week in cuba

You are quite right - Varadero is not the "real" Cuba. However, you will be able to see lots of that in Havana. If it is important for you to have 4 days of "down" time, and not waste 2 of them travelling, then in my opinion, you can't do better than Varadero. It is incredibly beautiful and very friendly, with activities for all ages and levels of energy. Of course, if you were to travel somewhere else, you would see more - but relax less. It is up to you to decide which matters most. Hope you fall in love with Cuba like I did!

I spent half a day in Varadero and that was more than enough. Perhaps you might want to stay in the Playas del Este/Guanabo region just east of Havana instead?

Trinidad is 5 hours on the Viazul - not really a whole day's travel time - so if you want more than a row of resorts, it is a better choice.

Yep have to agree with siemprepatty, everyone is different, but i felt Varadero was v touristy, Casa particulars there (in Varadero) are illegal, and you are not encouraged/expected to get to know the locals there, if you want to swim at the beach you must swim in front of your hotel (which is proven by your arm band, given out by each hotel. If you are just going for down time why not go to the Playas del Este or Guanabo much better and there you wont be surrounded by canadian and other tourist and not realising your in Cuba. And have to agree Trinidad is not that far, and if you are only visiting Havana it is nice to see another town in Cuba Trinidad is a cute little town (not to mention it has the world heritage listing).

I'd say that where you should spend your first four days depends on what you want to do. If all you want to do is check into a nice air-conditioned room, and wander out only to lay on the beach or sit by the pool where you have easier access to the swim-up bar, and go back inside the air-conditioned hotel when you've had enough sun or want to hit the buffet, then Varadero would be the place for you (or anyone who wants that kind of "down time.") But clearly, this is NOT a Cuba experience; it is a resort experience, of the sort you could have at any beach resort anyplace in the world. So--you decide. Is that what you want for those four days, or not?

If not--if you want to mix that down time on the beach with doing stuff where you'll have some chance of interacting with Cubans and sampling Cuban culture, then consider one of these:

As suggested by Siemprepatty. Santa Maria, at the east end of the Playas del Este (East Beaches) is only 10 or 15 minutes by taxi from downtown Havana, so you could stay there in an all-inclusive on the beach, and go into the city for night life, museums, etc. Or, if you wanted to stay in a licenced casa in Playas del Este, go 10 km further east to Guanabo, which is where most of them are located. (Although the beach is not as nice in Guanabo as it is in Santa Maria.)

Alternatively, the morning after your arrival in Havana, jump on the Viazul bus to Trinidad. You'll be there by 2 PM--plenty of time for locating a casa in town, where, despite the many tourists, you will have ample opportunity to meet, lodge with, and socialize, afternoon and evening, with Cubans. Or you can grab a taxi out to the the beach and stay in an all-inclusive such as Hotel Ancon, and take a taxi (14 km, usual fare 3 CUC) back into town for whatever you want to do there.

One suggestion, which is much quieter than Varadero and also closer to Havana is Jibacoa. Its only one hour from Havana. There is an all inclusive there called Super Breezes, but also at least one other hotel. The beach is good, although not as good at Varadero apparently and there is excellent snorkelling and scuba diving to be had. From Super Breezes there are also more opportunities than at Varadero to see something of non-tourist Cuba, with walks into the surrounding countryside and scooter tours to Hershey Gardens and elsewhere in the neighbourhood.