Discover Guardalavaca: Cuba’s Coastal Paradise
Guardalavaca is a town on the coast of the province of Holguin in the eastern part of Cuba. It is known all over the world, especially as a tourist location, because it has some of the most beautiful beaches in Cuba.
In October 1492, Christopher Columbus arrived in the area that is now Holguin. He thought this place was so beautiful that he wrote about it in his book. Even now, more than 500 years later, when guests land on its beaches on the Atlantic Ocean, they find a heaven-like place. Fidel Castro, who was born in the province of Holgun, was the first person to bring a lot of tourists to Guardalavaca in the 1970s.
Highlights and Attractions
Since there isn’t a real country, there aren’t even any specific places to see. However, hundreds of tourists from all over the world visit the beaches each year to enjoy the magnificent waters.
Guardalavaca is much more approachable and real than its competitors, Varadero, Cayo Largo, and Cayo Coco, which all compete for tourists. This could change in the future, though. Here, tourists can choose to relax on the beautiful local beach, which has white sand and a turquoise sea, or move to the nearby (and more exclusive) Playa Pesquero and Playa Esmeralda, which are the most beautiful beaches in the area and where the main resorts are.
There are beaches and trips.
Beaches and Excursions
Playa Esmeralda is 6 km west of Guardalavaca. It is in the Parque Natural Baha de Naranjo, which is an area with a very curved bay and small islands inside it. There is a dolphinarium with dolphins and sea lions on one of the islands. All of the nearby resorts offer packages and trips to the Parque Natural and its sights. The beautiful Playa Pesquero is west of the bay and has always been thought of as one of the most exclusive places in Cuba.
Whichever beach you choose, all you will find to do is pure relaxation: sunbathe, swim in the Atlantic, or go out on a catamaran for some snorkeling and diving in the coral reef (less than 300 meters from the coast); the main diving sites (there are at least 32), in particular, are those of el Salto, el Caón de los Aguajes, and the Boca de las esponjas, while in the locality of Gibara (50 km west of Guardalavaca), you will find a series of beautiful underwater caves. Columbus’s first stop in Cuba was right between Playa Pesquero and Gibara. On the 500th anniversary of the Genoese navigator’s arrival, a statue was put up in the Parque Nacional Monumento Bariay to remember the event.
You can also go on adventurous walks along the Las Guanas eco-archaeological trail or in the Cristóbal Colón eco-park. For water-only tours, you can call the Eagle Ray Marlin Diving Center in Guardalavaca, which offers all kinds of sea tours. Lastly, we’d like to tell you that you can visit the archaeological site of Chorro de Maita, which has a museum attached to it and is 7 km from Guardalavaca toward Banes, as well as the nearby Aldea Tana, which is a reconstruction of a pre-Columbian Taino village.
Climate
Nearly 300 days a year, the sun shines in Guardalavaca, so there are many options for beach vacations. The best time to visit, though, is from December to the end of April, when temperatures hit 30°C and it rains less often. During the wet season, it gets hotter and there is a greater chance of tropical rain. Hurricane season usually lasts from July to November.
How to get there
To get to Guardalavaca, you can fly to Frank Pa’s airport, which is 13 km south of Holgun and has daily trips to Havana (La Habana) and several European and Canadian airports. From the capital, visitors on their own must take a truck (exactly a truck) to Santa Luca, which is also called Rafael Freyre. From there, the trip to Guardalavaca continues. A much more expensive cab is the only other option. When you buy a vacation through a tour operator, someone is generally waiting for you at the airport. In the opposite way, from Guardalavaca to Holgun (60 km), you can usually get a ride from one of the resorts for 10 CUC.
