Things to do in Varadero
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Barracuda Diving Center
Varadero's top scuba facility is the mega-friendly, multilingual Barracuda Diving Center. Diving costs CUC$50 per dive with equipment, cave diving is CUC$60 and night diving costs CUC$55. Packages of multiple dives work out cheaper. Barracuda conducts introductory resort courses for CUC$70, and ACUC (American Canadian Underwater Certifications) courses starting at CUC$220, plus many advanced courses. Snorkeling with guide is CUC$30. A brand new recompression facility is on site and there's also a training pool, resident doctor and popular seafood restaurant on the premises, Barracuda Grill. Barracuda has a daily capacity for 70 divers in three 12m boats.
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Seafari Cayo Blanco
One of Varadero's most popular cruises is the Seafari Cayo Blanco to - you've guessed it - Cayo Blanco. This trip includes the dolphin show at the Delfinario, open bar, lunch on Cayo Blanco, two snorkeling stops, live music and hotel transfers. This trip comes with a free sunset cruise that can be carried over to the following day if desired. Several readers have reported that these trips were the highlight of their stay.
There are cheaper catamaran tours that are less heavily promoted, but still great fun, with the same excellent snorkeling. Try the stripped-down tour that has no music and dancing, and a chicken, rather than seafood lunch. There's also a two-hour guided…
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B
Aquaworld Marina Chapelín
Aquaworld Marina Chapelín organizes Varadero's nautical highlight in the popularity stakes: the Seafari Cayo Blanco, a seven-hour sojourn (CUC$75) from Marina Chapelín to nearby Cayo Blanco and its idyllic beach. The trip includes an open bar, lobster lunch, two snorkeling stops, live music and hotel transfers. There's also a shorter CUC$45 catamaran tour with snorkeling, open bar and a chicken lunch. The Fiesta en el Cayo is a sunset cruise (CUC$41) to Cayo Blanco with dinner, music and more free-flowing rum at the key.
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C
Casa de la Música
Aping its two popular Havana namesakes, this place has some quality live acts and a definitive Cuban feel. It's in town and attracts a local crowd who pay in pesos.
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D
Club Mambo
Cuba's 1950s mambo craze lives on at this quality live music venue – arguably one of Varadero's hippest and best. Situated next to Club Amigo Varadero in the eastern part of town, the CUC$10 entry includes all your drinks. A DJ spins when the band takes a break, but this place is all about live music. There's a pool table if you don't feel like dancing.
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E
Artisan Market
If art and history are your thing you've come to the wrong place. Varadero's reputation as a font of cultural interaction is not exactly legendary. Nevertheless there are a few sights worth pondering over if the beach banality starts to wear a bit thin.
The Parque Central and adjacent Parque de las 8000 Taquillas host the biggest Artisan Market in town and nestled among the uva caleta (sea grape) trees it's a pretty part of the public beach.
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Centro Internacional de Paracaidismo
For those with a head for heights, Varadero's greatest thrill has to be skydiving at this base 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…
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