The Most Beautiful Beaches in Cuba

Varadero is Cuba’s beach pin-up. 13km (8mi) of buttery sand unfurls along the Atlantic shore shelving into the shallowest of blue seas. Some mornings the sea is so calm, the sky is perfectly mirrored in the water. Varadero is 145km (90mi) east of Havana and is lined by large numbers of isolated all-inclusive resorts. From luxury to more modest, you’ll find plenty of choices. The town of Varadero, west of the resorts, is busy with shops, B&Bs, craft stalls, restaurants and bars.

Playa Esmeralda is a gentle curve of flour-soft white sand found in eastern Cuba. Lounge under thatched umbrellas in this secluded haven that faces turquoise and indigo seas, then discover the best part of the region: its secret coves. Live that castaway fantasy on semi-private tiny beaches, shaded only by the branches of wild sea grape trees.

Looking for a small island paradise? Cayo Levisa’s perfect swathe of virgin sand is one of two popular islands off the western coast of Cuba. Backed by mangroves and lined by palm trees, it attracts sun-seekers looking for a remote getaway and divers who discover its underworld first explored by writer Ernest Hemingway in the 1940s. Take a day trip by boat, easily arranged from Viñales.

Curving like a prawn’s tail out of the base of the Isle of Youth is the outstandingly beautiful Punta Francés. Snorkel or dive with rays and turtles offshore, find the nests of American crocodiles in the forest fringes of the beach, and search the limestone coves for the ancient lairs of pirates. Fought over and then largely forgotten, Cuba’s Treasure Island is isolated and travelling to this sandy speck is a challenge from the mainland. The beach is only accessible by boat.

If you love good food, make a beeline to Playa Maguana in the wild east of Cuba. Right on the custard-coloured sand is a beach hut serving up cocktails and fresh snapper. Tuck in while relaxing in Adirondack chairs. Still hungry as you gaze at the teal-green Atlantic? Hawkers will sell you a local candy – cucurucho – mashed coconut, almonds, sugar and honey, wrapped in a palm-leaf cone.

Playa Pilar widens along the far western tip of Cayo Guillermo in Cuba’s Gardens of the King. No longer a virgin beach but no less beautiful: scudding clouds, royal-blue skies, terns hanging on the breeze and soft sand slip into a shallow, shimmering sea. After fishing like Hemingway in the ocean blue, searching for birds, or soaking up the sun’s rays on the sand, head to the cute beach bar for piña coladas.

Climb aboard a catamaran and sail through transparent seas, wrinkled with tiny sandbanks, to Cayo Rico, cast adrift from Cayo Largo in the coral-studded Caribbean Sea. It’s a mini nature reserve: you’ll spot stingrays, iguanas, jutías (large whiskered tree-loving rodents), birds of prey and orange starfish in the shallows. After your sun-soaked safari, grab beers from the only bar on the island, and slumber on sunbeds at the water’s edge.

In a tiny corner of eastern Cuba, you’ll find animals of the African plains. This curious Noah’s Ark of ostrich, zebra and antelope roam the feathery grasses of Cayo Saetía. Join a safari in an army jeep to spot the wild creatures, then head to the island’s best little beach with a welcome thatched bar and restaurant. No wheels? Jump aboard a yacht and sail into the bay where Cayo Saetía’s beach and the sapphire sea is bookended by giant limestone boulders.