Beach Santa Maria del Mar — Attraction in Guanabo

Went here way before the pandemic and I really enjoyed our trip here!

Coming to Havana, Cuba and visiting the beach? Why not! Santa Maria Del Mar will be the perfect choice for you, beach lovers. My colleague and I really loved it when we got a chance to come and visit Playa Santa Maria del Mar.

We booked the cool, pink taxi to take us here from our NH hotel in Havana. It took us around 45 minutes drive along the legendary route of Maleçon overlooking the coast of Havana.

We really had fun enjoying the beach, great sunny day, and friendly people. When we arrived, it was around 11 and not many people were there. But we managed to enjoy fresh coconut water, playing around in the shallow beach, get ourselves cool hats and take tons of pictures. The beach is clean and you can rent the beach lounge and the umbrella lining on the shore.

I forget how much the trip cost but I guess it was around USD 100 for both of us and the taxi took us back to the city and dropped us at the Museum of the Revolution, Museo de la Revolucion. And the last surprise that I love from our trip to the beach is the purple vintage car I saw parking there on the beach! Super cute indeed!

Make sure you bring your change when you want to dip in the water. I didn't use the toilet but I saw toilet and showers nearby. If you want to buy or order something, make sure you ask the price first and clearly.

I really had fun there and although we didn't really stay for too long, it was a...

We bought a week vacation package in August 2018. Reviews said that it was an 18+ establshment, but children were being allowed during the summer. Our first room had an ancient AC unit that didn't work. Our second room had cockroaches and needed to be sprayed. The hotel had one restaurant and snack bar, but the à la carte restaurant, which was advertised in our package, was closed. A 24 hour bar in the lobby was available.

The hotel was not within walking distance of any attractions. The beach closed at 5pm and the hotel pool closed at 6pm, so evenings were fairly uneventful unless you chose to attend the nightly, in-house entertainment shows. There is a 24 hour, open air market across the street with souvenirs and decent, inexpensive food, but they blared loud music almost 24/7, making it difficult to sleep.

One of the saving graces of this location was the staff. Everyone was warm and welcoming and did their best to help with any requests. The beach and pool were pleasant, when available. The daily shuttle to Old Havana was a good way to get out for sightseeing.

This would be a location that might be better suited for a weekend stay, rather than spending an...

Beautiful, free beach 20 min from old Havana. Relatively clean and quiet but few amenities are available. It’s 20 CUC one way for a taxi or take the Habana Bus Tour (“hop on hop off” bus) for 5 CUC, round trip. The Habana Bus Tour T3 line starts at Central Park in Havana, stops at El Morro and then runs almost directly to the beach. The beach bus stops are: Hotel Megano (west end), Tropicoco (middle) and Atlantico (east end). On the return trip, board the bus at Hotel Atlantico in front of the “Rancho don Pepe” restaurant because it’s the first stop and the bus fills up quickly, especially at the end of the day. The last buses run at 5:20pm and 6pm from here but they will be completely full and anyone who can’t get on the bus is on their own (taking a taxi back). The beach is free but you can rent chairs and umbrellas for 2 CUC each. Also, watch out for jellyfish on the beach and in the water in early April (man...