Cuba Advice

[Callismichael]

Hi All

Just wanted some advice on my next holiday to Cuba. Me and the missus are thinking of booking 2 weeks in Cuba but really need some valuable advice on the best way to spend it.

We first thought of doing:

few days in Havana as this is a must if visiting Cuba for the first time.

A week in Varadero as the beach looks stunning and as in my last post about Thailand, I ended up missing going south as I thought it would be best to save this for my next trip to Thailand. So I want my next holiday to be a balance between a beach and culture.

After looking at a lot of itineraries on the internet a lot of them suggest going to Trinidad, Havana Vinales etc.

I want to make the very most of this holiday but I also want it to feel like a holiday as well. That’s why I was originally sticking to Havana and a beach. Would I be missing out on other main parts of Cuba?

I know that Varadero is just an all inclusive beach resort. I have been on these types of holidays before and really enjoyed them.

Your help is much appreciated.

[Terzo123]

Guardelavaca is a nice area to the east of Cuba, i stayed there a few years back with the Mrs. Think it was 10 days there with a night in Santiago De Cuba thrown in as well (our hotel staff wanted to check on their sister hotel which had been moth balled and invited us along for the trip) and 4 days Havana, which involved an internal flight.

Plenty to do ( Jeep Safari's, Swim with Dolphins, deep sea fishing, the usual water sports, horse riding, indigenous Indian burial sites) and not as built up as varadero.

Whilst we were in havana, along with the usual tourist must do's, we went to the club tropicana, and also visited Vinales which wasn't that far away. Both worth while

Castro visited the hotel next to us in Gaurdelavaca, quite a few of the folk we spoke to managed to get pictures with him

[Callismichael]

Terzo123 said:

Guardelavaca is a nice area to the east of Cuba, i stayed there a few years back with the Mrs. Think it was 10 days there with a night in Santiago De Cuba thrown in as well (our hotel staff wanted to check on their sister hotel which had been moth balled and invited us along for the trip) and 4 days Havana, which involved an internal flight.

Plenty to do ( Jeep Safari's, Swim with Dolphins, deep sea fishing, the usual water sports, horse riding, indigenous Indian burial sites) and not as built up as varadero.

Whilst we were in havana, along with the usual tourist must do's, we went to the club tropicana, and also visited Vinales which wasn't that far away. Both worth while

Castro visited the hotel next to us in Gaurdelavaca, quite a few of the folk we spoke to managed to get pictures with him

Thank you for your reply

what company weas it where you got the internal flight? were the rates cheap?

Our budget for the whole holiday is £1300 each at the most with spending money. Just hope it's enough to do all the main attractions for Cuba.

[Wolff]

Vinales is a must - Indian Cave, hiking, horse riding, tobacco farmers (cigar making outside of the factory etc)
Trinidad is defo worth while for a few days - also beach resorts there
en-route to/from Trinidad you could also do Santa Clara for the Che Guevarra museum/memorial/mausoleum, or Cienfuegas for a french side of Cuba.

Havana will keep you busy for a few days, but it really isn't all that Cuba has to offer - there is so much more out there. Loads of people I know when to all-inclusive resorts, and they really don't know much about Cuba other than the airport and hotels. So nice and relaxing for sure, but you may as well get a cheap deal to Egypt if thats all you wany

[Terzo123]

Callismichael said:

Thank you for your reply

what company weas it where you got the internal flight? were the rates cheap?

Our budget for the whole holiday is £1300 each at the most with spending money. Just hope it's enough to do all the main attractions for Cuba.

It was a package deal, the trip and flights to Havana were included. Most of the current operators will offer similar deals. I think the Hotel we stayed at in Guardelavaca was called Brisas. Probably 3 star, 4 at a push.

It must have been about 8 years ago I was there. Back then I think the wife and I booked it via teletext for about £800 each. We didn't spend much at the resort (All inclusive) apart from excursions of which we did quite a few. However the excursions were really good value, with plenty thrown in extra including visits to local schools, and farms. The jeep safari was interesting, no licenced required.

Havana from memory was not that cheap, we were on a budget back then, and if i remember rightly eating out in Havana was similar in price to eating out in any major city back here. But definitely a great experience

[trickywoo]

Perhaps have a look at Jibacoa. Its 45 mins ish by car from Havana and has at least one nice hotel.

If you do decide to stay in Havana the Parque Central hotel is IMHO stunning.

[Wolff]

Terzo123 said:

Havana from memory was not that cheap, we were on a budget back then, and if i remember rightly eating out in Havana was similar in price to eating out in any major city back here. But definitely a great experience

Havana is certainly more expensive than the rest of the country, but only a little bit.

We had a fantastic 3 course meal inc my fillet steak, at a roof top restaurant on Oviedo (iirc!) for £15-£17 a head, including drinks. Not sure you could get that quality for that price anywhere back here, let alone a major city.

Guess it depends where you go - stick to the tourist trail, yes, will be more expensive. Explore a bit further afield, and we're only talking a street or two, and you get cheaper prices. Same as everywhere!

[DBSV8]

we went Thomas cook a few years back to cayo coco

http://www.thomascook.com/destinations/cuba/the-ca...

great resort AI water bungalo, although there are no Americans there were a few annoying French Canadians ...!!

we planned lots of trips , great speed boat trip through the mangroves , was like a scene from live and let die , there was a convoy of speedboats with 40hp outboards and an instructor in a boat in front , we hid in the mangroves till everyone was past then floored it ....overcooked it on one of the turns and ended up beached !!........had to distract instructor when we moored the boat to hide the scratches ...oops.

Horse riding across the beaches to a restaurant was very different and suprisingly enjoyable , as was a microlight flight across the bay

Visit to Havana is a must and you have to go to the Tropicana club , this really is a must do in Havana

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropicana_Club
sitting at a table with a complimentary bottle of rum and cigar watching the show was fantastic , open air like the Rio Carnival , with the prettiest girls Ive seen outside Russia !!..." girlfriends "beware "

other places , cigar factory handrolled , and rum factory great samples of anjeo rum ,

,also visit trinidad ( cuba ) great Plaza you could sit drinking Mojitas and smoking Cohibas and swim with the Dolphins ,

overall one of the best holidays ive ever had , enjoy

Edited by DBSV8 on Friday 7th October 13:41

[Callismichael]

DBSV8 said:

we went Thomas cook a few years back to cayo coco

http://www.thomascook.com/destinations/cuba/the-ca...

great resort AI water bungalo, although there are no Americans there were a few annoying French Canadians ...!!

we planned lots of trips , great speed boat trip through the mangroves , was like a scene from live and let die , there was a convoy of speedboats with 40hp outboards and an instructor in a boat in front , we hid in the mangroves till everyone was past then floored it ....overcooked it on one of the turns and ended up beached !!........had to distract instructor when we moored the boat to hide the scratches ...oops.

Horse riding across the beaches to a restaurant was very different and suprisingly enjoyable , as was a microlight flight across the bay

Visit to Havana is a must and you have to go to the Tropicana club , this really is a must do in Havana

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropicana_Club
sitting at a table with a complimentary bottle of rum and cigar watching the show was fantastic , open air like the Rio Carnival , with the prettiest girls Ive seen outside Russia !!..." girlfriends "beware "

other places , cigar factory handrolled , and rum factory great samples of anjeo rum ,

,also visit trinidad ( cuba ) great Plaza you could sit drinking Mojitas and smoking Cohibas and swim with the Dolphins ,

overall one of the best holidays ive ever had , enjoy

Edited by DBSV8 on Friday 7th October 13:41

So is Triniada worth seeing? what else did you do there? I've swam with dolphons and it's one of them. once you've done it, you've done it.

[DBSV8]

Callismichael said:

So is Triniada worth seeing? what else did you do there? I've swam with dolphons and it's one of them. once you've done it, you've done it.

it was included as part of the havana excursion as were the dolphins
very different from havana , very cuban colourfull ex colonial caribean style village , we enjoyed it sat in one of the old converted mansions sampling cocktails and smoking cigars

reminds you of once upon a time in mexico



the dolphins were at a water park with a 100m mangrove lake , you floated in the water and two dolphins would swim behind you and each one would lift you out of the water by your feet , then swim forward with you watersking on their beaks , it was an incredible experience ,

Edited by DBSV8 on Monday 10th October 20:58

[crackthatoff]

whilst at varedaro do cayo blanco..... jump on a catamaran, bit of snorkelling and a day on a beautifull desert island not bad for about 30 quid ish

[Adz The Rat]

We are off to Guardalvaca in January, my brother is getting married there so it will be a fun 2 weeks.

Has anyone been to that part of the island? Whats it like?

Any nearby cigar factories or other interesting local stuff?

[Nezquick]

We did Cayo Santa Maria at the North (East) of the Island. If you want relaxation, a fantastic beach and good hotels, the Cayo's are the place to look.

We stayed at the Melia Cayo Santa Maria. Great AI hotel.

[thetrash]

Adz The Rat said:

We are off to Guardalvaca in January, my brother is getting married there so it will be a fun 2 weeks.

Has anyone been to that part of the island? Whats it like?

Any nearby cigar factories or other interesting local stuff?

What hotel are you staying at?