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Been a few times Havana is a must for a couple of nights then head for one of the all inclusive hotels Valadero being my favourite area.Guardalavaca is not a bad second the hotels give you a coloured wrist band that you have to wear all the time of your stay as the beaches are shared with loads of other all inclusives hotels who all have their own colours.Tip go for a 5 star if you can as you get what you pay for and the cheap hotels food is appalling along with the drink options.Cubans are very friendly and Havana is a very safe and exciting city.Would go now before it gets expensive and ruined by the yanks.
Went to Havana in July 2016 and loved it. Stayed right by the Capitol Building where all the vintage US cars are.
Loved all the Hemingway history, houses, bars, locations etc Very easy to walk around Havana, or grab a vintage car or a coco-taxi. Did a tour of a cigar factory, but also did a couple of excursions to Vinales etc
Food wasn’t great to be honest, but I’ve read that it’s improved lately.
Havana is great although many of the buildings are in something of a dilapidated condition (I would have loved to have been able to see them in their pre, pre-war splendour) but you have to accept that you'll be plagued by people trying to sell you sweets and cigars all the time and it gets a bit wearing being asked if you want a taxi every 30 seconds as you promenade along the Malecon or saunter through the Old Town. Make sure you go to the Museum of the Revolution before you leave the Capital and try to tour the West of Cuba and see the Cigar Farms. We also spent 10 days in Varadero, it's essentially a beach holiday there. Great beaches and the sea is fantastic but beware the food. We stayed in the Iberostar- Tainos and I got food poisoning (so did many others and the Hotel even had two medical staff on permanent duty). For further info see my review on Trip Advisor (May 2017) entitled 'Bring Your Own Medication' - if you don't it will cost an arm and a leg!
I cycled from Santiago de Cuba to just past Havana in 2004. So while not contemporary, the place has developed a tad. Very friendly people, food wasn’t all that.
My only suggestion is this; Buccanero beer is ok, but when you can buy a ‘bottle’ of Havana club rum for not much more, then why not? Alas, for me, rum was the first alcoholic drink that made me hurl uncontrollably. Thought I was a gonner! Can’t get within a yard of the stuff without feeling nauseous.
Lot of interesting history around the revolućion if that’s your thing.
'Always In Motion' by John Honney available on amazon.co.uk
Havana is a must for so many reasons. Go off the main streets. So much atmosphere and music oozing out of the place.
Locals are very poor. We did the all inclusive jobby and when we walked to the edge of the complex, some local lads were the other side of the fence, hiding in the bushes begging for food. Really nice lads...non threatening...just wanted food.
Two economies working side by side. Lots of small private enterprises spring up.
Big punishments if you rob a tourist, make it a relatively safe place to visit.
Whatever you do...if you do a nice hotel...get off the complex, hire some mopeds and explore.
Went for a week in September 2016. If you want an authentic experience I'd recommend staying in Airbnb places, rather than big hotels. Definitely do a tour of Havana in a classic car and also the tours of the cigar farms. Varadero is lovely, as is Trinidad (which has a really cool night club inside an underground cave). Either take USD with you or get a currency card and load it with USD.
Havana is amazing. Make sure you have a drink in the courtyard of the Nacional Hotel. Also just down the road from there was a wicked smokey little jazz club called El Gato Tuarto which is definitely worth a visit. Trinidad is a great place to go as well - beautiful little town with cobbled streets, pastel coloured houses, and some great bars.
I went for a wedding in 2011. The resort was great but I got done over by jelly fish on day 1 which cost me £100.00 notes in medical expenses and they then closed the beach for the rest of the week as it was crawling with the bastards.
The Airport in and out was a nightmare, 4 hours to get through customs returning which meant we nearly missed our plane home. Arguments breaking out in the queues, kids screaming because they were being woken up to have their faces photographed by security awake- a complete shambles of a place. If there was ever an argument against communist work forces, this was 100% it.
Other then that a lovely place to go but the airport experience would put me off ever returning. They say if you like rainbows you have to put up with the rain - but at the time the airport fiasco was more like putting up with an earthquake.
I went for a wedding in 2011. The resort was great but I got done over by jelly fish on day 1 which cost me £100.00 notes in medical expenses and they then closed the beach for the rest of the week as it was crawling with the bastards.
The Airport in and out was a nightmare, 4 hours to get through customs returning which meant we nearly missed our plane home. Arguments breaking out in the queues, kids screaming because they were being woken up to have their faces photographed by security awake- a complete shambles of a place. If there was ever an argument against communist work forces, this was 100% it.
Other then that a lovely place to go but the airport experience would put me off ever returning. They say if you like rainbows you have to put up with the rain - but at the time the airport fiasco was more like putting up with an earthquake.
[Post edited 18 Apr 2018 8:56]
Mojitos on the courtyard terrace at Nacional hotel takes some beating. I shared a table with Muhammad Ali and his wife there, amazingly, back in '98.
I enjoyed my visit to Cuba, although it was 18 years ago so I expect it has changed a lot since then. We did a two week tour so we saw a lot of the country.
When we arrived we had to get an internal flight on a Cuban airline, who used old Russian aeroplanes, it was in the middle of a storm with lightening the lot. We were due to fly over the mountains and it is the only time in my life that I have been frightened of flying.
The people were very friendly and there were so many sexy women. Only negative was the high amount of prostitution, and I did feel for the girls as it was the only way they could make a living for their families.
I'm hoping to go back to Havana for a few days next year.
Backward Govt keeping the majority of the people poor. Havana is derelict and falling down. Great beaches but the hotels are poor standard compared to elsewhere.
Obviously no idea if you've already seen it Bazza and I've not actually got round to reading it yet myself but nothing to lose by posting the link in a BBC article from today which goes into some detail about Cuba Today. Must be something of relevance and/or interest in there;
Went in 2002. In addition to what everyone else says, I enjoyed Viñales and Maria la Gorda. Staying in people's homes is great if they still do that - you give people some money directly and have some good experiences - like dancing all night in a front room to an old man's amazing record collection, or getting home-cooked lobster.
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