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What is the best area (resort) in Cuba to stay at?

Hello everyone. I was just wondering which areas of Cuba are the best to go to. I have never been to Cuba before, but I have heard many people say how it is really nice there. I have heard that Varadero is the most popular and that although Cayo Coco has great scenery it is infested with mosquitoes. I have a huge problem with mosquitoes since they seem to like me very much and then I get terrible infections from them. Is it true that Cayo Coco is like this? What about the other areas of Cuba? I would also like to go to a resort that is very clean and has great food (preferably a 4 star hotel). When I visited other Caribbean islands before, I got very sick after using tap water for brushing my teeth only. Is the water the same way in Cuba? Any information would be helpful. Thank you.

Public Comments

1. Check out the Holguin area.
2. You can check out El combinado de el Este , 5 Stars
3. Cayo Coco will have mosquitos especially during the most humid times...but you'll find that anywhere in Cuba where there's water and high humidity. I didn't really have problems in Cayo Coco the times I've been there. It's very beautiful there. Many have used Avon's Skin-so-Soft spray and works great as a mosquito repellant. If you would like to go to Cayo Coco then I'll recommend my favourite resort....Tryp Cayo Coco. It's clean, has great food, amazing staff and a lot of fun activities. It's a lively resort but also relaxing. http://www.solmelia.com/solNew/hoteles/jsp/C_Hotel_Description.jsp?codigoHotel=5975 In Cuba, the water at the resorts is potable and no one's gotten sick from brushing their teeth with the water. However, that said, I still chose to brush my teeth with bottled water. I have never gotten sick in Cuba and most haven't either. The only time a person might feel a little 'off' is because of the natural changes in environment, heat, and the like. Other than that, Cuba's not known for getting sick at all...and no one needs vaccinations when travelling there. Check the links and see what you like. Sol Melia is a fabulous hotel chain...and never book less than a 4*. If you want to know more, feel free to email me. You will love it in Cuba and you'll be back before you know it.
4. Cuba is very definitely a great place to vacation. The beaches are terrific, the scenery fantastic, there's no shortage of activities to keep you going day and night. Cubans are proud of their country; they welcome visitors with open arms and will treat you like visiting royalty. Chances are if you go once you will return again and again. Check the sites below they contain tons of information. My personal favorite resort is Sol Melia Rio Luna y Mares, Guardalavaca, excellent food, friendly staff, a beautiful beach, mosquitos not overly bad. Please check the sites below for more info.You can drink thewater right from the tap,no problem. http://www.cuba-pictures.com/index.html http://www.havana-guide.com/ http://www.cuba-junky.com/ http://www.solmeliacuba.com/videos/ http://www.gocuba.ca/en/index.asp http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g910832-d256423-r16538972-Sol_Rio_de_Luna_y_Mares-Guardalavaca_Cuba.html http://canuck.webcentre.ca/sollunamares/web11/index.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNpIyAUoHT0 http://www.cuba-junky.com/cuba/what-to-bring.html http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g147270-c62973/Cuba:Caribbean:Organised.Trips.Guardalavaca.Resorts.html
5. Villa Marista Also, as playaseca says, you can also visit El Combinado del Este
6. Varadero, Pinar del Rio , Havana City , Santiago de Cuba
7. Santa Lucia, Cuba All hotel water is filtered including in the hotel rooms. Brisas Santa Lucia a 4* resort with excellent food. The Santa Lucia resort, with the most beautiful seabeds of the country, is a sub-marine paradise of outstanding and majestic beauty. Friendly sharks, pink flamencos, Spanish galleons and sunken pirate ships, German submarines and 100 of coral species are hidden in these attractive waters. The Santa Lucia and Eden Escondido beaches are a place where we dream all year long of taking our vacations - it is a place where we would like to stay forever, and as did Hemingway, write our own novel. Not many mosquitoes in this area. The safest part in all of Cuba. The Playa Santa Lucia belongs to the province of Camagüey, at 650 km from La Havana and at 110 km from the provincial capital. It is located on the Atlantic Ocean, more specifically in the Canal Viejo (old channel) of the Bahamas. The Santa Lucia beaches run for 20 km with 30 meters width of sand, offering the second largest coral barrier of the world. Its extensive beaches seem like a natural swimming pool of 21 km large by 200 meters wide. Its proximity to the Sabana-Camagüey cays puts Santa Lucia in an excellent position for tourism development. The Santa Lucia coral barrier extends for more than 400 km towards the west, going as far as Varadero and also protecting the northern cays (Cayo Sabinal, Romano, Guajaba, Guillermo and Santa Maria). Santa Lucia is also known as the Hidden Eden. The tourist exploitation of its beaches started some time after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution. The resort was a witness of many naval battles between Pirates and the Spanish fleets. As a result, ships belonging to La Ruta del Oro came into the Puerto de Nuevitas to receive their supplies therefore leaving as proof more than 25 sunken treasures and goods. It is in the waters of Santa Lucia and Cayo Sabinal that the North American writer Ernest Hemingway wrote the major part of his novel The Old Man and the Sea for which he obtained the Nobel Prize. It could just as well have been his autobiography. Hemingway also participated in the hunt for German sub-marines and ships that were prowling in the area. With his own yacht he helped sink two enemy boats. The fauna of Santa Maria needs to be looked at in two different parts; the terrestrial fauna and the marine fauna. The terrestrial fauna of the resort is mainly represented by birds of beautiful plumage and singing, such as parakeets, parrots, the "Rosacoli" and the "negrito" a singing bird of the region. The local bird fauna is also enriched by the close location of Cayo Sabinal, principal colony of pink flamencos of the Caribeeans. Also present are seagulls and pelicans. The largest province of the country, Camagüey is a major cradle of the Cuban culture. It is in the streets of unique layout, the seigniorial large houses, plazas and churches, that was born Nicolas Guillen, the National Poet of Cuba. Of vital importance in the history of Spanish-American poetry, his long time friend Garcia Lorca classified Guillen as the most important poet of the XXth century on the American continent. Camagüey is also the home of the prestigious ballet company Ballet de Camagüey, the second largest in the country and among the 20 top ones on an international level. The province also counts on a fabulous Symphonic Orchestra, als among the most important ones of the continent. The climate of Santa Lucia is hot and humid; in the geographical zone where it is located (Atlantic Ocean) there is always a pleasant breeze along the 20km of beaches. Evenings and nights are cool and pleasant. Average temperatures vary between 24 and 31 Celsius degrees all year long. With its natural conditions, hotel and entertainment infrastructures, the Santa Lucia resort is considered one of the major tourist poles of the country and the most interesting for continued investments. The installations for leisure activities are of excellent quality and, on an international level, can be favorably compared to the best installations in the world. The beautiful beach architecture stands out. All conditions are reunited to enjoy the many different aquatic sports, dancing lessons, night clubs, excellent services and restaurants of fine cuisine and to make this stay a memorable one. With its natural conditions, hotel and entertainment infrastructures, the Santa Lucia resort is considered one of the major tourist poles of the country and the most interesting for continued investments. The installations for leisure activities are of excellent quality and, on an international level, can be favorably compared to the best installations in the world. The beautiful beach architecture stands out. All conditions are reunited to enjoy the many different aquatic sports, dancing lessons, night clubs, excellent services and restaurants of fine cuisine and to make this stay a memorable one. A true sub aquatic paradise awaits the snorkeling and diving fans in Santa Lucia. There are 35 points of snorkeling, 27 boats and sunken galleons, more than 500 tropical fish and the second largest coral barrier of the planet. All these attributes make Santa Lucia the best option for the one looking for peacefulness, nature, rest and entertainment. Other attractions: SCUBA CUBA Shark's Friend, a unique place in the Caribbean where one can swim with sharks and even feed the sharks with your own hands without fear of being hurt. Visit Cayo Sabinal by land or by sea, where virgin landscapes, the most beautiful fauna and flora of the Caribbean, the home of the main pink flamencos colony of Central-America and a wonderful feeling of peace are waiting for you. An excursion in the Sierra de Nuevitas for the eco-tourism lovers, with an extraordinary flora that leaves the visitor astonished by so much beauty and a visit to the caves filled with aboriginal pictographs. Visit the Hoyo de Brunet, a kind of botanical garden and the location actor Jean-Paul Belmondo chose for his most recent production. Excursion in the Sierra de Nasaja that hoards a forest of petrified trees.
8. Just came back from Santa Clara's Royal Hideaway. 5 star adult only resort. Loved the place and food was great. BEAUTIFUL Went other places in Cuba (Cayo Coco, Varadero)in the past and was not impressed at all. Would go back to the last on in a second.
9. iberostar veradero blau veradero Tryp Always use bottled water and rub dryer sheets all over you to keep mosquitos away. I don't think good food exists in Cuba but there is always something to get you by. Varadero is gorgeous.