Access is simple: the Vía Blanca runs right along the back side of the seaside strip, and there are buses between Habana and Guanabo. However, those interested mostly in museums and historical sites would do better to stay in Habana itself.

Approximately 13, 500 radiation-affected children and 2500 adults from Ukraine have received medical treatment at a sanatorium at Tarará since February 1989.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009