If you love cities full of history & culture, landscapes that will take your breath away, and clear turquoise water, then visiting Cuba is a must! My husband and I recently spent time exploring Cuba and felt excited about all it had to offer. 

We arrived in Cuba with only two nights of accommodation in Havana booked and a rough idea of where we wanted to go after that. You’ll meet so many beautiful locals while visiting Cuba who will be more than happy to help you with travel plans & share their opinions on where to go. It’s rare to find people while traveling who are so willing to book transport, tours, and accommodation for you and want nothing in return. 

Here is a rundown of where we visited and how we filled our days in this safe and colorful country. 

Havana:

We spent 4 nights in Havana, two at the beginning of our trip, and two at the end before we flew out. Our first two nights we stayed at Hostal Peregrino (35CUC per night) in their old town property. Old Havana was my favorite area, we could literally spend hours just walking the streets, admiring the architecture, street art, and soaking in the vibes of this historical city. 

Our last two nights in Havana we stayed in a gorgeous apartment in the Vedado area. The apartment is a fully self-contained, two-bedroom and one the Lonely Planet guide recommended, (inquiries Marta Vitorte, 537 832 6475, we paid 40CUC per night). It was on level 10 of a high rise building so the views of Havana were amazing. The area itself I wouldn’t overly recommend, it’s very much a residential area and there aren’t many restaurants and bars within walking distance. 

The nightlife in Old Havana was awesome, we’d just walk around following the music, going from bar to bar, enjoying live music, and a variety of cocktails. Two historic bars in Old Havana are Sloppy Joes and Floridita. Over the years these bars had served people like Hemingway and John Wayne. Famous names that have made these bars very popular with tourists visiting Cuba and have of course hiked up the prices. But I still think they’re worth checking out, even just for a couple of drinks. 

The top three things we did in Havana:

Hired a driver and his 1957 Buick to drive us around the city for an hour (cost 30CUC). We stopped at a lot of major landmarks around the city including Revolutionary Square. Who wouldn’t want to visit Cuba and not cruise around in a hot pink convertible? 

Walk along Havana’s Malećon sea drive, a 7km path that runs along the sea wall. Unfortunately, this was closed when we first arrived in Cuba, due to damage from Hurricane Irma but I was super pleased when we arrived back into Havana and it had re-opened. It’s a place where locals come to fish and meet up with friends. If your walking at high tided be careful of the waves that will crash right over onto the road. 

Cuba is a country that is so full of history, from the rich sugar cane era to Fidel and the revolution. I was so interested to know more. We did a 2.5-hour walking tour (but if we had the time, we could have spent hours more) around Havana. Our guide charged 20CUC per hour and had perfect English (his email address is [email protected], if you’re interested). There was a time in Cuba when you could’ve been punished for openly talking about Cuban politics. So I never felt right going around asking too many questions regarding the revolution or Fidel Castro. That’s why I loved this tour so much. He was happy to answer any questions and really wanted to share his country’s history. It’s all so interesting and there’s no better time to learn than while visiting Cuba.

Viñales:

This is such a beautiful part of Cuba, lush greenery and rocky mountains surround the town. The town itself wasn’t exactly what I pictured though. I thought Viñales would be more just small houses, spaced out along a dirt road, with a few shops and people only riding bikes or horses! Locals had said to us that Viñales isn’t the real Cube and I can see why. It’s a town that is now basically built on tourism. The main strip was really quite busy, filled with shops, restaurants, bars, a couple of banks, and tour agencies. There are literally hundreds of casas in town, so finding accommodation won’t be a problem. 

We stayed in a casa just off the main road (Villa El Niño 53 048 69 66 66, we paid 20CUC per night). The room had an ensuite and nice little patio area. The owners were so welcoming and kind enough to book us a walking tour and casa in Trinidad. 

The top two things we did in Viñales:

For close to 4 hours we did a walking tour (12CUC each) through the farm areas of Viñales, passing animals, locals farming, and many different fruit trees. We saw the most beautiful landscapes and it was great getting away from town and experiencing complete silence. Along the way we stopped at Casa Manolo, to see their famous organic cigars being hand-rolled. We visited the property that makes Guayabita del Pinar, a rum that’s made from a fruit grown in the area. The staff showed us the fruit trees, talked about the history of the rum, and offered tasters.

Our last stop was at Valle El Silencio. Here they produce coffee and have a small cafe. We were shown around the property and the process of the coffee being made. It was beautiful and they also have so many different fruit trees, I could have just picked fruit and eaten all day.

We had read in Lonely Planet about a hotel called La Ermita that’s located on top of a hill, so you’ll get wonderful views of the valley. It’s an easy walk from town, along one road and about 2km. You can pay to swim in their pool and there’s also a restaurant.

Viñales is a sweet little town with not much going on, it’s the location and landscape that attracts people. We spent two nights here but one night and one full day would have been perfect. We stayed the extra night because our transfer to Trinidad left early in the morning and we definitely wanted one full day. If you’re only visiting Cuba for a short time, it is possible to do a day trip from Havana. It’s about a 3-hour drive, one way though.

Trinidad:

Visiting Cuba wouldn’t be complete without Trinidad! This was my absolute favorite town and was a 7-hour drive from Viñales. A small town with so much charm, from the cobblestone streets to the colorful buildings. And the local kids who wanted to be in our photos & in return just wanted a piece of chewing gum.

We spent 3 nights at Casa Belkys y Juan Rafael (ph. 0141 994524, 25CUC per night). Our room was upstairs in their house & very comfortable. We had our own bathroom and patio area, the only negative thing was the air conditioning was so loud… so loud it was hard to sleep. But the massive breakfast Belkys served up for us each morning made up for it. 

Everything in town is within walking distance, take time to wander around and admire the architecture. As you’re walking down the street the windows you pass are literally directly into people’s lounge rooms. We passed one man’s house and he was selling orange cake from his front window, we brought a loaf for .50c, it was delicious. 

We’d spend each afternoon & night in Trinidad town and then went out exploring the area during the day.

The Top two things we did in Trinidad:

Belkys had called her friend and organized Scooter hire for us. It cost 25CUC per day and we had to leave 30CUC deposit. There was no need for an international license but they were very firm in saying we mustn’t take the scooter up to the mountain area, only the beach. We headed straight for Playa Ancon, which was 13km from town. The advice from Lonely Planet was to go via a town called La Boca. This route was slightly longer but we were driving along the coast a lot more.

Firstly we went all the way to the end of the road to Coco Bar, parking was 2CUC and beach chairs were 2CUC per person. We weren’t overly excited by this beach so decide to head back up the road to a smaller stretch of sand. We spent the day at Playa Maria Aguilar, this beach was really nice with crystal clear water & great snorkeling. There was a restaurant that had umbrellas and beach chairs available for customers. 

Day two we went up the mountains to find some waterfalls. We got a taxi off the street and agreed on 20CUC one way, it was about 40mins drive. The taxi went as far as he could and from then on we walked. The official entrance to Caburni Waterfall was about a 10min walk and it cost 10CUC to enter. I was so excited to reach the falls because it was such a hot day! The waterfall was beautiful and completely surrounded by jungle. Unfortunately, we arrived just as a large tour group did so it was very busy. But still, space for everyone to swim and climb right up next to the waterfall.

You need to be somewhat fit to do this walk, up and down rocky hills and along uneven paths. Take plenty of drinking water and wear good shoes. The walk and a 30min swim took us about 4 hours all up. Definitely worth going though, it was hard but I loved it.

Varadero:

When we arrived in Varadero the weather was rubbish, very overcast and lots of rain. Everything activity that interested us involved good weather, so we decided to only stay for one night and then head back to Havana a day early (yay for flexibility).

Varadero has a ‘hotel zone’ that’s lined with large, all-inclusive resorts but there are still plenty of options to stay in casas. We had booked this casa last minute and it was nothing special, it’s not even worth a mention. I love booking things last minute but in Varadero, if you want to book a hotel or casa on the beach I’d recommend booking this in advance. We arrived late afternoon Tuesday and ended up leaving at 4 pm the following day. Thank god the sun was shining bright Wednesday so the trip wasn’t a complete flop. We spent about three hours swimming and sunbaking on the famous 20km stretch of sand. With the sun shining the water was as beautiful as people had said. When I’m visiting Cuba again I would love to go back to Varadero, if the weather forecast is good!!

We stayed on Calle 43, this area had plenty of restaurants, markets and was only about a 15-minute walk to the bus stop. 

Experiencing the Cuban culture was certainly something special. I left having a lot of respect for this small island nation, that has fought hard to keep their country their own and their traditions alive. 

Visiting Cuba can be a little bit different compared with many other countries though! I’ve also put together a blog listing things you should know before you arrive. Click here if you’d like to read that.

Thanks for reading, 

Happy Travels