 Beaches in Holguin
The hotels are located on five beaches in the north-eastern province of Holguin plus Playa Covarrubias located in the neighboring province of Las Tunas. Playa Covarrubias is about 160 km west from the Holguin airport (HOG). There is only one hotel on the beach of Covarrubias, the Brisas Covarrubias (twenty kilometers from the charming village of Puerto Padre).
The oldest hotel in the area is the Club Amigo Guardalavaca. It has opened its doors in 1976 (renovated in 2002) on Playa Guardalavaca beach. There is a small village or « Pueblo » in Guardalavaca with several buildings to house employees of the hotels. There is also a small artcraft market.
Several years later, the Brisas Guardalavaca (2002) was added. The beach of Guardalavaca is not continuous but divided into two sections. Guardalavaca in English means « keep the cow ». There are two legends concerning the origin of the name. First, the Spanish word « vaca » meaning cow, pirates designated « vacas » as their burial site for their treasure chests. The second is the expression « guardalavaca » which meant the peasants an alarm about pirates approaching ... hide cows!
Playa Guardalavaca
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The beach of the Club Amigo Guardalavaca
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The beach of the Brisas Guardalavaca
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Playa Guardalavaca is divided into three sectors: Hotel Club Amigo Guardalavaca (570 m), the Brisas Guardalavaca (450 m) and the public beach to the east. If you venture to the public beach, expect to be approched by Cubans. If you have small gifts, it is the right place to give them.
Playa Esmeralda
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This length is approximately 750 meters continuously. Known as the emerald beach due to the color of water, deep green. You will find the Melia Hotels International, the Sol Rio Luna y Mares and Paradisus Rio de Oro. Playa Esmeralda is located five kilometers from Guardalavaca, 72 kilometers from the international airport and 56 kilometers from Holguin, capital of the province. A good spot for snorkelers with nice coral reefs. The beach is surrounded by cliffs and lush vegetation.
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Playa Yuraguanal
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Playa Yuraguanal is an artificial beach about 540 meters length with white sand and crystalline water. This beach has unfortunately a problem, seaweed! As it is an artificial beach, algae tend to regain territory. Cubans have to remove manually the algae.
Playa Pesquero
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Playa Pesquero is a long beach of about 900 meters (non-continuous) of fine white sand. You need about ten minutes to reach by foot the Playa Pesquero from the Blau Costa Verde. There is a tide of 1-1 ½ feet in this section of the beach.
The beach is protected by a coral reef with cliffs and lush vegetation for lovers of natural shade on the beach. This area of Cuba has suffered during Hurricane Ike in September 2008. Many of the trees on the beach were damaged or uprooted by the wind. On the seabed there are large amount of debris (branches). Nevertheless, the thriving marine life and we saw many species of fish, coral and other specimens.
Playa Blanca
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This beach is not crowded of tourists. There is only one hotel with 36 rooms. For people interested to see this beach, you may rent a scooter and visit the area. The Cuban countryside is always nice to see.
Playa Covarrubias - (neighbour province of Las Tunas)
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Playa Covarrubias is not located in the same region of the other hotels in Holguin, but rather in the province of Las Tunas. Playa Covarrubias is definitely the longest beach of all the hotels in Holguin, more than five kilometers of white sand virgin beach, excellent for walking. This hotel is located about one hour and half from the airport. Be advised!
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