Cuba info

Been to both
Cuba-went to the isalnd of Cayo Coco. Direct flight from MAN. Beautiful. Some of the best beaches and seas ive ever been to. Went as an AI with TUI.
We spoke to the reps about going to a local town over the causeway. Its called Moron. Like a small Havana. We travelled in an old 57 Chevy or similar. Very interesting. Will be looking at returning in the near future.
Egypt-Hashish- Hurghada. Beautiful AI hotel with a lovely private beach and great snorkelling/diving. This wasnt long after the Tunisia shootings so it was all a bit weird with security and metal detectors everywhere.
Sorry but cant remember the hotel names.
 
Can i also put in the mix, Porto Santo? Its a small island off Madiera. Direct flights with Tui. Its stunning and Ai. 2 sister hotels (Pestana and Columbus). You can use both.
Columbus is more modern and Pestana is traditional with bungalows or private villas with pools (Ronaldo part owns the resort with some other Portuguese players. Tiago was staying there when we were last there).
Short haul flight times with long haul experience when you get there.
 
RavsDad said:
Went in 2010. You would probably be in a foreign owned A.I and most are in Varadero. Excellent beaches and interesting things to do. A visit to Havana is a must. We did an overnight stay there offered by the tour company. Some parts (including the American cars) look almost frozen in time. Although it wasn't recommended by the rep we took a cab ride driven by a Bob Marley lookalike to Rick's Bar (iconic - look it up). The cab driver stayed around for our entire visit and took us back to the hotel. (Apparently one fare a day is sometimes enough for them - and it wasn't expensive). There's the 'Bay of Pigs' tour too which was interesting. We went in September and the weather was brilliant (no hurricane!) but take idustrial level mossie repellent for the night time!
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Almost exactly the same experience as me. I loved it. All inclusive included all premium spirits as well and was a far better experience than all inclusive I've had in Europe. The people were great, really friendly and never felt like they were after tips. They were just really nice people. Food in the restaurant was really good for an all inclusive. It didn't feel basic at all and even had things like lobster as main.

I went in February and weather was a bit mixed. The pool was really cold so hardly anyone in it but warm enough to sit out all day. Occasional rain but it's tropical so it happens.
 
ThatFragranceGuy said:
Star ratings of hotels is related to facilities that are available and outside of mainstream places I wouldn't put much stock in them and would read reviews form a couple of sources every time
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It amuses me when people tell you that
“It’s five star”
When they’ve booked with the likes of Tui

Usually that star rating is given by the people who own the property, funnily enough that’s usually Tui etc.

Five star = Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, Intercontinental, Taj etc.

Not that I’ve ever stayed in any of them like 😭🤣
 
GingerTravel said:
I haven't been, but a couple of weeks ago did some research on Cuba for a travel client, who ended up opting for Mauritius but I'll pass on what I learnt:

Looks like a fascinating country. Some really good hotels in Havana at a sensible price by European standards and the city definitely looks worth a few days - lot of energy and history. Lots of companies do a transfer to the resorts in Varadero in a 1950/60's American car which is an experience by itself.

Resorts in Varadero (about 2 hours from Havana by car) range from average to very good. By far the highest rated resorts however are either at Caya Coco or Caya Santa Maria which would need an additional flight. Here's an example I researched:

Meliá Buenavista - Cayo Santa María Cuba - Meliá Cuba Hotels

Meliá Buenavista All Inclusive The Level & Spa. New Meliá Hotel in Cayo Santa María, Cuba. A luxury All Inclusive beach and The Level resort for adults. All The Level hotel for couples, weddings, honeymoons, wellness and spa.
www.meliacuba.com

Melia is one of the few international chains there, another is Iberostar. Currently some black Friday sales on.

Some companies offer ridiculously cheap package deals.

Now the downsides:

Biggest one is that due to sanctions if you travel to Cuba, you won't be able to get an ESTA to the US and will have to apply for a visa instead. Definitely do some research on this if you plan to travel to the US afterwards. It is a little odd as several flights go to Cuba via the US.

Access is tricky, there were no direct flights to the UK at the time of the year (Feb) my clients were going. I don't think there are any the rest of the year but didn't check. There are some direct flights from Europe, e.g. Germany, Spain and Italy.

Hard to research pricing online as many of the big booking sites won't show Cuba prices due again to US authorities.

Do feel free to ask me some more questions if you have any!
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Thanks GT, somehow missed your post and very insightful. Appreciate the ups and downs you`ve mentioned and will take that onboard

(y)
 
RavsDad said:
Went in 2010. You would probably be in a foreign owned A.I and most are in Varadero. Excellent beaches and interesting things to do. A visit to Havana is a must. We did an overnight stay there offered by the tour company. Some parts (including the American cars) look almost frozen in time. Although it wasn't recommended by the rep we took a cab ride driven by a Bob Marley lookalike to Rick's Bar (iconic - look it up). The cab driver stayed around for our entire visit and took us back to the hotel. (Apparently one fare a day is sometimes enough for them - and it wasn't expensive). There's the 'Bay of Pigs' tour too which was interesting. We went in September and the weather was brilliant (no hurricane!) but take idustrial level mossie repellent for the night time!
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This. I can't really add any more from my trip there. A great summary. Except maybe if yiu do go to varadero leave the resort one day and walk into town. We got a niceittle meal at a roadside cafe. It felt very Latin America. Much less polished than the fancy resort restaurants
 
We went to Cuba for our honeymoon in 2013. It was brilliant. We stayed in Vardero but did various trips out and about. Havana is a must. We went with a 'friend' of a staff member at our hotel - a cash in hand job and involved changing cars. We feared death but turned out to be amazing! The guide stayed with us all day, spoke great English and had an encyclopedic knowledge of the city. We had our best pina colada at a service station where you added the rum yourself.

The beaches are incredible and the people are friendly, kind and desperate to talk and please.

We found the food to be good but not the same standard as a 5* hotel in Europe or Asia. We were also frustrated by the Canadian tourists ordering loads of food and then barely eating any of it; it seemed unfair when the majority of the country is poor and people struggle. We took loads of little toiletries and pens and pencils etc to give to hotel staff. At the time, they preferred items rather than money as tips. When we left, my wife gave the maid some of her heels and toiletries as a tip; she was over the moon!

Another tip would be to avoid ice in drinks and take some immodium.

We would go back in a heartbeat!
 
We did Cuba 6 years ago, spent 5 days in Havana then 9 in Valederos.
If I went again I would do a week in Havana and then a week in Mexico, I didn't particularly like Valerderos, beach was stunning but it all felt a bit false.
Havana was great, but very hot and humid. You could walk around without any problems.
Food wasn't the best very simple but cheap enough. You could get a decent meal in Sloppy Joe's but that felt very European and we didn't really want that although as it was one of the few bars that had aircon we would stay for a few beers.
The Malacon on an evening is a must. As is the Museum of the revolution even if its just for the Lemonade in the cafe on the ground floor which had the coldest aircon I have ever experienced.

Dont be shy the locals are very friendly and often just want to talk to improve their English.
Tourist are a way for the locals to get some extra money so be prepared for that.
In my opinion If you want a 5 star all inclusive beach holiday in the Caribbean area go to Cancun.
If you want to experience a vibrant city break Havana is top of my list.
 
If you are talking about the actor, he was fantastic in Men of Honor alongside Robert De Niro. If you are talking about the country, my mate went and said you couldn’t get tomatoes anywhere.

Hope that helps.
 
I would love to go to sample some freshly hand rolled Cuban cigars 😍. I occasionally treat myself to a hand rolled new world cigar but can't afford Cuban Cigars 😄.
 
Go to Cuba. We went years ago, it's just a unique place.

When we were there food was like @ThatFragranceGuy says. We knew what to expect though. Generally ok though, we liked it even if it was a touch bland.

Beautiful place, beautiful people, great history.

We did jungle tours, visited monuments, Havana, saw club Tropicana, Cigar plantations the lot. Would love to go back again.
 
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