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Zapata Peninsula

Playa Giron and Playa Larga Beaches (the Bay of Pigs Area)

These beaches, on the southern coast of Matanzas Province, are in the Zapata Peninsula National Park, which includes the Zapata Swamp world preserve of the biosphere, the largest wetlands in the Caribbean. Giron and Larga beaches offer scuba diving in areas.

The sharp offshore drop is covered with sponges, gorgonians and coral, and scuba divers will also find several flooded caves to explore. Those steep-walled depressions in the bare rock are always flooded because they have underground passages that link them to sea.

 

Playa Larga

Cute little, for tourists growing, cozy village. Small but lovely beach with casas particulares right on the beach. Some restaurants too where you can have breakfast lunch or dinner with your toes in the sand. Very chill relaxed destination for those who want to mingle with locals.

Photos Playa Larga

 

Accommodation and Facilities Playa Larga and Playa Giron

The best experience is to stay in one of the casas particulares in this area. But there are also more than 300 hotel rooms in the area, the 2-star Hotel Playa Giron and Playa Larga Hotel and in the 3-star Villa Guama. Giron Beach also has the Playa Giron International Scuba-Diving Center, and there are several restaurants specializing in fish and shellfish.

To do at Playa Larga and Giron

Activities at Larga and Giron Beaches include sunbathing, swimming, snorkling, beginning scuba-diving classes, scuba diving at 14 sites of great beauty and in flooded caves, and other water sports;

ecotourism on the Zapata Peninsula (1930 square miles, or 5000 square km, of virgin territory with 900 species of native plants, 12 species of mamals and 160 species as the Cuban crocodile (there's a crocodile breeding center in the area with over 10.000 of them), the Cuban alligator gar (Atractosteus tristoechus, a prehistoric fish) and the Manatee (Trichechus mamatus, the only herbivorous aquatic mammal on earth, which the Spanish conquistadores thought were mermaids); fishing at Treasure Lake, 900 hectares in size, the largest freshwater lake in the country; going on excursions to places of great archaeological value and a restored Indian village; bird-watching and boating on the Hatiguanico River; and visiting the Las Salinas Wildlife Refuge.

 

 

Nearby Places of Interest

The Bay of Pigs Museum at Giron Beach contains exhibits related to the Cuban people's defeat of the mercenaries who invaded Cuba along this part of the coast in April 1961. Besides this you can visit a small crocodile farm ... kind of tourist trap but nice to stop for a little hour

Location and How to Get There

Giron and Larga Beaches are on the Bay of Pigs. Access to this region in the southern part of Matanzas Province is by road. The area is around 67 miles (108 km) from the city of Matanzas, 87 miles (140 km) from Varadero, and 74 miles (120 km) from Cienfuegos.

Remember you do not have to rent a car, a taxi from one city to the other is often just as expensive. Ask the owner of your casa particular about the possibilities.

Scuba Diving Playa Larga and Playa Giron

 

 

 

 

MATANZAS PAGES

| MATANZAS PROVINCE | MATANZAS CITY | CASAS MATANZAS | SCUBA DIVING |

| VARADERO | CASAS VARADERO | VARADERO BEACH | RESTAURANTS | NIGHTLIFE |

| PLAYA LARGA | CASAS PLAYA LARGA |

| CAYO LARGO | CAYO LARGO BEACH |

| CARDENAS | CASAS CARDENAS |

| CASAS JAGUEY GRANDE | CASAS COLON |

| ADDRESSES |

 

 

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