I've heard of several interesting tours in the Varadero area. Some can be booked at the resort, and some can be booked through local travel agents in the area. Be careful if they are offering you food or drinks and ask if there is a cost first. Sometimes they are not included in the tour and will cost extra!

Of course, our resort includes two excursions. One is the Canimar River tour, which includes an afternoon on a boat, horseback riding and canoeing in the countryside, and some scuba diving (in a cave some people found creeeeeepy). The other is the Sunset Cruise. Book these ASAP when you arrive at the resort!

One tour that seems to be very popular is the Jeep tour. Groups drive Jeeps themselves through the Cuban countryside (following a leader). It can be dusty, but is, by all accounts, pretty darn fun. There is also some snorkeling and other activities.

There is something called a "Verasub" which is not actually a sub, but more like a glass-bottom boat. I've heard there is not really fantastic sea-life around Varadero, so this may be one to pass over. Some people really enjoyed it though, so I could be wrong!

There is a place where you can swim with the dolphins. I've heard of two different tours involving this... one includes other things like a boat tour, lobster dinner and scuba diving, but might not actually include swimming with the dolphins, just the show they put on before. So you have to be careful which one you pick if you really, really want to swim with the dolphins.

One other tour I've heard is really fun is similar to the Canimar river tour, but on jetskis. I'm not quite sure where Cuba would have gotten the jetskis, but whatever.

One trip that a lot of people enjoy is taking a day trip to Havana. Some of the bigger tour groups aren't as great as some of the smaller ones - with the big groups, they follow the same schedule all the time and there can be a number of beggars waiting for them, which makes some people uncomfortable. Plus, you may not get a chance to do what you want to do in Havana when you are with a big group. There is a ton to see and do in Havana. I am mostly looking forward to just exploring on my own and taking in all the architechture, the music, and the old cars.

A lot of the museums are completely in Spanish, so that's something to keep in mind before you pay admission.

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