Beach Day at Havana's Mar Azul



Havana earns lots of attention for the historic beauty of the architecture and the vibrancy of the art and music but I think the city's natural beauty sometimes gets overshadowed. Most visitors head to the resort town of Varadero when they want to enjoy the island's pristine beaches but Mar Azul, a popular local beach, is just 20 minutes from Old Havana.


You can hop a bus for just 5 CUC or take a taxi to the dreamy paradise that is Mar Azul. When I gazed at the perfect stretch of white sand and turquoise waves, I caught my breathe.  The sand is silky, the water is warm and the beach was uncrowded the entire five hours I spent there. It really is a local hangout so the vibe is laid back and the prices for umbrellas, chairs or freshly cracked coconuts is nominal.  I splashed in the water with my friends and then walked over to the beach shacks serving freshly caught fish.



I savored a whole, grilled red snapper with salad, rice and plantains for about $5. With reggae and salsa blasting from a boombox and a sea breeze swirling over me, I felt like I was in a part of heaven called Cuba.



Comments

A Cuban In London said…
This was one of my favourite spots when I lived there. Further east you have another nice, quiet beach, Mi Cayito. In my day it was also a well-known "cruising" spot for gay men. The water was cleaner and the sand finer.

Great post.

Greetings from London.
July 15, 2017 at 3:39 PM
Fly Girl said…
I'm so happy that you loved this beach too! I really enjoyed getting the local experience and not being around so many tourists. Didn't hear about Mi Cayito but I imagine being a cruising spot was the reason why, lol! The water at Mar Azul was really clean and the sand was silky too so Mi Cayito must be spectacular!
July 17, 2017 at 9:31 AM
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