Fodor's Expert Review Playa de Santa María

Locals will tell you that this is the best and prettiest beach of the Playas del Este, and it's certainly the liveliest, too, popular with both tourists and visiting habaneros. Here you'll find the Hotel Club Tropicoco and the Hotel Atlantico, behind the dunes. Think beachside restaurants, sun beds, massage tents, live Cuban music, water sports, and individual food vendors, selling everything from tamales to pizza and boxes of rice and beans. Amenities: water sports; food and drink. Best for: partiers; swimming.