What To Do And See On Your Cuba Holidays?
By Emma Lelliott
Something I often find myself getting asked from friends and
relatives who know my expertise in the island is what the
average Cuban holiday actually involves. This is a question I
simultaneously love and hate answering – I love it because it
gives me an opportunity to chat at length about a topic I love,
but I hate it because if they’ve asked that question it means
I’m going to be there for a while. You see, simply put, there is
no ‘average’ Cuban holiday, and everyone goes to the island for
different reasons and receives a unique experience in return.
The experience holiday makers get on their Cuba holidays can be
relaxed, cultural, exhausting or breathtaking – but never
forgettable.
For a start there’s the accommodation – your ‘average’ Cuba
holiday maker will first have to decide whether they want to
stay in the lap of luxury in a five star resort, or to opt for
the basic but more authentic experience of staying in a private
house with a local. Whichever style accommodation you opt for,
what you choose to with your days is the next point at which the
idea of a stereotypical Cuba holiday shatters: You could choose
to enjoy the breathtaking landscapes and charming caves at the
stunning Vinales Valley, enjoy the open roads and unexplored
areas of the island with a hire car (the roads are virtually
deserted, as evidenced by the dozens of hitch-hikers) or be that
little more active with some horse-riding or diving to discover
the wreckages of sunken ships!
Havana is an area I have already written articles about (and no
doubt bored those who have asked me to death with my desire to
share my enthusiasm) but it really does deserve a mention here
for the ample and varied opportunities it provides Cuba holiday
makers. Culture vultures will delight in the museums, while
music aficionados will be truly taken with the salsa clubs and
live jazz that is hard to miss in the city. The big city life
gives the capital a real energy, and with a population of around
2,000,000 it’s hard not to get caught up in the excitement of
the place, which at times feels an uneasy mix between modern
metropolis and 1950s throwback – part of the charm of the place
is its seeming fixation of classic cars that you just don’t find
(still working) anywhere else in the world! And escaping the big
city life is easy – the beautiful white sands of Havana’s beach
is just a 30 minute trip away from the town centre.
But a Cuba holiday isn’t just about Havana, and while it would
be very easy to spend your whole holiday there and feel you’d
taken in so much that you must have seen everything, the truth
is that you’d be majorly missing out.
Take Varadero for example – as Cuba’s biggest beach resort with
an impressive 12 mile long peninsula, this is the ideal spot for
those looking to experiment with water sports or diving on their
Cuba holidays. Then there’s Trinidad, which history buffs will
delight in: the quant village feels virtually unchanged in 300
years and as a result is positively steeped in history. Or for
more recent highlights in the island’s history, who could resist
a trip to Santiago de Cuba – cradle of the Cuban revolution and
nowadays a luxury spot for foreign visitors to the island?
There are hundreds of ways you could spend your Cuban holidays
and I’m really only scratching the surface. Spend your whole
time on one activity, or mix and match your hobbies to create a
unique Cuban adventure, one thing’s for sure: There’s no such
thing as a typical Cuban holiday.
About the Author: Emma Lelliott is the general manager of
Captivating Cuba
http://www.captivatingcuba.com, an
independent Cuban holiday specialist.
