Honeymoon in Cuba - advice/recommendations please
Discussion
Hello chaps,
Cuba has been decided as the honeymoon destination. We'll be there for just over 2 weeks. Hoping to do and see as much as possible. We're into anything cultural but would like a few days on the beach relaxing too. As with most of our travels, a Rough Guide has been purchased however I would value your opinions and experiences.
- What to see
- What to avoid
- Specific restaurant/hotel recommendations
- General tips for the country
All advice appreciated. TIA
Cuba has been decided as the honeymoon destination. We'll be there for just over 2 weeks. Hoping to do and see as much as possible. We're into anything cultural but would like a few days on the beach relaxing too. As with most of our travels, a Rough Guide has been purchased however I would value your opinions and experiences.
- What to see
- What to avoid
- Specific restaurant/hotel recommendations
- General tips for the country
All advice appreciated. TIA
What are do you want to do a tour or a resort and some day trips?
Havana is obviously a must, you can walk most of the centre but to see a little of the wider area the there are open top buses that you can hop on and off. You could use this to jump off and see the Hotel Nacional where the godfather was set.
For a good daytrip from Havana you could go to Vinales (the government runs these so no point in shopping around for a bus trip. You can book in hotels. You'll see the parc nacional la guira with the sugar loaf type hills.
Further away you'll find Trinidad to the south with some nice hiking in the national park close by. There's also a nightclub in a cave system which is interesting (very hot and loud)
Further West and the area around Baracoa was interesting as for many years it had been cut off by road from the rest of the island and the indigenous people still make up a high % of the population with their more chiseled looks and piercing blue eyes.
Many places over the island you'll find museums with plenty of info on Che and Fidel and perhaps a different spin on history to what we're normally told. Tobaco plantations, sugar plantations and Rum places are in numerous locations if you're interested.
We mainly stayed in home stay B&B's (basic but clean, good value and the hosts went out of their way to accommodate you more food than you could need for meals) but switched to Saratoga Havana after we'd finished our tour for a bit of Luxury and very nice it was too worth a trip up to the pool for the view of the old town at both day and night.
In general food was very much the same in most places just changing the meat element but largely the same format on our return to Havana we found a Vietnamese restaurant and we eagerly sat down for something a little different only to find the same salad starter, followed by meat, rice and peas and ice cream deserts that everywhere served. We ate in a couple of very nice restaurants in Havana and Cienfuegos and if I can find the names I'll post them (edit Restaurante 1800, Cienfuegos they had great food, wine and the only decent cabaret we saw while out there) . Getting some local currency also allowed us to eat street food at amazing prices 10p for a pizza slice, 20p for fresh dairy ice cream at a government ice cream shop (very strict rules about sitting down to eat, we got told off) We also tried fresh fruits from a locals farm with home roast and ground coffee and home made chocolate on a hike near Baracoa.
Take your own loo roll as it's not always available. Hand Gel too as bathrooms don't always have running water. When buying water check it's sealed and not "home sterilised" Smell it for strong chlorine smells and bleach no matter where you buy it from. (locals try to make money by selling there own reusing bottles to "cheat the system")
People are very friendly and happy to help especially if there's likely a tip in it for them.
If you're staying in a resort you can likely ignore most of the above.
Havana is obviously a must, you can walk most of the centre but to see a little of the wider area the there are open top buses that you can hop on and off. You could use this to jump off and see the Hotel Nacional where the godfather was set.
For a good daytrip from Havana you could go to Vinales (the government runs these so no point in shopping around for a bus trip. You can book in hotels. You'll see the parc nacional la guira with the sugar loaf type hills.
Further away you'll find Trinidad to the south with some nice hiking in the national park close by. There's also a nightclub in a cave system which is interesting (very hot and loud)
Further West and the area around Baracoa was interesting as for many years it had been cut off by road from the rest of the island and the indigenous people still make up a high % of the population with their more chiseled looks and piercing blue eyes.
Many places over the island you'll find museums with plenty of info on Che and Fidel and perhaps a different spin on history to what we're normally told. Tobaco plantations, sugar plantations and Rum places are in numerous locations if you're interested.
We mainly stayed in home stay B&B's (basic but clean, good value and the hosts went out of their way to accommodate you more food than you could need for meals) but switched to Saratoga Havana after we'd finished our tour for a bit of Luxury and very nice it was too worth a trip up to the pool for the view of the old town at both day and night.
In general food was very much the same in most places just changing the meat element but largely the same format on our return to Havana we found a Vietnamese restaurant and we eagerly sat down for something a little different only to find the same salad starter, followed by meat, rice and peas and ice cream deserts that everywhere served. We ate in a couple of very nice restaurants in Havana and Cienfuegos and if I can find the names I'll post them (edit Restaurante 1800, Cienfuegos they had great food, wine and the only decent cabaret we saw while out there) . Getting some local currency also allowed us to eat street food at amazing prices 10p for a pizza slice, 20p for fresh dairy ice cream at a government ice cream shop (very strict rules about sitting down to eat, we got told off) We also tried fresh fruits from a locals farm with home roast and ground coffee and home made chocolate on a hike near Baracoa.
Take your own loo roll as it's not always available. Hand Gel too as bathrooms don't always have running water. When buying water check it's sealed and not "home sterilised" Smell it for strong chlorine smells and bleach no matter where you buy it from. (locals try to make money by selling there own reusing bottles to "cheat the system")
People are very friendly and happy to help especially if there's likely a tip in it for them.
If you're staying in a resort you can likely ignore most of the above.
Edited by wseed on Tuesday 26th January 23:36
Edited by wseed on Tuesday 26th January 23:38
I was in Cuba with the wife about 10 years ago. We stayed at an all inclusive resort in Guardalavaca, think it was called las Brisas. It was great, loads of trips including swimming with dolphins, one of the trainers being a relative of Che.
As a bonus the hotel also offered us a free trip and stay at their sister hotel Brisas Sierra Mar which included a tour of Santiago De Cuba. The coach journey was an experience.
As part of the holiday we also had four nights in Havana which meant an internal flight from Holguin in an old Russian plane. I wouldn't recommend this if you have a fear of flying. Ha.
Havana was awesome, again lots of tours available, Vinales, Pinar del Rio, revolution square etc. Some folks knock it, but a night at the Tropicana is good fun.
Our best night in Havana though was when we stumbled into a back room at a nearby Hotel and found the staff and locals having party. We were welcomed in and plyed with shots and bee.The locals had fun at our attempts at Salsa. The women were more than happy to help me improve my technique.
As a bonus the hotel also offered us a free trip and stay at their sister hotel Brisas Sierra Mar which included a tour of Santiago De Cuba. The coach journey was an experience.
As part of the holiday we also had four nights in Havana which meant an internal flight from Holguin in an old Russian plane. I wouldn't recommend this if you have a fear of flying. Ha.
Havana was awesome, again lots of tours available, Vinales, Pinar del Rio, revolution square etc. Some folks knock it, but a night at the Tropicana is good fun.
Our best night in Havana though was when we stumbled into a back room at a nearby Hotel and found the staff and locals having party. We were welcomed in and plyed with shots and bee.The locals had fun at our attempts at Salsa. The women were more than happy to help me improve my technique.
Thank you for your replies, very helpful. 
We've tried to book various hotels in Havana for a few nights and they are genuinely full throughout. We found two nights in the Hotel Florida and that's about it. Even places further afield are booked up. I know it's high season there but it seems at capacity everywhere. Some available rooms, but they are rather expensive (>£250/night).
It looks like we're thus going to be looking at the home stay b&b (Casas Particulares), were they easy to book? How did you go about organising them? Can you can turn up at a town and easily find somewhere to stay?
What did your tour consist of? Was it organised while out there or over here?
As an aside we've also just realised we need to sort out visas so will need a trip to the consulate in the next couple of days.
It seems all too stressful for a honeymoon at the moment
(and a simple beach resort appeals!) so I appreciate your help.
wseed said:
We mainly stayed in home stay B&B's (basic but clean, good value and the hosts went out of their way to accommodate you more food than you could need for meals) but switched to Saratoga Havana after we'd finished our tour for a bit of Luxury and very nice it was too worth a trip up to the pool for the view of the old town at both day and night.
We're having quite a bit of stress with accommodation at the mo. I suspect we've left it quite late (we're off on the 8th Feb) and quite blasé about being able to wing it. We've tried to book various hotels in Havana for a few nights and they are genuinely full throughout. We found two nights in the Hotel Florida and that's about it. Even places further afield are booked up. I know it's high season there but it seems at capacity everywhere. Some available rooms, but they are rather expensive (>£250/night).
It looks like we're thus going to be looking at the home stay b&b (Casas Particulares), were they easy to book? How did you go about organising them? Can you can turn up at a town and easily find somewhere to stay?
What did your tour consist of? Was it organised while out there or over here?
As an aside we've also just realised we need to sort out visas so will need a trip to the consulate in the next couple of days.
It seems all too stressful for a honeymoon at the moment
(and a simple beach resort appeals!) so I appreciate your help. Edited by g3org3y on Wednesday 27th January 23:49
Edited by g3org3y on Thursday 28th January 00:07
try http://www.casaparticular.com/ - they won't all be on there, but it will give a good idea.
Each house that is allowed to accept tourists for overnight stays has a plaque on the wall outside (blue, I think) to distinguish it. They were fairly obvious in Havana, Trinidad and Vinales, so you shouldn't have too much trouble.
If you don't know any Spanish, you might want to learn the basics before going - it was rather interesting trying to explain that I was leaving the casa a night early as a girl I had met was given a room in a 5* hotel for free by the airline........ ;-)
Each house that is allowed to accept tourists for overnight stays has a plaque on the wall outside (blue, I think) to distinguish it. They were fairly obvious in Havana, Trinidad and Vinales, so you shouldn't have too much trouble.
If you don't know any Spanish, you might want to learn the basics before going - it was rather interesting trying to explain that I was leaving the casa a night early as a girl I had met was given a room in a 5* hotel for free by the airline........ ;-)
Thanks! We've found a couple of websites. Looks like we have to get in contact with them directly and even then it can be down to luck.
Wrt 'proper' hotels and hire cars, I think we've left it too late. Everything seems booked up.
This is the kind of holiday I might have relished 10 years ago. Now at 32 (and for a honeymoon), I'm not so sure.
We've found a couple of websites. Looks like we have to get in contact with them directly and even then it can be down to luck.Wrt 'proper' hotels and hire cars, I think we've left it too late. Everything seems booked up.
This is the kind of holiday I might have relished 10 years ago. Now at 32 (and for a honeymoon), I'm not so sure.
g3org3y said:
We're having quite a bit of stress with accommodation at the mo. I suspect we've left it quite late (we're off on the 8th Feb) and quite blasé about being able to wing it.
Oh that is quite tight on time. I suspect you'll be ok and doubt that many/all of the hotels have an internet presence so real availability may well be much better.g3org3y said:
We found two nights in the Hotel Florida and that's about it. ..... .....rather expensive (>£250/night).
We had a drink in the Hotel Florida and it looked very nice. £250 per night for any hotel in Cuba sounds crazy expensive I guess as a minimum you'll want your first nights accommodation sorted so you have an address to put on your entry forms. g3org3y said:
It looks like we're thus going to be looking at the home stay b&b (Casas Particulares), were they easy to book? How did you go about organising them? Can you can turn up at a town and easily find somewhere to stay?
What did your tour consist of? Was it organised while out there or over here?
Our tour was booked through Intrepid Travel, an Australian firm we spent a few nights in a number of locations traveling the lenght of the island on a mini bus which was great and we had a good laugh with the other passengers mostly from Aus and NZ with a few Europeans (12 total). So all our accommodation and transport on the tour was sorted by them either side of the tour we booked our own hotels through Trailfinders.What did your tour consist of? Was it organised while out there or over here?
g3org3y said:
As an aside we've also just realised we need to sort out visas so will need a trip to the consulate in the next couple of days.
Do your own checking but I don't think you need to go to the consulate info linkOne other thing I remembered was not all cash machines work all the time especially with foreign cards so take a selection and get cash when you can in towns.
I was going to post some pics of the Yank Tanks (this is pistonheads after all) I took while over there but I have none on my phone. I'll try and root some out this evening. There are a few stunning examples but many with modifications just to keep them on the roads. Seeing a classic Chevy with a plume of diesel smoke coming out the back is not an uncommon site.
Not sure if the link will work or not but I did a search on
http://www.trivago.co.uk/?iPathId=33570&bDispM...
and there looked to be a number of budget places near Havana at the £50 per night range. Unfortunately you have to get out of a western mindset with some of the hotels and B&B that not everything will work (including the staff)
edit URL tricky to add I think it works though
http://www.trivago.co.uk/?iPathId=33570&bDispM...
and there looked to be a number of budget places near Havana at the £50 per night range. Unfortunately you have to get out of a western mindset with some of the hotels and B&B that not everything will work (including the staff)
edit URL tricky to add I think it works though
Edited by wseed on Thursday 28th January 10:44
wseed, thank you again for taking the time to reply. 
Will look into the tours/accommodation situation. I suspect
hope pray we're stressing over nothing and it'll be fine when we get there.
We've managed to sort the visa situation. I looked at those sites with 1 day turn around and was tempted. The issue we have is the OH is awaiting her new passport with her married name (coming on Monday) as such we thought it might be best for her to do it in person at the consulate (we'll be driving up to Scotland on Wednesday, wedding Sat and flying out on Mon 8th). Tried to call them this morning multiple times and no-one picked up the phone.
We've managed to contact Virgin (who we're flying with) who have sorted it over the phone and will be ready to collect from the VA desk at Gatwick. Glad that's sorted.
Will look into the tours/accommodation situation. I We've managed to sort the visa situation. I looked at those sites with 1 day turn around and was tempted. The issue we have is the OH is awaiting her new passport with her married name (coming on Monday) as such we thought it might be best for her to do it in person at the consulate (we'll be driving up to Scotland on Wednesday, wedding Sat and flying out on Mon 8th). Tried to call them this morning multiple times and no-one picked up the phone.
We've managed to contact Virgin (who we're flying with) who have sorted it over the phone and will be ready to collect from the VA desk at Gatwick. Glad that's sorted.No problem at all. I'm sure you'll be fine. As an old boss of mine used to say all you need is your passport, ticket and credit card (assuming a none US bank)
I'm sure you and your wife to be will be stressing about all sorts at the mo so nothing will seem straightforward.
Just be sure to get into the Caribbean pace of life and all your stresses will drift away.
A couple of pics of classic Americana from Cuba to get you in the mood.
I'm sure you and your wife to be will be stressing about all sorts at the mo so nothing will seem straightforward.
Just be sure to get into the Caribbean pace of life and all your stresses will drift away.
A couple of pics of classic Americana from Cuba to get you in the mood.
wseed said:
No problem at all. I'm sure you'll be fine. As an old boss of mine used to say all you need is your passport, ticket and credit card (assuming a none US bank)
I'm sure you and your wife to be will be stressing about all sorts at the mo so nothing will seem straightforward.
Just be sure to get into the Caribbean pace of life and all your stresses will drift away.
A couple of pics of classic Americana from Cuba to get you in the mood.
If you even look in the general direction of an old yanker expect the hands to be heading your way for money. Most are long gone.I'm sure you and your wife to be will be stressing about all sorts at the mo so nothing will seem straightforward.
Just be sure to get into the Caribbean pace of life and all your stresses will drift away.
A couple of pics of classic Americana from Cuba to get you in the mood.
Havana was amazing for the architecture, as long as you like it 28 days later style. Which i find fascinating. Glorious old building but decayed to the point you wonder how they stay up accompanied by an old bloke in a string vest drying his pants on the balcony. Varadero was rubbish.
Sounds very negative, but honestly loved it. The local tour guides double think is worthy of an Orwell novel.
Cigars and rum are great.
Was back in 2009 suspect it will have changed greatly.Probably for the worse for a tourist.
Have you looked at the Dominican Republic? Ignore the reps and hire a car, loved it. Bit scary in places but i suspect more 'real'.
wseed said:
No problem at all. I'm sure you'll be fine. As an old boss of mine used to say all you need is your passport, ticket and credit card (assuming a none US bank)
I'm sure you and your wife to be will be stressing about all sorts at the mo so nothing will seem straightforward.
I'm sure you and your wife to be will be stressing about all sorts at the mo so nothing will seem straightforward.
Yes, everything seems crazy stressful at the moment. I agree, I'm sure it'll all work out. We've booked the next bit, felt we deserved a few days of lazy luxury after Havana. A touch pricey but felt we deserved it.
Really looking forward to car spotting! Thanks again for your help.
PM sent back but I think PM's are a bit iffy on here at the moment because I didn't actually receive yours this morning so it's a good job you posted!
I'll post up her address(es ... use them both to get hold of her) and I'll remove them when you've noted it down to avoid advertising.
Hope it's of some use.
Cheers, and have a fantastic honeymoon
I'll post up her address(es ... use them both to get hold of her) and I'll remove them when you've noted it down to avoid advertising.
Hope it's of some use.
Cheers, and have a fantastic honeymoon
Edited by DrTre on Sunday 31st January 17:47
Straight from Fara/my OH says classic car is 30 CUC an hour for a tour OR have for a day, for 190 CUC from 11am until 9.30 10pm after the cannon show (WTF? I'm writing this straight from her telling me) and includes a 2 hour tour, drop off at cojimar for bbq lunch and then drop off to the beach, pick up after a couple hours and takes to fort where you have dinner and have cannon show (now it makes sense) and then home.
Fara will also sort out transfers for you frmo place to place though they are pricier than the buses (obviously) .
Fara will also sort out transfers for you frmo place to place though they are pricier than the buses (obviously) .
One of the most useful tips I had when visiting was to take plenty of single dollar ( US) bills. So useful for tips etc. Also saves getting change in the local currency which is then not easy to get rid of. Agree on taking the logo tolls! We stayed in Havana and had a brilliant time car spotting. Hope you enjoy the trip.
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