bellamar caves

Fantastic caves leading to an underground river, where you board a boat to exit the cave system, which is quite exciting.

A neat thing to do was a little slippery but the crystal formations and stalagmites and stalagtites were great

Loved that we had a small group. Good guide. Really enjoyed the caves. We were not rushed. Had plenty of time for pictures and to look around. Were confined to a path to preserve the cave's formations...which was good. Really enjoyed seeing the caves.

Great experience, lots of stairs, low and sharp ceilings. Don't wear a baseball cap or you may do damage to your head.

Not really keen on caves but being part of an excursion to Matanzas... personally I found it far too long as the guide pointed out every single stone/ stalactite and we had to wait for some elderly people who could not keep the pace

I took in the Bellamar Caves as part of a Matanzas city tour while in Varadero. The cost was only $29 CUC, which included the Bellamar Caves, the Triolet French Pharmacy, the Velasco hotel where Ernest Hemingway had stayed for a daiquiri, then off to a bay side bar for a free drink to end the tour.The Bellamar Caves isn't a must do on it's own, but built into a package tour, then it's worth it. The caves are warm and humid, so all you need to bring is a bottle of water, and spend the $5 CUC to bring your good camera into the cave, as a phone camera may not give you the quality of photos that you would appreciate when you're back home reviewing your trip.

I went almost a decade ago. However, it was the coolest cave experience I've ever had. It's even better than the Melissani Cave of Mykonos, Greece. You actually get to walk into the actual cave with your own two feer, peer down the side of a cavern (you feel like you're going to fall down the stairs and into an abyss), see water pools, stalagmites and stalactites up close and at the end of the trail stair into the face of pitch darkness (of the rest of the cave).It was amazing! I definitely recommend it as an unforgettable experience for anyone who has the chance to go.

Like the other comments, it's actually not that cool in this cave with a very high humidity. the way the formations have occurred is quite fascinating. I enjoyed the tour - even though you have to pay 5 CUC just to take pictures. Why bother going if you can't take pictures? So add 5CUC to the price. The cave goes on for 3kms but you only access about 750 meters of it. Still, it's pretty cool. Some of the features, like the "face in the wall", "little Buddha", and the "lady's bathing pool" were pretty eerie. Definitely got some cold chills in places, even though it was quite warm. If you have a heart condition, I don't recommend this tour. The climb back up in the heat and humidity would not be good for you.

Cuba is full of natural caves, this is one of the largest. Years ago the landowner had the foresight to illuminate the cave and make it accessible to the public. Today you can explore a large portion of the cave with some areas blocked off to public in order to save it from erosion and breakage. Be forewarned, you will find the many stairs tiring in the high humidity. Not so much on the way down but on the way back out. They charge you 5 CuC to bring a camera so bring your cellphone or pocket camera and no bags or backpacks permitted. Wear a pair of runners and watch for low spots throughout the tour. They also sell personalized DVDS of your tour that they will drop off at your hotel. Best part was the cold Cristal Beers after the tour. Playground for kids and some shaded sitting areas for those opting out of the cave tour.

Tag along with a guide who speaks your language ( small tip at the end) and explore the first 1Km of this virtually unspoilt cave system. Entry 5 CUCs and another 5 for you camera. You need to be reasonably agile to navigate the 200 steps ad arrow stony passages but it's worth the effort. Wear decent footwear, flip flops are a no...

Went to the cave as we thought it would be nice to go somewhere cool around mid-day. Very wrong, it was hotter in the cave than outside and the humidity - well the guide said it was 100% and I believed him. A bit like taking a sauna while climbing stairs.Worth it though, very interesting cave.

It's a beautiful big cave with lovely geological features.Its about a 45 minute walk through the cave that they take you through, but there is a steep set of stairs going down so you have to be careful with those. Apart from that the rest of the cave is fine to walk through.Yes the ground can get damp and there are a few low ceilings, but it's a cave so you have to expect this.

The crystal caves were good, though the guide was not very impressive. You are advised not to carry anything except a water bottle as you need to watch your step inside; you better be a strong walker/climber as it is very deep down and hard whilst coming back up. Was extremely humid inside also. It was part of our Matangas tour bus so not sure of the cost.

We did this as part of a Matanzas city tour whilst holidaying in Varadero. This was something I have never done before so didn't really know what to expect.As you enter, you are ushered into a room to watch a decent 3D film that shows you what to expect when you get down there. The guides there are friendly and whilst I was there, they catered for Spanish, English and French speaking visitors.The tour itself was very interesting and informative with some amazing sights, but was not as long as I expected it would be.Like a lot of places in Cuba, they expect 5CUC for the use of a camera. I would strongly recommend taking a bottle of water down with you! It is very humid in there and it is a long, long climb back up to the surface with no lift access or ramp.All in all, glad I did it to see some amazing formations, but wish I'd paid the 5CUC to take the camera in!

Firstly you should know that caves are very dark, humid and hot places. Not the best place for HD pictures. I think that are no too much comfortable place for older people may have an accident there. The caves have irregular floor and ceiling, that can hurt your feet or head if you walk without care. I have visited some caves in my live but bellamar is one of the most impressive of all. When you go down into the cave and arrive to the end of the stairs, then you can see that huge natural hole. Maybe you don't realize that all the installation, restaurants, shop, baths, the parking and maybe the buses that arrive with tourists and also part of the highway are over the ceiling of that cave, but if you wasn't surprised after all, wait a moment at the end of the adventure, just before go out, when you going upstairs you can see in the left part of the cave, an enormous hole, bigger that the part that you visited earlier. That part of the cave hasn't was too much explored, only the right side is open to the public. Bring with you the best lantern you can buy and you will see nothing on that darkness. Only think this when you are down there: - there are only two square meters and almost fourty meter high between you and the "all days world" if the stairs fall down -. Enjoy the experience.