Varadero

Is Varadero safe?

On a crime measure, Varadero is one of the easier places to stay in the Caribbean. The resort strip runs along the Hicacos Peninsula, east of the city of Matanzas, and violent crime against hotel guests is rare. Cuba's homicide rateHomicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary is about 5 per 100,000 people (WHO's model for 2021), a fraction of Jamaica's.

The problem in 2026 is the rest of Cuba. Since 11 February the UK has advised against all but essential travel to the country because of grid collapses and shortages of fuel, water and medicines. Canada, whose tourists used to fill Varadero, advises against non-essential travel. We score Varadero 59, with low confidence. Cuba publishes no crime figures for Matanzas province, so the crime scores rest on national estimates and on what the UK, Canadian and US governments report.

What the fuel crisis means for a beach holiday

The crisis reached Varadero directly. Cuba stopped selling jet fuel to international airlines at its nine main airports, Varadero included, from 10 February 2026. Air Canada suspended all Cuba flights from 9 February and flew home about 3,000 stranded passengers, and by July Varadero's Juan Gualberto Gómez airport was described as largely inactive. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary now says only Terminal 3 at Havana's airport is operating.

Hotels have shrunk too. Cuba had about 298,000 international visitors from January to March 2026, 48% fewer than a year earlier, according to government data reported by AP. Meliá stopped running 15 Cuban hotels in June, including resorts in Varadero, and the state site Cubadebate said several of them were already closed because of the energy crisis and falling demand. Canada warns that resorts which stay open can run short of food, electricity and running water.

For a visitor this means:

• A booking can be moved to another hotel at short notice. Check which property you will actually stay in.
• Large resorts run generators, but Canada warns that fuel shortages can stop them. Ask about generator fuel and water tanks before paying.
• Leaving the country can get harder quickly. The FCDO says options could shrink if the situation worsens, so keep your return flight details and your airline's contacts at hand.

Theft at the resort and on the beach

The usual Varadero crimes are small ones. Canada lists tourist areas, beaches and nightclubs among the places where pickpocketing and bag snatching happen, and says theft from hotel rooms and from cars is common. A phone left on a sun lounger or a wallet in a beach bag is the typical loss. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary also reports theft from hold luggage at Cuban airports, so do not pack cash, cameras or medicines in checked bags.

Cuba's cash-only economy makes this worse. Foreign cards do not work, so most visitors carry hundreds of dollars or euros. Keep most of it in the room safe and carry only a day's spending. Change money only at Cadeca offices. Exchanging money on the street is illegal and a common route to being short-changed.

Canada says sexual assaults against Canadian women have occurred, including at beach resorts. It advises avoiding secluded areas even on hotel grounds, and being careful with new acquaintances.

After dark on Avenida Primera

Primera Avenida, the long road behind the beach, has the restaurants, bars and small shops outside the all-inclusive hotels. With fewer tourists and frequent power cuts, much of it is quieter and darker than before the crisis. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary advice for all of Cuba is to pre-arrange transport and avoid walking at night, and Canada says not to walk alone after dark or use public transport at night. Take an official taxi back to your hotel, carry a torch, and do not walk the beach at night.

Roads, taxis and coco-taxis

Cuba's roads are emptier than most in the region, and WHO estimatesWHO road-death estimateThe World Health Organization's estimate of road traffic deaths per 100,000 people in a country, adjusted for deaths that police statistics miss.More in the glossary 4.1 road deaths per 100,000 people for 2023. Fuel shortages have cut traffic further. The risks are the vehicles and the dark. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says there is little or no street lighting, cars run without lights and animals stray onto roads at night. It also says tourists have been injured and killed in coco-taxis, the open three-wheelers common in Varadero. Use official taxis or hotel transfers, avoid the drive to Havana after dark, and treat old classic cars, which have no airbags and often no seat belts, as a sightseeing ride only.

Medical care and the sea

This is Varadero's weakest factor. Canada says resort areas have international clinics where doctors give foreigners first emergency care, but even these lack basic drugs, supplies and equipment. Serious cases may need transfer, and the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says Havana has Cuba's best facilities. You or your insurer must pay in foreign cash before treatment. Bring every medicine you need for the whole stay, a doctor's letter, and insurance that covers Cuba and evacuation. Drink bottled or treated water, and use repellent against dengue and Oropouche.

At the beach, Canada warns that riptides are common, not every beach has lifeguards or flags, and Portuguese man o' war jellyfish wash in. The Hicacos Peninsula is low and narrow and faces the Atlantic, so a hurricane between June and November would hit the hotel strip directly. Canada says even small tropical storms can grow quickly into major hurricanes in that season.

How we scored it

Road safety (72) and violent crime (68) are Varadero's strongest factors, both based on WHO's national estimates because no local data exist. Health and environment (36) is the weakest, set below Havana because the capital has Cuba's best hospitals. Night safety (54) reflects official advice not to walk after dark and the blackouts. The weighted average is 59, below the cap of 80 set by Cuba's conflict score of 45.