When I visited Cuba with Cuba Solidarity Campaign in 2011, we didn’t just see the capital city, Havana. The trip aimed to show us a bit more of the country than the average Cuba tourist and the itinerary meant we spent 48 hours in Playa Giron. As part of my travel series about this gorgeous, not that well known country, I wanted to talk about what we did, and what you could do, if you’re visiting Playa Giron.
Playa Giron is a beach and village on the east bank of the Bahia de Cochinos, better known as ‘Bay of Pigs’. It’s where, in 1961, a group of 1,500 Cuban exiles, backed by the CIA, tried to invade Cuba, so they could overthrow Fidel Castro and his Cuban revolution.
Before I’d visited the country I’ll admit I knew nothing about the history of the revolution. I’ve taken more interest since getting back, If you’d like, you can read more about the Bay of Pigs Invasion.
Staying at Cubanacan Hotels Hotel Playa Giron when visiting Playa Giron
We stayed at Cubanacan Hotels Hotel Playa Giron as part of the trip. The hotel wasn’t my choice and I didn’t look at what else was available.
However, after staying at a large camp with shared showers and no mod cons, it was heaven! Having a room I shared with just one person, air conditioning and a fridge was absolute luxury. There was even a TV. The only channel in English was a news channel but that’s more about Cuba’s access to things than the hotel itself.
Rooms were all small, separate buildings. This did mean it was difficult to find your way at night, especially after a few drinks in the hotel’s nightclub.
Food was all inclusive, and we were thrilled that they did chips, pizza etc throughout the day. We’d had a rice-based diet up until then, so we made the most of chips and the buffets at main meals.
The hotel also had a pretty good pool, plenty of sunbeds and was right on the beach. It was a perfect choice for if you’re looking for a beach holiday when visiting Playa Giron.
What we did when visiting Playa Giron
As we were visiting Playa Giron as part of a Trade Unionists trip, some of the things we did there wouldn’t be available to tourists.
For instance, we attended a conference – in the hotel nightclub, the morning after a heavy night out, not advisable – to meet local women.
But we did visit the Museo de Playa Giron. Although small, it has a lot of artifacts and photographs from the Bay of Pigs Invasion, so it’s pretty interesting. I’d suggest you need a couple of hours and it’s a short stroll from the hotel, so somewhere you can go to during a pool/beach day while visiting Playa Giron.
My guidebook confirms that the resort itself is tiny and there’s really not a lot to do there, so I wouldn’t say you’d need much more than 48 hours in Playa Giron.
Because we’d had a really packed itinerary for the first part of our trip, both of our days when visiting Playa Giron had either a morning or afternoon free, as well as the evening.
They wanted to make sure we could swim, sunbathe, eat, and just relax for a while, before starting the busier next part of the trip.
If you’re spending a longer period of time in Cuba, don’t underestimate how nice it will be to have two days to relax here.
Have you been to Cuba? Do you have any other recommendations for spending 48 hours in Playa Giron?
Leave a Reply