2 weeks in Cuba - Havana - General Tips & Advice Reviews

Important

Get a visa before you go for £25 (ish) from the Cuban embassy – you wont be allowed in otherwise
Don’t forget your camera - its really photogenic.

Money

Take pounds when you go and the exchange rate at the airport is the same as in Havana so its ok to change it there.

Confusingly they have 2 currencies – both called pesos. When you get to Havana it is also worth changing some of your Pesos (moneida national) into pesos cubanos (what the locals use) the rate was 1:27 when I was there in November 2006.

NB Use the local stuff to pay for street food (mostly pizzas, sandwiches and ice creams) otherwise you are being massively ripped off. If in doubt I always attempted to pay with pesos cubanos and waited to be told that they only accepted Moneida National

Havana

Havana is a great place to stay for at least 3-4 days and you will find lots to do with museums, nightlife, cigar factories and shopping. The Museo Nacional des bella artes is really good (international standard) if you like art. The museum of the revolution is also worth visiting but a lot of the signs attached to the artifacts (like bloodstained shorts etc) are in Spanish so read the history section of the guide before you go. The markets are fun.

Also I would recommend going to china town one night for dinner and ordering red snapper if you can – it was delicious. Every town has a casa de la musica which is usually good for going out. In Havana, Bodeguita del Medio is very touristy (it was a Hemmingway hangout) but worth going to look at the pictures on the walls of celebrity visitors. If you walk along Obispo street there are lots of places to drink.

My best tip for dancing is the open air club inside Castillo del Morro (on the sea front on the other side of the straits) for which you will need to take a taxi but it was very cool, and you can stay til dawn if you feel like it.

If you want to stay in a hotel it is cheaper to book on the internet before you go but I would suggest that you stay in a casa particular (like a B&B) which can be booked in advance but can also easily be found if you just turn up. Havana Vieja (the old town) is great but you can also stay in Havana centro and easily walk there. The streets are very safe.

A good trick is heading with purpose into the posh hotels with rooftop pools which you can use even if you are not staying there, if stopped you may get asked to either pay a few dollars before you enter, or for a minimum spend on drinks.

If you don’t like your casa they are easy to change and I would say that it is worth spending an hour the next day looking around others and moving because the food and atmosphere at some is much better than others. Generally the ones outside Havana are better. Casas are licensed by the government and have a green Egyptian looking eye symbol outside them, I would avoid unlicensed ones as although they can be cheaper they are also nasty. We only stayed in one and breakfast was rank.

West of Havana

Vignales is a must see, small town in the middle of some cool mountain scenery. Its good for horse riding, climbing and walks. Eat in the casa with the family – there is only one restaurant in town and its ok but not that great. Then go into the centre of town to the dance hall where everyone congregates in the evening. There are some guys who offer salsa lessons in the town hall from 6 (I think) which are entertaining and mean you have at least some idea of the basics when you get there (I didn’t do lessons but other people did).

There is an eco resort on an island near vignales which is other people said was good, and an eco hotel in a forest between vignales and Havana (Hotel Moke I think but not sure) which was also recommended by the guidebook.

Further West at Maria La Gorda you can do diving, snorkeling and the beaches are good. They will let you dive without showing any qualifications but the instructors are not exactly attentive so if you are a novice or haven’t been for a while try to befriend some of the other divers – they are likely to look after you better and give you a more comprehensive refresher on your equipment. (I met a lovely English couple who had just got engaged and were both expert divers, even braving the UK waters in dry suits).

You must book into a hotel here and it isn’t great but there are no casas. You need to book the hotel in advance but don’t worry if you don’t speak Spanish – in every hotel in every place there is an info desk with a helpful person who can ring ahead and book all your rooms for you. They can also book bus tickets, trips and excursions and casas. We booked our whole trip with a lovely woman in a hotel in Havana, which we weren’t even staying in.

East of Havana

Trinidad is really great. It has nearby beaches, fun nightlife, good market and a good place to explore the surrounding areas from on horse, by land rover or on foot. Featuring caves waterfalls and forests. You could easily do at least 3 days here. The girls from our casa adopted us and took us out dancing which was really fun and their food was very good here.

On the way there we drove through the Zapata peninsular (nature reserve) and the bay of pigs (where the US invaded). Cueva des pesces is a good place to break the trip for and hour or so.

I would avoid Varadero, which is like a resort complex with loads of hotels but no Cubans and no culture. Unless you just want to lie on a beach with a bunch of chavs for a week, but then you’d probably be better off going to Spain with cheaper flights.

Transport

We hired a car which gave us extra freedom but beware – the roadsigns (esp on junctions) are few and very far between - if at all, so you will have to resort to rusty navigating skills like counting railway bridges, petrol stations and other landmarks.

You can however reach most places on the bus easily – I think there are 2 main companies and the tourist people (in the hotels) will be able to give you timetables and book tickets for you.

Food is very mixed, a lot of the home cooking fresh fish and fruit is actually really good but be prepared to eat a lot of eggs for breakfast with ham and cheese and the obligatory rice and beans with everything.

There are other places like Santiago de Cuba (supposed to be good at festival time) and a highly recommended very relaxing coastal city in a rainforest on the far eastern end above guantanamo bay (I forget the name) which I didn’t get to but above are definitely the highlights or my trip.