Cuba December, what to do and see?
Discussion
It might sound a little grim, but take a tour round the cemetery. It's approximately 2 square miles in size and some of the mausoleums are staggering!
Get a trip into a cigar factory and have a look around. (Tip..don't buy any cigars from the 'rollers' they will try to sneakily sell you some for cash, even though they will immediately lose their jobs.
Visit Old Havana. So different from modern Havana. Watch out for taking pictures of locals, they expect money for posing! (don't blame them personally, but they caught me by surprise)
Get a trip into a cigar factory and have a look around. (Tip..don't buy any cigars from the 'rollers' they will try to sneakily sell you some for cash, even though they will immediately lose their jobs.
Visit Old Havana. So different from modern Havana. Watch out for taking pictures of locals, they expect money for posing! (don't blame them personally, but they caught me by surprise)
Club Tropicana? Enjoyed that. Well, the OH did!
There's currently a rather large Cholera outbreak in Cuba, I got back 2.5 weeks ago and haven't been allowed to go to work since. Health Protection Agency are involved too.
Make sure you thoroughly wash your hands etc after trips to toilet and be careful what you eat.
There's currently a rather large Cholera outbreak in Cuba, I got back 2.5 weeks ago and haven't been allowed to go to work since. Health Protection Agency are involved too.
Make sure you thoroughly wash your hands etc after trips to toilet and be careful what you eat.
If you like Lobster!
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g1472...
Seriously amazing, we always have Lobster on holiday and this place is easily the best we have ever had. The service is great, when we went we had the place to ourselves 1 and a half lobsters each with some giant prawns and veg etc. Incredible and was very cheap also, I think we ended up paying about £20 and tipped another £20 because it was just so nice.
The food on the whole in Cuba is pretty poor but this place is amazing.
Only other thing I would reccomend is a Catamaran trip iof that's your thing, we headed out to a deserted island on a catamaran. Lots of sun bathing, free booze etc and you could swim with Dolphins on the way if that's your thing. We enjoyed it alot but maybe a bit more commercial then you are looking for.
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g1472...
Seriously amazing, we always have Lobster on holiday and this place is easily the best we have ever had. The service is great, when we went we had the place to ourselves 1 and a half lobsters each with some giant prawns and veg etc. Incredible and was very cheap also, I think we ended up paying about £20 and tipped another £20 because it was just so nice.
The food on the whole in Cuba is pretty poor but this place is amazing.
Only other thing I would reccomend is a Catamaran trip iof that's your thing, we headed out to a deserted island on a catamaran. Lots of sun bathing, free booze etc and you could swim with Dolphins on the way if that's your thing. We enjoyed it alot but maybe a bit more commercial then you are looking for.
If you get a chance it is worth having a look at the Hotel Nacional, in the reception there are pictures/memorabilia from a lot of the celebrities that used to frequent the hotel during the 30s/40s/50s. Better still, stay there! The place is a 1930s time warp but still incredibly luxurious.
The cigar factory tour is quite interesting, I for instance had no idea just how large tobacco leafs are and how much work goes into chopping them down and preparing them prior to rolling them... get yourself a Churchill for a special occasion! Oh and if you smoke, you will be find it "interesting" to see what goes into pre roll cigarettes!
The Cabaret Tropicana is very entertaining, especially as you get a bottle of rum on your table and waiters who simply provide Coke a cola should you require it.
Museum of the Revolution is also worth visiting as there are some really cool exhibits, the "custom" tank is quite good but there is also another museum, I'm afraid the name escapes me right now but it is essentially a piss take at the expense of Reagan & Bush.
Beyond that I found it incredibly fun to just stroll around Havana looking for pre 50s cars, bars and the graffiti ( there are some Bankeys around...)
Oh and if you visit the El Capitolio building DO NOT SIT ON THE STEPS! My brother made this mistake and nearly s
t himself when a military/security chap with AK47 started shouting at him.
If you are interested in sport then the Cuba has a huge passion for baseball but thankfully it is no where near as over commercialised and cheesy as the Americans make it!
All in all I'd happily go back again and do exactly what you are doing, a week in Havana and a couple weeks in a resort - I went to Varadero, mostly for the beeches but there are also some good places to visit for instance the Dupont mansion
The cigar factory tour is quite interesting, I for instance had no idea just how large tobacco leafs are and how much work goes into chopping them down and preparing them prior to rolling them... get yourself a Churchill for a special occasion! Oh and if you smoke, you will be find it "interesting" to see what goes into pre roll cigarettes!
The Cabaret Tropicana is very entertaining, especially as you get a bottle of rum on your table and waiters who simply provide Coke a cola should you require it.
Museum of the Revolution is also worth visiting as there are some really cool exhibits, the "custom" tank is quite good but there is also another museum, I'm afraid the name escapes me right now but it is essentially a piss take at the expense of Reagan & Bush.
Beyond that I found it incredibly fun to just stroll around Havana looking for pre 50s cars, bars and the graffiti ( there are some Bankeys around...)
Oh and if you visit the El Capitolio building DO NOT SIT ON THE STEPS! My brother made this mistake and nearly s
t himself when a military/security chap with AK47 started shouting at him.If you are interested in sport then the Cuba has a huge passion for baseball but thankfully it is no where near as over commercialised and cheesy as the Americans make it!
All in all I'd happily go back again and do exactly what you are doing, a week in Havana and a couple weeks in a resort - I went to Varadero, mostly for the beeches but there are also some good places to visit for instance the Dupont mansion
Oh yes, just remembered about the catamaran trip, was WELL worth it - stopped off at a lobster restaurant for lunch too.
Don't bother with the fishing trip though, they put 4 rods in the water and sail around trying to catch something, you don't actually touch rods yourself - even worse was that it pissed down the entire morning!
Don't bother with the fishing trip though, they put 4 rods in the water and sail around trying to catch something, you don't actually touch rods yourself - even worse was that it pissed down the entire morning!
In Havana, you can 'retrace' Hemmingways steps. Have his favourite cocktails in the bars he drank them at and see some of the hotels he stayed in.
Havana Club Rum Factory is pretty good.
Cigar Factory too
We had a great holiday there. Remember to take Sterling and only get it converted in hotels / banks to the Cuban Convertable Peso. There are basically two currencies in Cuba the CCP (£1 = 1CCP) for tourists and the normal peso (£1 = millions of normal pesos) for locals. Some locals try to rip you off, it happened to a Canadian in our hotel while we were there.
Have a great time. We loved it.
Havana Club Rum Factory is pretty good.
Cigar Factory too
We had a great holiday there. Remember to take Sterling and only get it converted in hotels / banks to the Cuban Convertable Peso. There are basically two currencies in Cuba the CCP (£1 = 1CCP) for tourists and the normal peso (£1 = millions of normal pesos) for locals. Some locals try to rip you off, it happened to a Canadian in our hotel while we were there.
Have a great time. We loved it.
AB said:
Oh, and bring back Havana Club. It's between about £15-£18 here but you'll pick it up for less that 4CUC while there so around £3 or so.
The cigarettes are horrendous. If you're a smoker and you spot 200 'H.Upmann' for £3 don't be tempted.
You'll be dead within a week.
Cigars are cheap (I didn't really how expensive they are here).The cigarettes are horrendous. If you're a smoker and you spot 200 'H.Upmann' for £3 don't be tempted.
You'll be dead within a week.
Go over to the Fort across the river from the Havana city, it's a massive complex with loads to see, including missiles
The Jose Marti memorial is worth a visit too (hero of the War of Independence, so acceptable to all on PH
).We stayed in the Sevilla hotel, built by the mafia, worth a visit.
Watch out for friendly locals offering to introduce to the local drinks - You'll end up with an unexpectedly high bar bill
The old town is lovely, could walk around that for 3 days really (you'll probably only have 2 and a half, if you're transfer time is early afternoon).
If you're going to Veradero, there's not much to do, except lie on the beach, eat and drink (and partake of any sports your hotel provides). If you're a diver, definitely do a day's diving, it's lovely, clear, warm water, lots of fish and some good wrecks.
If not (or even if you are) a trip to the Zapata nature reserve in the south is a good day out - See some of the towns and countryside, visit a sugar plantation and an alligator farm, etc, etc.
Trips are available to places like Trinidad and Santiago if you don't mind long coach trips and/or paying for another overnight stay.
One of the most enjoyable holidays I've ever had and we all (wife and two teenagers) loved Havana.
Don't worry too much about the Cholera outbreak, it was in the East of the island and is officially over (Cuba has an excellent health system - Most of their income comes from exporting doctors!)
M.
PS If you are buying Havana Club rum, spend the extra on the 7 year old stuff
Edited by marcosgt on Tuesday 4th September 15:19
marcosgt said:
Cigars are cheap (I didn't really how expensive they are here).
Watch out for friendly locals offering to introduce to the local drinks - You'll end up with an unexpectedly high bar bill
If you're going to Veradero, there's not much to do, except lie on the beach, eat and drink (and partake of any sports your hotel provides). If you're a diver, definitely do a day's diving, it's lovely, clear, warm water, lots of fish and some good wrecks.
PS If you are buying Havana Club rum, spend the extra on the 7 year old stuff
Excellent advice. I forgot about the diving, without a doubt the most incredible fish/reef I have ever seen !!. Watch out for friendly locals offering to introduce to the local drinks - You'll end up with an unexpectedly high bar bill
If you're going to Veradero, there's not much to do, except lie on the beach, eat and drink (and partake of any sports your hotel provides). If you're a diver, definitely do a day's diving, it's lovely, clear, warm water, lots of fish and some good wrecks.
PS If you are buying Havana Club rum, spend the extra on the 7 year old stuff
Edited by marcosgt on Tuesday 4th September 15:19
We've booked flights for December too - and currently sorting out itinery
Few questions
1 / To balance our 5 nights in Havana, Is Varadero the best location? Seems plenty of large AI hotels - would be interested in relaxing but also seeing some nature (birds/fish etc etc)
2 / Do we need to spend the last night in Havana prior to leaving? Flight isnt till 19:00 so I thought it would give a day to get to airport from our location (Varadero?)
3 / Transportation by bus? We dont have a tour rep... booking things ourselves... so would we need to pre-book some buses/taxis ?
Any info much appreciated
Jonathan
Few questions
1 / To balance our 5 nights in Havana, Is Varadero the best location? Seems plenty of large AI hotels - would be interested in relaxing but also seeing some nature (birds/fish etc etc)
2 / Do we need to spend the last night in Havana prior to leaving? Flight isnt till 19:00 so I thought it would give a day to get to airport from our location (Varadero?)
3 / Transportation by bus? We dont have a tour rep... booking things ourselves... so would we need to pre-book some buses/taxis ?
Any info much appreciated
Jonathan
To get from Varadero to Havana is a two hour coach trip. We flew to Havana then got a coach to Varadero, on the way back we got a coach to Havana. The plane then took off and landed barely 15 minutes later on the other side of the island, I'm struggling to remember if it was Holguin or Camaguey.
We did a day trip via the hotel which involved a coach tour around most of the island including a stop off by the Bay of Pigs where we had a boat trip which was really interesting. I found that there were enough trips organised by the hotel in Varadero to keep us amused to help balance day trips and beach days!
We did a day trip via the hotel which involved a coach tour around most of the island including a stop off by the Bay of Pigs where we had a boat trip which was really interesting. I found that there were enough trips organised by the hotel in Varadero to keep us amused to help balance day trips and beach days!
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