Why
Travel to Cuba?
The
Caribbean's most interesting island has great beaches, watersports
and no shortage of steaming sun - just like the rest of those tropical
islands, but Cuba also encompasses gorgeously decaying colonial
towns and ancient American cars, a wild and varied music
scene enjoyed by all local people too, a fascinating history, friendly
people and it's good value.
Downside:
- Good, tasty food is not found on every street corner.
- You'll know where every casual conversation - and there'll be
plenty of it - is going.... Cigars! Paladares! Ladies!
- There's an edgy undercurrent of potential violence around, which
occasionally results in robbery, so care is required outside posh
hotels and beach resorts. See Travel
Safety Driving for a reality check.
- Standards are low, so beware the rental car with only 3 nuts per
wheel [e.g.Transauto], or the salmonella salad. See Travel
Health.
- Driving should be a pleasure but the almost total absence of signposts
makes things difficult, even if you speak Spanish.
Cuba
Travel Guide, climate:
Best:
Nov-April
Worst: July, Aug [frequent thunder storms, extreme heat & humidity]
OK: May-Oct, [still rains, heat, humidity and storms, but not so
bad]
Length
of stay:
Minimum worthwhile stay, not incl. flights:
1 week for some city culture, some beach life.
Pleasant: 2 weeks, travelling around key towns [incl. a flight to
Santiago] and having a beach ball.
Cuba's
main attractions:
***Havana, a large and endlessly interesting, dilapidated
old city, full of bizarre vehicles, beautiful buildings, chatty
people and a wild nightlife. Somewhere between Barcelona and Rangoon
in the style charts.
***Trinidad, a charming and well preserved
small town with a centre of cobbled streets and cute pastel houses
with tall, barred windows. Lots of live music.
***Santiago [de Cuba] has almost all
Havana's assets, plus a lovely valley setting, some of the country's
oldest palaces and museums, some fine, frilly architecture, and
less street hassle than the capital. But it's a flight from Havana.
**Viñales [near Pinar del Rio],
this quiet region is one of the country's prettiest, with flat agricultural
land disturbed only by the sudden sprouting of hills [karsts - like
SW China, but less so]. Great for hiking and horse riding, there
are a couple of ranch/hotels around the tiny town. Beware mosquito
overload.
*** Varadero beach, a dull town with
few restaurants/bars since most hotels are all-inclusive, but the
beach is huge and clean, the water's warm and the monster hotels
are comfortable, efficient and good value, though mostly packaged
people.
**Guadalavaca beach. Excellent beach,
but very package tour oriented.
**Maria La Gorda beach. A superb beach,
especially for divers, but far from anywhere.
*Sancti Spiritus, Cienfuegos, Santa Clara et alia. Classic Mexican-style towns with colonnaded central plaza
and scattered pleasant colonial buildings. No big deal.
Bay of Pigs [ Playa Larga, Playa Giron],
grubby and uninteresting.
Ancon beach/peninsula [south coast,
near Trinidad], a small and unnattractive beach with sad hotels
and happy sand flies.
Cuba
Activities Guide:
Cycling on some lovely, little used
roads, tho' smoky trucks can get up your nose. It's especially pretty
around Trinidad, Pinar del Rio, Santiago.
Hikers can find lots of excellent routes,
but most are ill-marked and mapless. The most challenging is 3 days
over the Sierra Maestra mountain range. Attractive walks around
Trinidad, Pinar del Rio, Santiago.
Horse riding is widely available.
Golf offers only two courses, at Havana
and Varadero.
Watersports. Scuba is everywhere with
many superb dives; south coasts are calmer in winter, north in summer.
Rental equipment may be in poor state.
Snorkelling is often good too, tho'
Varadero has nothing to offer in this area.
Surfing is OK from Nov-April on the
NE coast, but bring your own board.
Windsurf boards are available for rent at all big beaches, at a
hefty price.
Fishing. Big game fishing was made
famous by Hemingway and is excellent along the NW coast, including
around Havana.
Festivals:
end Feb, Havana Carnival, normally lively, the city goes extra wild
during February weekends.
Feb every 2 years, Havana International Jazz Festival.
April, Varadero Electro-acoustic Music Festival.
end June, Trinidad, Fiestas Sanjuaneras.
end July/begin August, Santiago Carnival.
Oct, Havana Festival of Contemporary Music.
For
some precise dates, more suggestions and information see: Exotic
Festivals
Accommodation
advice:
Like restaurants/paladares, hotels have their private equivalent
- the Casa Particular [private house]. These fill the gap between
sleeping in a doorway and a 5* hotel in some places, so are vital
for low budget travel. For $20 you'll get a private room with aircon
and en-suite shower. Some are cheaper. Meals are extra.
Positive points: relatively good value; give you a look at [well-off]
real home life and a good chance to get to know the people better.
Negative points: no rooms with a view; a hassle to find; maybe noisy/uncomfortable
bed/ mosquitoes/ erratic power supply.
Money:
$ are not accepted in cash or travellers cheques, nor will most
banks or hotels take popular American credit cards such as Citibank
or Amex.
Furthermore ATMs are not very reliable and charges are very high
[about 13%]. So...Americans need to get alternative currency, preferably
cash.
Sterling £ or €uros are OK, but will need to be changed
for CUC [Convertible Pesos = nearly $1]. The country also uses the
Cuban Peso which is much less valuable and you may receive some
in change. Take care not to be ripped off when changing money.
Use of local pesos is a pain but the times are a-changing and you
will have to too.
Put most of the cash in a sealed/taped envelope or small locked
bag and leave it in the hotel safe. A non-US credit card is useful
to have as back-up.
Cuisine
information:
Local cuisine has come a long way recently and good food and ice-cream
is frequently available - mostly from private restaurants called
'Paladares'. They are sometimes a hassle to find [use a pedal taxi]
- and won't exist in beach resorts - but serve great homecooking
at half the price of the generally poor State establishments.
Officially Paladares are not allowed to serve seafood [to protect
the State places], but often discreetly provide
superb lobster.
Warning: black beans 'n' rice can get tiresome, and even expensive
hotel breakfast buffets are a disaster.
Shopping:
The best souvenirs are Ché T-shirts that come in a hundred
styles. But why no Fidel shirts?
Cigars will be offered to you on every street corner, while original
art works can be sensational and good value, tho' you might require
an export permit. Check with the artist before you lose it at the
airport.
Items made from shells, coral and animals are both immoral and illegal,
so avoid them.
Otherwise shop goods are poor quality and souvenirs no better.
Tipping
advice:
Officially not on, but most people working in the service sector
expect something from foreigners these days...and their wages are
pathetic - $15 pm if they're lucky. So don't be mean.
However, DON'T give money [or goods] away for nothing unless you
wish to create or perpetuate a begging culture. [e.g. $ 'for milk
for my children' is a commonly aimed plea at women travellers].
Cubans usually expect a tip in return for a photo now - due to overgenerous
previous snappers.
Hint:
Learn a little Spanish! No es difficile, hombre.
Cuba Links | Cuba Tours |
