Varadero, Cuba

Cuba's answer to the Costa del Sol in Spain or Cancún in Mexico, VARADERO is dominated by tourism and almost nowhere are you out of sight of a hotel. However, anyone hoping for a polished, Disney-style, resort will be disappointed. With hotels, shops and nightclubs spread out across the peninsula, there are areas where activity is more concentrated, but nowhere is there the buzz you might expect from the major holiday resort on the largest Caribbean island. None of this detracts from what most people come here for, namely the beach: a seemingly endless runway of blinding white sand. This is also the best place in Cuba for watersports, scuba diving, fishing and boat trips, with three marinas and two diving clubs offering a wide range of activities.

Varadero is divided into three distinct sections, though all are united by the same stretch of beach. The bridge from the mainland takes you into the main town area, where all the Cubans live and where nightlife, eating and entertainment are most densely concentrated. The streets here are in blocks, with calles numbering 1 to 65 running the width of the peninsula; dissecting them is Avenida Primera, the only street running the five-kilometre length of the whole town. The two-kilometre section of the peninsula west of the town, separated from the mainland by the Laguna de Paso Malo, is the Reparto Kawama, largely the exclusive domain of hotel guests. The majority of the all-inclusive luxury hotels lie east of the town on a part of the peninsula wholly dedicated to tourism.