Classic Travel’s Trip to Cuba
I have just returned from a fantastic trip to Cuba, courtesy of Cuba Holidays. Columbus when he discovered Cuba said it was the most beautiful place he had seen – and he wasn’t wrong! It is the largest of the Caribbean islands with a diverse landscape of mountain ranges, tropical forests and stunning white sandy beaches. I visited Havana, the capital city, and further afield to Viñales, Trinidad, Remedios, Cienfuegos, Santa Clara & Varadero so have seen the diverse aspects of what Cuba has to offer.
If you are going to Cuba I do think a 3 night visit to Havana is a must. Its decaying beauty, the colourful 1950’s American cars that you drive around in, the grand buildings, and squares are a delight. There are a selection of good 4 & 5* hotels in the centre of Havana where you can easily walk out to explore the city. Things to see and do whilst in Havana is a cigar & rum factory, (two of the main exports for Cuba), the Ernest Hemingway trail where you visit the bars he frequented and enjoy a Mojito and Daiquiri. For night time we saw the Tropicana show, which although a bit dated in style was colourful and entertaining. Cuba is not known for its cuisine, but we did enjoy a splendid meal at “La Guardia” the roof top bar afterwards is really worth a visit.
Viñales and Viñales Valley to the west of Havana is a most beautiful area of Cuba with lush green valleys of tropical vegetation, nature at its best. Cienfuegos, in the south has a beautiful bay with an historic centre, from here you can easily visit Santa Clara and Remedios. Santa Clara is where the Mausoleum is situated of Che Guavara, his portrait and name is to be found everywhere in Cuba. This is well worth a visit before you head for Varadero. Remedios is a very tranquil Spanish town, when we visited there were no tourists, so it was great to mix with the locals in the bars around the square.
Varadero is quite different from the towns I have mentioned above. It is mainly a contemporary All-inclusive 1980’s style resort with a large number of hotels dotted along a lovely sandy beach with a striking blue ocean. If you want to sit and flop & enjoy the sunshine the resort is perfect. I would recommend staying in Havana first then move on to the beach, either at Varadero or The Cayos. From April 2017 Virgin Atlantic will be offering flights to Varadero, so you could fly into Havana, then instead of the long transfer back to Havana you can fly home from Varadero. This, I think will increase and encourage tourists from the UK. All in all, I would recommend Cuba for a 2 centre holiday with a little culture mixed with sunshine and beach for the latter part of your holiday- a great combination.
Practical Tips
- Cuba has a closed currency, so you can only purchase whilst there, the currency are CUC’s based on the US $ (1.4 to the £)
- There are no shops as such, so don’t come to Cuba if you want to shop till you drop
- You will need a tourist card for entry into Cuba
- Wi-Fi is poor and you will need to purchase a telephone card to gain access
- Please tip, locals are paid only about £13 a month so are very grateful for any extras.
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