Trip #1 - Varadero, Cuba

140km (87 miles) E of Havana; 40km (25 miles) NE of Matanzas
Varadero is a resort town in the province of Matanzas, Cuba, and one of the largest resorts in the Caribbean. Varadero is also called Playa Azul, meaning "blue beach" in Spanish. Varadero is the name given to all of the Hicacos Peninsula - which is 21km long and less than a mile wide. In the early 1900s there were only three hotels here, today more than 50 of them.

Want to learn more about Cuba? Here are some useful links:

http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/cb/cuba
Hosted by the University of Texas Latin American Studies
Department, this site houses a vast collection of information about
Cuba. This is hands down the best one-stop shop for Web browsing.

http://www.afrocubaweb.com
Afro CubaWeb focuses on Afro-Cuban cultural issues and events, but also
includes a wealth of general information, tips, and links.

http://www.cubanacan.cu
Cubanacan is a state-run tourism company, with hotels, transportation, and receptive
tourism arms. They also have the best developed website of
the handful of state-run agencies, although that's not necessarily saying much.

http://www.cubasi.cu
CubaSi is the best of the state sponsored all-purpose information sites on Cuba. It’s got
an English-language mirror of the principal site, as well as a good
search engine and easy links to an online version of the Cuban telephone book.

http://www.cubatravel.cu
A wealth of information in English.