Centro Internacional de Paracaidismo
Good for: thrill seekers, excitement, beautiful views, Skydiving, skydive
Not good for: pregnant lady, wimps, sissies
- Address
- Santa Marta
- Phone
- 66-72-60
- 66-72-56
Lonely Planet review for Centro Internacional de Paracaidismo
For those with a head for heights, Varadero’s greatest thrill has to be skydiving with the Centro Internacional de Paracaidismo, based at the old airport just west of Varadero. The terminal is 1km up a dirt road, opposite Marina Acua. Skydivers take off in an Antonov AN-2 biplane of WWII design (don’t worry, it’s a replica) and jump from 3000m using a two-harness parachute with an instructor strapped in tandem on your back. After 35 seconds of free fall the parachute opens and you float tranquilly for 10 minutes down onto Varadero’s white sandy beach. The center also offers less spectacular (but equally thrilling) ultralight flights at various points on the beach. Prices for skydiving are CUC$150 per person with an extra CUC$45 for photos and CUC$50 for video. Ultralight flights start at CUC$30 and go up to CUC$300 depending on the length of time. If you are already a qualified skydiver, solo jumps are also available on production of the relevant certification.
Traveller reviews for Centro Internacional de Paracaidismo (2)
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Thrill of a lifetime
Brenda1979 recommends this,
Indeed, prices have increased. We paid 180 CUC (booked directly) for the jump and 60 CUC for the video. Also, they didn't take us up in a plane but in a big ass helicopter. Which is a great experience by itself ;-)
The evening we jumped there were too many participants, so they split us up into two groups. If this should be the case when you go, make sure to ask to be in the second group. The first group lands on the airport grounds (which is probably also nice), but the second group gets to land on the sandy beach of Varadero! The free fall is crazy (fun), it goes really fast, so try to close your mouth and try breathing through your nose. Once the parachute opens, you can sit back, relax and enjoy the view. There was a sticker on the wall of the centre, which said: "Skydivers know why birds sing". Very true...
Oh, I was also very lucky to get strapped to a really cute instructor (Mike) and had some good laughs with him. He made me forget all about how nervous I was :)
Good for: thrill seekers, excitement, beautiful views
Not good for: pregnant lady, wimps, sissies
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exhilerating experience!
morris_alex recommends this,
The Centro Internacional de Paracaidismo is also known as the Club de Aviacion de Cuba, and the latter name is what you'll find on most of their current marketing literature.
I had the pleasure of skydiving with these guys when vacationing in Varadero in December of 2011. They are professional and boast a flawless safety record (operations began in the mid 90s). Their prices have increased. It's 180.00 CUC when booked through the resort/ hotel (commission is certainly built in to the rate, so, if you can bi-pass this route, the more power to you) and 60.00 CUC for the video, which I highly recommend!
In fact, these guys promised to have the video edited and delivered to my hotel by the time I had to catch a bus to the airport first thing the following morning. They came through. I highly recommend skydiving with these guys if you're up for the adventure.
Note that you may not have a video guy dedicated to your jump. The tandem guy you jump with has his own camera attached to his wrist. It is this camera that will likely document your fall. Video from the dedicated video jumper is spliced in to the final edited version.
Good for: Skydiving, skydive, parachuting, free fall, free falling
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