GUARDALAVACA ATTRACTIONS

GUARDALAVACA HOLIDAYS

Most folks come here on all-inclusive packages, and many are content to spend their entire time in a chaise longue on the beach or beside the pool. However, there are a wide range of tours and activities available for the less lazy.

Parque Nacional Bahia De Naranjo -- The Bahía de Naranjo, about 5km (3 miles) west of Guardalavaca (tel. 24/3-0439), is a 1,000-hectare (2,470-acre) nature park of mangrove swamps and thickly wooded wilderness. Within the park, visitors can hike along trails and take boat rides. There are plenty of man-made attractions to round out the more ecologically oriented offerings. The aquarium at Cayo Naranjo, a sliver of an island reached by boat, isn't really a large-scale aquarium in the traditional sense; it's part of a parque recreativo (tourist complex), but it does feature tropical fish as well as a daily marine show at noon (CUC$25) and, best of all, an opportunity to swim with dolphins (CUC$50). While we are normally fairly appalled by the conditions of most dolphin attractions, including others around Cuba, this place has some of the largest natural ocean pens you will find anywhere, and allegedly the dolphins are allowed to swim in the open ocean regularly. You'll also find rodeo, watersports, horseback riding, and a seafood restaurant that features an Afro-Cuban show. The park is open daily from 7am to 4pm. The best way to visit is by organized excursion, offered by all the beach hotels (most packages are about CUC$60 per person, including transportation, admission, and a dolphin swim).