Discover the charm of Morocco's coastline with our round-up of the best beaches in Morocco. With their pristine sands, azure waters and scenic surroundings, they are a paradise for both sun seekers and nature lovers.
21.07.2023 - 08:13 / roughguides.com / Santa Maria
Just a short drive from Cuba’s bustling capital lie white sands, palm trees and beautiful coral reefs. The beaches east of Cojímar town, famed for its Hemingway connection, are collectively known as the Playas del Este. Hugging the Atlantic coast, three swathes of fine sand form a long golden stretch that vanishes in the summer beneath the crush of weekending Habaneros and tourists.
There’s not a whole lot to distinguish between the beaches, although as a general rule the sand is better towards the western end of the stretch. All beaches offer watersports, a party atmosphere for those who want it, or simply the chance to relax and enjoy a rum cocktail in the Cuban sunshine. Here is our guide to the best beaches near Havana.
A short hop from downtown Havana, the white sands of Playa Bacuranao stretch around a peaceful cove, with colourful reefs just offshore and an 18th-century Spanish galleon buried beneath the waves calling out to be explored by Scuba divers. It is also popular with kite-surfers. The Villa Bacuranao resort at the far end of the beach offers somewhat basic accommodation, but is not without its charms.
Bacuranao beach just outside Havana, Cuba © apalmero2000/Shutterstock
Because of its proximity to Havana, Playa Santa María del Mar, usually just called Santa María, is the busiest and trendiest of the eastern beaches, with boombox reggaeton, watersports and beautiful bodies on sun loungers. It extends for about 4km from the foot of Santa María Loma, a hill to the south of the Río Itabo, with the bulk of hotels dotted around the main Avenida de las Terrazas, just behind the beach. Arguably the most attractive of the beaches, with golden sands backed by grassland and a few palm trees, it’s also the most touristy and can feel a bit artificial. The beach has plenty of sun loungers and is patrolled by eager beach masseurs, and there are various activities on offer – though sadly you’ll see more empty beer cans than fish if you go snorkelling.
Santa María del Mar beach has the biggest buzz
© Kako Escalona/Shutterstock
A bridge across the Río Itabo connects Santa María to Playa Boca Ciega, also known as Playa Mi Cayito. A paucity of public facilities make this the least user-friendly of all the beaches. However, the beautiful sherbet-yellow beach is open to all, and the waters around the estuary mouth are usually quite busy and cheerful, with kids and adults paddling and wading in the river currents. Further west, towards Santa María, the beach is popular with the gay community.
Havana's Playas del Este are often quiet in the week and packed at weekends © DUSAN ZIDAR/Shutterstock
Far more pleasant than Playa Boca Ciega is laidback Playa Guanabo, roughly 2.5km to the east, where the sun-faded
Discover the charm of Morocco's coastline with our round-up of the best beaches in Morocco. With their pristine sands, azure waters and scenic surroundings, they are a paradise for both sun seekers and nature lovers.
Beginning on June 1, Spirit will become the third airline to pull out of the Cuba market altogether, joining Frontier and Silver Airways. Two other airlines, American and JetBlue, have cut capacity on their Cuba flights, either by reducing frequency or downgrading to smaller planes.
The last day in August marks the unofficial end of summer, and now also a historic day for U.S.-Cuba relations. JetBlue announced last month that it would be the first to send a passenger plane to Cuba in 2016, and at 10:58 a.m. today, fulfilled this promise.
Somebody had to be first. And when it comes to the relaunch of scheduled flights between the U.S. and Cuba, following the normalization of relations between the two countries after more than 50 years, it appears that JetBlue is set to snag those bragging rights.
In a historic agreement signed this week, the United States and Cuba have now resumed commercial air traffic between the two countries for the first time in 50 years, with routes expected to be running by fall 2016. Currently, only chartered flights are allowed to operate between the two countries.
With rules updating on a constant basis, you’ll need to know these eight new things if you want to travel to Cuba in 2016.
With the launch of many new direct flights from the U.S. to Cuba, it may seem like the door to the formerly forbidden country is wide open for Americans. Unfortunately, that’s still not quite the case. Right now, you’ll still need to travel under one of the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) 12 categories of travel, the easiest of which is a “people-to-people” Cuba educational tour.
The Department of Transportation today announced its nominees to operate nonstop flights to Havana, Cuba. In all, eight airlines were approved for service to Havana from 10 U.S. airports, as follows:
As a college student in 2002, I was lucky to be part of a small group of Americans who gained legal passage to Cuba through a little-known educational byway. I couldn’t have timed my visit better, because shortly thereafter the U.S. government implemented a policy change that eliminated the travel exemption for Cuba.
In the mid-20th century, Aruba was a mostly ignored deserted island. Compared to its lush and volcanic Caribbean neighbors like Cuba or the Bahamas, Aruba’s landscape of cactus-filled rock swept bare by hot trade winds didn’t seem as much like a vacation paradise as it did a place to send misbehaving sailors.
Situated on the Douro River in Northern Portugal, Porto is one of Europe’s most underrated cities. From the medieval Ribeira district, with its narrow cobbled streets, modern buildings and bustling arts scene, and stunning coastline, there’s a lot to do in Porto. It’s, of course, home to world-renowned Port wine and an exciting food scene. When it comes to accommodation, there’s a lot of hotels in Porto to get excited about. The city is adorned with historic properties and cool boutiques from luxurious five-star establishments to more quirky budget-friendly options. You can explore Porto fairly easily on foot, or if need be public transport, so these hotels have been selected for their location. They are also some of the most top-rated in terms of service, amenities, and over-all guest experience.
Dreaming of being on a dreamy European beach—or already on one and wondering if you can do even better? Then look to the Iberian Peninsula. European Best Destinations recently announced its ranking of the top 15 beaches in Europe, as voted on by thousands of travelers from 83 countries. This year’s No. 1 is Torrente de Pareis in Mallorca, Spain. Rounding out the top three are Bordeira Beach in Alzejur, Portugal and Amio Beach in Cantabria, Spain.