Cuba’s best beaches
Ok, so technically I don’t know if these are the best of the Cuba beaches. It’s an island, there are a lot of beaches to consider, and we only had 8 days. But “Two really nice beaches in Cuba” is not a very catchy post title.
Part of the appeal of going to Trinidad was that we could also go to the beach. While we are not total beach vacation people, we do appreciate a lazy day (and a nice tan). On our first day in town, we headed to nearby Playa Ancón. Apparently in high season this fills up with Canadian tourists from the all-inclusive resort, but when we visited, it was practically empty.
Sharing the beach with us were three Slovenian girls. We met them while looking for a taxi and split a cab. They told us about an organized trip they were going on the next day to Cayo Blanco, a small island just off the coast. The words “catamaran,” “snorkeling” and “open bar” were enough to convince us to sign up.
It was a perfect day. Everyone in our small group was huge fun, all young, independent travelers. Rodolfo and I were the only ones staying for less than two weeks, and many of them were staying for a full month to see the island from end to end! Cue the jealousy.
Visibility wasn’t great for our snorkeling, but we saw plenty of colorful fish and fan coral. I did wonder about the environmental impact these tours have on the small reef we visited, but I just did my best to lower my impact by containing my urges to touch the coral.
When we reached Cayo Blanco itself, I really did think we might be in paradise. Perfect white sand beaches, palm trees and…iguanas? Iguanas! This island is uninhabited by people, but there were iguanas and hermit crabs all over.
Photo by my new Slovenian friend Anja
After lunch, we had some free time to sit in the water and plan our mutiny. There’s a little hut on Cayo Blanco with a kitchen and bathrooms, which is where we had our lunch, and we figured we could easily survive a night camping on the beach. We just didn’t want to leave our favorite of all two of the Cuba beaches we’d seen so far.
More in this series:
We’re going to…
Preparing for Cuba
Snapshots from Cuba
La Bodeguita del Medio: following Hemingway in Cuba
The heart of Havana Vieja
Communist Cuba: seeing it for ourselves
Our Havana tour
Trinidad, a colonial gem
Getting adventurous in Cuba
The casa particular: where to stay in Cuba
One day in Viñales
Oh, Trinidad. Nice town, nice beaches and nice memories!
I also recomend Cayo Jutiyas (Vinales) on the west of the island – paradise! And of course – Baracoa on the east (amazing nature and beaches!).
Cuba is the best
Yes, your pictures from both of those places really make me want to go!
Wow to have a Cuban beach all to yourself…talk about a dream come true!
Going during the rainy season meant an hour or so of thunderstorms every afternoon, but it also meant deserted beaches. Sounds like a good compromise to me!
Nice! I love how you had them mostly to yourselves
It was fabulous!
Looks great and relaxing! So what if it was only “two really nice beaches,” if you’re enjoying yourself, that’s all you need : ) I’m heading to SE Asia with my partner in November and also wondering about the damage that tour boats cause to coral reefs…it’s hard to say for each situation, but I read that you can suggest to your driver to at least turn off the engine closer to shore. And of course as you suggested, resist the urge to touch!
It’s hard to balance that desire to see and experience place for yourself with ecological responsibility sometimes. Especially from what I’ve heard about some destinations in SE Asia, tour operators are often only worried about today’s bottom line, not the long-term prospects for both the industry and the planet. I hope you guys have a great trip and manage to feel good about your choices as well.
*sigh* Oh, you make Cuba sound more and more wonderful, hun. Really.
It really is that wonderful!