Cuba - what to do in Havana

[gavsw20]

Am sure there was a post on this last year but 'search' is bringing up nothing.

I'm off to Cuba on Monday with 3 days / nights in Havana (The Saratoga) and 9 days in Varadero (all inclusive).

Couple of questions please re Havana:
- What would people recommend seeing in the few days we have there please? Car museum, the fort etc... or should we just walk around with no real plan 'Venice' style ?
- What currency should I take?
- What are tourists paying there for beer / bottle of wine please?
- Any recommendations on some cool bars / restaurants?
- I'm not a smoker but fancy trying a cigar or two - any recommendations please?

Have looked on TripAdvisor but always good to get info from trusted sources.

Am really looking forward to the place as it looks so different to anywhere else on the planet, I just hope its not too touristy with people falling over each other.

Thanks.

[bambam]

We went on a similar trip a few years ago. Different hotels but same locations and timings.

In Havana, the stuff that we found was fun was:

- Trip in a vintage American car - you can get to see quite a lot on one of those
- Trip in a horse drawn carriage (we actually did this as the kids were tired, but it was a lot of fun)
- There are loads of bars - there are some streets around the centre that have loads. There was one we stopped at on the horse drawn carriage ride that was fun - can't recall the name, but it was to do with rum and jazz/blues.
- There's a great ice cream parlour that's worth a visit - will dig out the name for you if you like
- The cigar factory was closed for work when we went, but the shop attached to it was open and definitely worth a look. That's the kind of place to buy the cigars, not the stalls or the gas on the street.
- We had dinner one eve at one of those restaurants that used to be a home, overlooking the sea and that was wonderful. Again, there are loads to choose from. We sat out on the balcony and watched the sun go down - really lovely.
- Floridita - the place that Hemingway used to drink - well worth a visit.

We did quite a lot of wondering around as well...

Have fun as its a lovely place.

[Carlton-Browne]

Paging Mr Curta. Could Mr Curta please come to the courtesy phone.

[dougair]

Loads to see El Floridita for a daiquiri with Hemingway, the Havana Club tour, the old town. The promenade, the Hotel Nacionale, ride in an ‘authentic’ 50’s Chevy taxi...maybe a Cigar factory tour.

Loads to do.

[Middo]

Adding to the above.

Walk down the malecon.
Find a vibrant club for bit of Regaeton.
Food at a local family pension.
Vintage car tour of the city (check it has a V8 and not some oil burner fitted).
Listen to the local talking baseball and trading cards.
la bodeguita del medio - Mojito
Walk around the city and take in the atmos,- rationing and the real Havana.
Visit one of the gardens/parks and have an ice cream.

[HenPecked]

If you're in the market, visit the Cuervo Y Sobrinos boutique. I was very well treated, despite not actually buying anything!

[thegoat]

If you can get on a walking tour at this late notice, I couldn’t recommend it enough. A great way to take in a lot of the city at your own pace .
The restaurant in the Saratoga has ( or at least did have) a cigar menu with plenty of choice and help. The hotel is in a great spot in central Havana .
As mentioned, a horse drawn carriage is quite cool. They will hang around outside the entrance .

One word of caution though. We stored our luggage in the Saratoga before our flight and my wife had a few things pilfered from her suitcase. We didn’t realise until we’d returned home. Other than this minor hiccup, it’s a place I’d heartily recommend .

[David_D]

- I'm not a smoker but fancy trying a cigar or two - any recommendations please?

Cuban cigar link here:

https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...gars-from-Cuba

Enjoy!

[Wolfie]

Have a Mojito on the terrace bar at the Hotel Ingleterra next to the Capitolio…

Hire a car and drive to Trinidad and stay in a Pousada…. You go can go via Santa Clara and see the big monument to Che…

I had the 2nd trip as two French girls I met as young man at the Havana Libre asked me after a couple of rums to go away with them the next day as they weren’t confident driving…. Who was I to say no?

[David_D]

I had the 2nd trip as two French girls I met as young man at the Havana Libre asked me after a couple of rums to go away with them the next day as they weren’t confident driving…. Who was I to say no?

You mean the photo in your profile is actually you?!

[Casper]

I went Santiago de Cuba + Havana in 1997. Probably all changed now but I remember the American classic cars and the Soviet Embassy - one of the most intimidating buildings I have seen

[dougair]

It’s a bit of a shame you’re spending so much time in Varedero, there’s nothing much there and the island has so many gems worth visiting and exploring. Amazing country and people.

[Mr Curta]

Paging Mr Curta. Could Mr Curta please come to the courtesy phone.

I have withdrawn from a late night liaison on the railway tracks of Hoan Kiem in order to respond to the call.

To the OP, there is much in these two threads:

https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.php?343212-Havana

https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...ny-Tips-please!

M

[Wolfie]

You mean the photo in your profile is actually you?!

I can neither confirm or deny whether my profile pic is my true likeness…. I’m such a tease!

[Alpha4]

I have withdrawn from a late night liaison on the railway tracks of Hoan Kiem in order to respond to the call.
M

Shunting?

[Mr Curta]

[HenPecked]

I spent my 30th Birthday in Havana a couple of years ago - just before the embargo was lifted. It went something like:

Wake up in the Casa Particular - basically a posh bed & breakfast in a suburban neighbourhood. Breakfast of fresh fruit, eggs laid by the hens from the garden, toast, and the worst sausage I have ever tasted in my entire life. Mimosas.

Walking guide arrives in '57 Chevy, with driver: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B15m5F9BKvM

Takes us to the Hotel Ambos Mundos - one of Hemingway's haunts - where they open the rooftop bar early so we can have Mojitos and look out over the city, planning our route for the day.

We leave, and walk through the city streets to the Castillo De La Real Fuerza. A much better preserved Castle than Morro, across the bay. We employ one of the many, many guides for about $5USD who takes us on a personal guided tour of the facility. Our walking guide is off to a cafe in the square opposite to bag us a good table.

Once done with the Castle (definitely worthwhile) we had a coffee and brandy in the square. A mariachi band playing "Guantanamera" won't stop following us around. We then walk up towards the Museo de la Revolucion, past La Bodeguita Del Medio, where we scrawl our names on a blank spot of the wall while having another mojito, mariachi band still in tow.

The Museum is fantastic - an entirely one sided account of the revolution, and some interesting hardware on display. Definitely do this as well. The band is waiting for us outside.

We have lunch at what our guide promises is the best restaurant in town. The food has improved massively since the US trade embargo was lifted, but back then it was horrific. Cheap, though. As we leave the restaurant, I decide to pay the band off to leave us alone. They play Happy Birthday to me, take my $20, and disappear. Our guide is now wetting herself. Yep, while we were in the Castle, she paid them to follow us around.

After lunch, we take an afternoon mojito at La Floridita, then the Monserrate. By the time our car arrives to take us to Cuervo y Sobrinos, I'm intent on maxing out the credit card. Luckily, the chaps who look after us there give me some options, then tell me to leave and have a think about it. When I tell them I'm flying to the Cayman Islands in a couple of days, they tell me to wait until then - they're much cheaper there. They do ply me with cigars and strong coffee, and love looking at the present my wife had got me - a 1912 Omega pocket watch - as well as the birth year Seamaster on my wrist. Our guide works at the Partagas factory when she's not guiding tourists, so knows her cigars. She tells me the cigar they gave me retails for around $30-40 elsewhere in the Caribbean.

From there we go to the Havana Club distillery - at that point having only just moved into their new building. Then sample some even better rums in the Dos Hermanos next door. A quick trek over to the art market in the old customs building at the harbour, where I buy some amazing photos, and a decent little humidor. Our Chevy then drops us at the Hotel Nacional, our guide goes home, and we watch the sunset from the terrace with a massive cigar and an obscene quantity of rum.

Dinner in the main restaurant at the hotel is not quite as good as lunch was. My wife's pasta appears to have been cooked for about an hour and a half. After dinner we walk down to a jazz club. More cigars. More rum. The local "Tukola" appears to have exactly the same sugar balance as Havana Club 8 year old, so you can have 90% rum and a top of cola. Some locals find out it's my birthday, and buy us drinks. We reciprocate, and they take us on a tour of local bars. Everyone is super friendly. There's an element of them wanting money, but nothing too scary. Our Chevy picks us up to return to the Casa Particular at about 1am.

TL;DR: Havana is awesome.

[Middo]

If staying in Varedero I can recommend staying at Casa de Cosmonaughtas. Its a refurbished facility on the beach that was used for Russian cosmonauts post mission on R&R.

[nunya]

Smoke cigars
Drink Rum
Go salsa dancing with a nubile native.
Repeat

[size11s]

I was in Cuba in 2001, wonderful place if a little hardcore at times. My advice would be to spend a couple of days in Havana, then hire a car and set off discovering the rest of the island. As mentioned earlier Trinidad is (was) a great town, there was a festival on when we were there, quite wild and great fun. The small islands off the north coast are good for a luxury rest if the journey is getting tiring. The food then was pretty poor involving a lot of refried beans, we were friendly and chatty with locals and managed to get invited (our suggestion and we paid generously) to eat in homes with families which was much better. Allow time for another couple of days in Havana before you fly back out as the cuban education you get whilst touring will mean you get a lot more from the incredible city of Havana.

Of course the wider country could have changed now as well as Havana.

[gavsw20]

Some great advice here thanks. Will spend the weekend planning what we do and then we’re off first-thing Monday.

Not a big fan of rum so will stickthe the Mojitos I reckon, sure I can be swayed though!

Some awesome photos in that thread too, thanks. The other half is a snapper so sure I’ll spend most of the holiday talking to myself.

[Mr Curta]

Some great advice here thanks. Will spend the weekend planning what we do and then we’re off first-thing Monday.

Not a big fan of rum so will stickthe the Mojitos I reckon, sure I can be swayed though!

Some awesome photos in that thread too, thanks. The other half is a snapper so sure I’ll spend most of the holiday talking to myself.

Many of my photographs were taken in and around the unrestored Vedado district, away from the old town tourist trail. It's a bit dilapidated in parts but that gives it the charm and I've encountered very friendly locals. You would be looking at a 6-10 CUC taxi ride from the old town, possibly pushing 15 CUC in an old Chevy convertible. To return, taxis hang out outside the Hotel Melia Cohiba. In that neck of the woods you can easily walk to Plaza de la Revolucion, John Lennon Park (check out the Yellow Submarine bar), Parque Victor Hugo, skate park, the astonishingly ghastly but strangely compelling Giron building and many other interesting spots. My favourite little watering hole is Café Bohemio, right on the Malecon at the end of Calle C and El Tablazo around the corner from Bohemio is good for a bite to eat. The Malecon opposite the Melia Cohiba turns into an impromptu party in the evenings.

Install the maps.me app onto a smartphone and download the Cuba map before you go. It is an offline map (no roaming in Cuba) that is accurate and packed with points of interest. With GPS turned on it can be used for routing and I've found it a godsend. Most Cubans in the tourist industry have a smattering of English and will be happy to assist with directions.

Don't drink the tap water. Bottled water is readily available but stock up when you get a chance. Most restaurants, bars, cafes, petrol stations, etc. will sell you a bottle to take away. Cocktails will come with ice, I've not been ill yet despite drinking a great number of Mojitos on the terrace of Bohemio. Soft drinks tend to come in a can with a glass of ice separately that you can dispose of.

A westerner nipping into a hotel for a comfort break is unlikely to be challenged, and restaurants and museums tend to have acceptable facilities. You 'd probably be expected to buy a drink in a cafe or restaurant but it's still a cheap pee. Facilities can have limited plumbing so some hand gel is a good idea!

Taking basic precautionary medicines along is a good idea. Healthcare is good should the worst happen, and obviously you will be travelling insured. Don't forget to check out the latest FCO travel advice. https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/cuba

If you like seafood, Cuba has some of the best, freshest and most affordable anywhere. Other things can be hit and miss, it's not unusual to find half a menu unavailable on a particular day. Prices are far more reasonable in Vedado than the Old Town. 'Mas Habana' is a nice place for a bite to eat in the Old Town but there are many options.

The Camera Obscura on Plaza Vieja is often overlooked but worth half an hour for an unusual overhead view of the city.

Learning a bit of Spanish will make your visit more rewarding. Even though there is a fair amount of English spoken in the touristy areas there's not so much elsewhere and the locals will love you for having a go. Bilingual menus can be hit and miss with some very entertaining attempts at English translations.

M

[stormy]

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[lewismark]

[IMG][/IMG]
If you get the chance go to Vinales, it's a couple of hours drive from Havana by which time you should have got used to bouncing up and down on the bed springs they use as shock absorbers over there. Great place and great people.

[gavsw20]

Been for a quick walk for half an hour, the place is amazing and we love it already.

Only setback was the Air France flight was delayed by over three hours so we got in really late. Was in the lounge and flying BC so not the end of the world, plus we can both claim back €600 :)

The adventures start today...the cars are epic.

[Shane]

Matthew (Mr Curta) - please could you release some space in your Inbox.

Just about to reply to you regarding Havana

Thanks (and sorry for derailing the thread)

[Mr Curta]

Matthew (Mr Curta) - please could you release some space in your Inbox.

Just about to reply to you regarding Havana

Thanks (and sorry for derailing the thread)

Sorry about that, it fills up so quickly! There's some space now. Hope you didn't lose your draft.

Cheers, Matthew

[Shane]

Thanks Matthew - it's ok, I had a copy in an email just in case!

Sorry about that, it fills up so quickly! There's some space now. Hope you didn't lose your draft.

Cheers, Matthew