Distance from Havana to Varadero

Varadero is 145km east of the Cuban capital, getting there is relatively easy since the road that separates both locations, the “Vía Blanca” is one of the best in the entire country.

The trip lasts approximately 2 hours if you travel in a taxi and the landscape is pleasant to look at as you will travel along part of the north coast of the country with beautiful views over the ocean, the Yumurí Valley and the Matanzas Bay.

Does it worth it to visit Varadero?

Of course! In addition to the beautiful beaches, Varadero hosts a wide variety of local and international food restaurants, a flea market with countless souvenirs, paintings, and handicrafts, as well as a very active nightlife, from such romantic and quiet places to dine as restaurants in the Park Josone to more active and moved places like Calle 62 or The Beatles Bar at 1st Avenue and 61st Street

The average maximum temperature is 30 degrees and average humidity of 88%, UV can be harmful even if you are in the shade, we recommend using 60 FPS sunscreen at all times.

How to go from Havana to Varadero?

Havana to Varadero Bus

When we think about the different ways in which we could travel from Havana to Varadero we could probably think that there are several bus stations in Havana, and yes, this is true, but only one is designated for tourists: Viazul.

To take the bus from Havana to Varadero is the cheapest way to get there, although it is not the fastest nor the most comfortable and it is worth mentioning that it has a “hidden price”.

Although the bus ticket costs only $ 10 USD per person, the truth is that we always forget that we should take a taxi from our starting point to the Bus Station in Havana and another from the Bus Station in Varadero to our final destination.

And you may wonder, is it not possible to go by public transport to and from the bus station? And the truth is that it is not! In Cuba, public transport is very poor and inefficient, and it is not designed for tourists.

The subway does not exist and the local buses pass in long periods of time and surely you will not want to ride them.

In addition, route planning is not on the Internet so it is almost impossible to know where a local bus is going before getting into it. So keep this in mind before booking seats on a bus to go from Havana to Varadero.

You will pay at least $20 CUC – $45 CUC taxi to get to the Havana bus station and the same to go from the Varadero Bus Station to your final destination.

Booking a bus from Havana to Varadero

If you want to book bus tickets online, I suggest you do it through the Official Website of Vizaul, it is the only Cuban Bus Agency that has an Online Reservation System. You just need to complete the reservation form and give your credit card information.

Departure Schedule of buses from Havana to Varadero

Where is the Bus Station in Havana?

Havana’s bus station use to be on the avenue. 26 and Zoo in Nuevo Vedado, but now it has been relocated and you can find it at Estación Central de Omnibus Nacionales, Ave Independencia #101, esq. 19 de Mayo. The station is open 24 hours a day, but buses leave for Varadero only from time to time.

Taxi from Havana to Varadero

Taking a taxi from Havana to Varadero is pretty simple because the capital of Cuba is full of them. There are just taxis everywhere, from the airport to the most inhospitable corners of Havana 😉

There is no mobile application that allows you to request a taxi through the internet or a website with immediate response, you can request a taxi depending on where you are:

Booking a Taxi from Havana to Varadero Online

Finding a provider for this type of service is relatively easy, as  you can find many of them on the internet! In Havana 60 Classic Cars Tours we offer the possibility to our clients to make this reservation for Free.

You only pay directly to our driver on the day of the transfer once you have arrived at your destination, we also have a fixed price for the Havana to Varadero Transfer of $120 CUC if the pickup location is in the city or $130 CUC if the pickup location is at the Airport.

We are proud to have won the Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence in 2 consecutive years (2018 and 2019) and we are also in the ranking of # 1 Transportation Service in Varadero since 2017.

In order to book a transfer with us from Havana to Vardero you just have to send us the request with information about the pickup location and time of collection, number of people and date for which you want to book the Transfer, our Bookings Coordinator will respond as soon as possible, if you find out that “just a Transfer” is not enough, you might consider a private day trip from Havana to Vardero in some of our beautiful Classic Cars with driver and tour guide service for just an additional fee of $30 CUC.

Request a Taxi in a hotel from Havana to Varadero

Here you have basically 2 options, the first one is to ask a hotel staff to request a taxi in the hotel lobby or by personally going to the lobby and negotiating the price directly with the taxi drivers.

The average price for a transfer from Havana to Varadero is $ 120 CUC, of course this varies slightly depending on the type of car, how many people you are and the time of collection.

Ask for a taxi to Varadero from a Hostel

If you are staying in a hostel then you will surely have no problem finding a taxi to Varadero easily, since the owners of the Hostels always have a “friend” that can take you for the same price as a regular taxi, the advantage here is that you will not have to do the arrangements by your own.

How to get a Taxi to Varadero from the Middle of Nowhere in Havana

The truth is that this situation is very unlikely since booking a taxi from Havana to Varadero is not something that is planned in an instant.

But assuming that is the case, the only options would be either to call directly the number of the Cuba Taxi Agency (+53 855 5555) or search online for a site that has an instant contact system such as a chat.

In the case of our website, you can verify that the chat bubble is active in the lower right corner, we are usually available to chat every day from Monday to Saturday from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm (GMT +1).

Havana to Varadero Day Trip

If you prefer to stay most of your stay in Havana but also do not want to miss the beautiful beach of Varadero, which was chosen in 2019 as the second-best Beach in the World according to Tripadvisor, then a day trip would be the solution.

Taking a day trip to Varadero from Havana costs only a little more than the Transfer, and you will surely wonder why? Well! Very simple! The car that takes you on a Transfer, surely is from Havana, and after leaving you at your final destination in Varadero, it must return to Havana, this is why taking the day trip is just 20% -25% more expensive than the transfer.

The advantages here are that you will not only have the opportunity to bathe in this beautiful beach, but you will take a tour of the entire north coast of the country, you will visit the city of Matanzas and usually, the day trips to Varadero include a visit to the Saturn Caves.

If you are interested in a Day Trip from Havana in some of our cars to Varadero I recommend that you take a look at our Varadero Tour from Havana or maybe you could be also interested in our Matanzas Tour from Havana

Flights from Havana to Varadero

After having done an exhaustive investigation of the entire network, we have reached the conclusion that there are no direct flights from Havana to Varadero, and it is not surprising since the two cities are just 145km away, which It can be covered perfectly by taxi or a bus.

However, there are flights from Havana to Varadero, it is only that the flights costs around $500 USD per person and lasts more than 5 hours with 1, 2 or even up to 3 stops, which is totally ineffective. Among the main sites that offer this service are: FlightNetwork, JetCost, and TripAdvisor.

Travel by Train from Havana to Varadero

The Hershey Train is the only one of its kind that covers the Havana-Matanzas route, it takes about 4 hours to cover a distance of 92km, it is slow, uncomfortable, loud and unpredictable.

But ironically all this makes it a very particular attraction, since if you are an adventure lover, this, without a doubt, will be one that you will remember a lifetime 🙂 IndiaJo has written a fabulous article where she narrates her experience taking the train of Hershey in Cuba.

The price of the train from Casablanca Station to Matanzas Station costs about $3 CUC per person before you will have to take a ferry ($1 CUC per person) to get to Casablanca in Havana and after arriving in Matanzas you must take a taxi to Varadero, which can cost up to $35 CUC, but you can always negotiate, as I said before, use the magic words 😉

Where to Stop on the Way from Havana to Varadero?

There are several places of interest where you can stop along the way to take a 15min break, among them, the most popular without a doubt are:

• Bacunayagua Bridge: Stopping at the viewpoint of the highest bridge in all of Cuba is probably the best option to take a 15-minute break, from here you can enjoy a beautiful view especially of the “Yumurí” Valley and have the opportunity to taste a of the best “Pina Coladas” in the world 🙂

• El Peñon del Fraile: Although this place lacks a beautiful view, it is no less true that the atmosphere is very pleasant, since being close to the north coast, you feel a cool breeze that gives pleasure to enjoy. In addition, there is almost always a musical group playing traditional Cuban music in the area.

• Las Palmeras: Hidden between mountains is this small bar, nothing special, there is no live music or beautiful views over the valley, but if you are a coffee lover, then if I recommend stopping here, this place boasts the best espresso coffees in the whole area.

Things to do in Varadero Cuba

There is a wide variety of things that can be done in or from Varadero, of course, it is impossible to see everything or visit everything in just a day or a week, just to mention a few and the most important ones I leave a list below:

• Cueva Saturno
• Playa Coral
• Delfinario
• Tour a Cienega de Zapata
• Tour a Matanzas

• The Beatles Bar
• Calle 62
• Cueva Ambrosio
• Cactus Patriarca
• Convertible Car City Tour

Varadero Beach