1950s American cars, colonial squares in beautiful decay, tobacco valleys and a twenty-kilometre beach. Unlike anywhere else in the Caribbean, and it asks more of you than its neighbours.
Shortages are real and affect restaurant menus, shop stock and sometimes fuel.
Internet is limited and slow. Card acceptance is patchy and US-issued cards don't work at all. Restaurant menus are aspirational rather than accurate. None of that is dangerous — it just needs a flexible frame of mind, and it's part of why the place feels the way it does. What you get in return is a country that hasn't been smoothed over for tourism: live son in a back room, a tobacco farmer rolling a cigar in his hand, and Havana at seven in the morning before anyone is up.
A capital, a valley, and a beach at the end.
UNESCO-listed, restored in patches around lived-in decay. Four colonial squares, and best explored on foot early in the morning.
A cliché, and wonderful. The seafront at sunset in an open Chevrolet. Agree the price before you get in.
Limestone mogotes rising from tobacco fields, ploughed with oxen. Two and a half hours west, and the loveliest part of Cuba.
Twenty kilometres of white sand on a peninsula, and the all-inclusive half of a Cuba trip. Two hours from Havana.
A colonial town of cobbled streets and pastel houses, UNESCO-listed and barely changed since the 1850s. Four hours south-east.
In a small venue, not a hotel show. Casa de la Música or a neighbourhood bar. This is what people come home talking about.
Havana, a beach, and the countryside between.
Inside the old city. Casas particulares in restored townhouses, walkable to everything.
1950s Havana — the Hotel Nacional, wide streets and where Habaneros actually live. Twenty minutes from the old town.
Twenty kilometres of sand, two hours east. Resort Cuba, and very separate from the rest of the country.
Casas in farming villages and colonial towns. The best of Cuba, and the least like a holiday.
November to April is dry and cooler. Summer is hot, wet and inside hurricane season.
December to March gives the best weather and the most visitors. November and April are quieter and nearly as good. May to October is hot and humid with afternoon rain, and hurricane season runs June to November — Cuba is directly in the belt. Prices are much lower and the risk is genuine.
9h 30m direct to Havana (HAV) or Varadero (VRA).
A tourist card, which we arrange with the booking. Health insurance is also mandatory and usually included in the airfare.
Bring cash in euros or sterling. Card acceptance is patchy; US-issued cards do not work at all.
Private driver or a Viazul coach between cities. Hire cars exist and fuel supply can be unreliable.
We'll build Havana, the countryside and a beach, sort the tourist card, and write the payment plan out in full.
Not dangerous, and not seamless. Shortages, slow internet and cash-only. Go with a flexible mindset and it's one of the most rewarding trips in the region.
A good casa beats a mid-range hotel on food, warmth and reliability, and costs a fraction. We book the good ones.
Varadero is two hours from Havana and does exactly that. Or pair Cuba with Cancún — two hours by air and utterly different.
Bring cash in euros or sterling. Do not rely on cards, and US-issued cards will not work anywhere.
Flights, accommodation and transfers as one package. Every one can be reshaped — different dates, different board, a different airport, or a stopover on the way.
Guide prices, per person, based on two sharing, including return flights, accommodation and transfers. They indicate what a holiday of this type has typically cost and are not an offer or a quotation. Your price depends on dates, party, board basis, departure airport and availability, and is confirmed in writing before any payment is taken.
Ready-built itineraries with flights, transfers and internal hops booked as one package, ATOL protected. Every one can be reshaped around your dates.
15 nights · Dec–Apr · from £2,399pp
13 nights · Nov–Apr · from £2,149pp
13 nights · Apr–May, Oct–Nov · from £2,299pp
12 nights · Apr–May, Sep–Oct · from £2,399pp
11 nights · Nov–Apr · from £2,199pp
