Two Cuban content creators recently traveled through Varadero and documented a scene that shook them just as much as their thousands of followers: empty streets, attractions out of service, and an almost complete absence of visitors in what was once the most vibrant beach resort in the Caribbean for decades.
The YouTube channel JAVI and ZAMI published on Tuesday the video titled "This is not Varadero, buddy," which lasts almost 21 minutes. In it, the two creators walk through the main points of the destination and contrast their childhood memories with the reality they encountered.
"Throughout my life, coming to Varadero has been a great joy. It was like paradise. There was noise, there was movement, there were people, there was happiness. And now we've been here for two days exploring from one end to the other, and what we feel is silence—not a peaceful, relaxing silence, but a silence that feels like something is missing, like life is lacking," Javi said at the beginning of the tour.
The contrast with the past is evident at every corner of the video.
The main parking lot in front of the Todo en Uno complex, which previously "couldn't fit even a bus, couldn't fit a car" on a Saturday in May, had just one bus on the Sunday of their visit.
The bumper cars at the amusement park were out of service. The roller coaster was operational, but the operator warned that it couldn't be ridden by a single person due to the risk of a blackout. The little train at Parque Josone was broken. The pool at the same park had water but was dirty and not functioning. The ostriches at Parque Los Enamorados had disappeared.
The boulevard, one of the hottest spots for nightlife, saw fewer than 50 people in total during the Saturday stroll. The shopping center, on Sunday morning, had "not even five people."
"There is an offer because all these places are open, all with service for drinks and food, and the prices are not bad. The issue is the issue," they summarized with a phrase that became the most accurate diagnosis of the video.
Zami added a personal dimension to the narrative by mentioning that her artisan aunts from Matanzas, who made a living selling knitted dresses at the fairs in Varadero, "are currently out of work."
Horse-drawn carriages, a symbol of tourist rides, have been replaced by electric tricycles that charge 50 pesos per ride. One of the few places with real foot traffic was the bowling alley next to the shopping mall, which was indeed "full of people."
Both recognized that the beach remains extraordinary: over 20 kilometers of white sand and crystal-clear water. But the lack of human presence took away its essence. "Now it feels like a private beach, brother. And even if this place is the most beautiful in the world, if the vibe isn't right, it doesn't convince," Javi said in front of the sea.
The video is not an isolated testimony. Tourism in Cuba plummeted by 55.8% between January and April 2026 compared to the same period the previous year, according to data from the National Office of Statistics and Information. In April alone, 30,551 international visitors arrived. Canada, the primary source market, dropped by 63.8%; Russia by 56.7%; and the Cuban diaspora by 41.2%.
Cuba closed 2025 with a hotel occupancy rate of 18.9%, the lowest record since 2002 excluding the pandemic, with 1.81 million international tourists. In the first quarter of 2026, the accumulated occupancy was 21.5%, which means that more than eight out of ten rooms remained vacant.
Since 2025, multiple content creators have documented the same phenomenon in Varadero: deserted streets in the middle of summer, a lack of foreign tourists, and also of Cubans from other provinces who used to travel during the high season.
Javi closed the video with a reflection that resonated beyond tourism: "Cubans have been stagnant for too long, brother. It feels like a memory of what once was and a giant reminder of what it could still become."
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