Following their personal review on Cuba (see Destination Review: CUBA), Your Travel Planner members, Elizabeth Clark and Martyn Calder, give us their Top 10 Tips for this fascinating country.
- Take cash (sterling or euros) or traveller’s cheques. ATMs are rare and credit cards not widely accepted. Dollars and American Express are not welcome! You can change money at the airport, on arrival or at exchanges in major hotels. Rates are pretty consistent everywhere.
- Make sure your holiday arrangements get you off the tourist track to find the real Cuba. You won’t learn much about Cuba in a hotel by the beach.
- Take wrapped soap or pens or other minor luxuries. In a country with few consumer goods, these are hugely welcome. In Old Havana, schools are squeezed between bars and museums and you’ll have no difficulty in finding a home for your gifts.
- By the same token, make sure you have all the toiletries you need. Everyday items such as conditioner and tampons can be elusive.
- Learn the difference quickly between Cuban Peso and Convertible Peso notes (the latter have pictures of monuments on them). There are 25 Cubans to the Convertible so it’s important. You’ll almost always deal in the latter.
- Acquire a good supply of small change and hold on to it. As in many European countries, a coin for the toilet superintendent is customary, and tipping generally is expected.
- Take a bottle of soy sauce or your favourite seasoning. The food can be a little bland - not always, but enough to warrant thinking about.
- Although generally a warm climate, Havana can sometimes be chilly. Take a fleece. For Cubans, air-conditioning only has one setting - max!
- Don’t expect a shopping cornucopia. If your friends and relatives don’t like rum or cigars, best to moderate their holiday gift expectations before you go.
- Vegetarianism is not a widely embraced concept - be prepared for a lot of omelette.
Filed under: Destinations, South & Central America, Travel Tips | Cuba, Travel Tips|No Comments
Personal review from
Your Travel Planner members,
Elizabeth Clark and
Martyn Calder.
Elizabeth is a wonderful Colour Psychologist from Colourworks Consulting (www.colourworksconsulting.com).
January 2010
Cuba - land of cigars, rum, sugar, and Fidel. “Go before it changes,” we thought.
Cuban Flags for Sale
Since the collapse of communism, Cuba has started to open up and receive the financial benefits available from tourists from the West - UK, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Canada. But not - of course - the United States; it is apparently still illegal in the States for US citizens to have financial dealings with Cuba, and tourism falls in this net.
It sometimes seems as if Cuba defines itself by its opposition to the United States - the victories of the Revolution and the Bay of Pigs may be well known; a celebrated baseball triumph may have passed non-baseball-loving Brits right by.
Our 1955 Bel-Air at Plaza de la Revolucion
Reminders of Cuba’s long and complicated relationship with the United States remain very visible on the streets of Havana: the Chevrolets, Oldsmobiles, Buicks, Chryslers, and Pontiacs that still form a significant proportion of the city’s automobile population. Their continued functioning is a tribute to the ingenuity of Cuban mechanics, particularly as they are apparently now often fitted with Lada or Toyota engines. Our morning’s tour of the city in a 1955 Chevrolet Bel-Air Convertible was a real high spot.
Havana
Havana - at least Havana Vieja (Old Havana) - is a beautiful city to wander around. The imposing Fort of El Morro dominates the entrance to the harbour which defines the city. The narrow streets are virtually vehicle free (not many Cubans have cars) and there has been a huge effort in recent years by the City authorities to restore the crumbling buildings. Beautiful newly-painted architectural gems juxtapose crumbling ruins which have been split into multiple occupation. Housing remains a pressing need in Cuba.
Plaza Vieja in Old Havana
Our wanderings took us, between stops in numerous street cafes, to the City Museum, the Rum Museum, the Automobile Museum, the Chocolate Museum (oh yes!), and the Museum of the Revolution. The Revolution has, of course, had a bad press in much of the West, but Batista was a desperately bad dictator, and American Mafia money was all over Havana and the then Cuban government.
The Revolution brought education and healthcare, but fifty years on the economy still struggles. Is this because of the US blockade, or is it a structural weakness of the communist system? Certainly most people are poor; a teacher may earn the equivalent of £10-15 a month, and many families struggle to augment a modest diet obtained by ration cards from sparse state-owned shops. Yet anyone in a tourist-related business might make that in tips on a good day. The divide is emphasised by there being two currencies: Cuban Pesos for most people, and Convertible Pesos for tourists and luxury shops.
Exploring Cuba
In the fields
Towards the western end of Cuba is Vinales - farming country. Here we wandered among the tobacco, pineapple, and corn fields where farmers - often with cigar in mouth - still sow by hand. Agricultural machinery is rare, and usually ancient. Tobacco leaf hangs in drying sheds, waiting to be rolled into those famous cigars.
Heading south from Havana we travelled on near-empty roads. Transport and fuel is short, and the government employs yellow-clad wardens at busy junctions to ensure that privately-owned (an ambiguous term in Cuba) cars take on less fortunate passengers - a very imaginative and eco-friendly solution.
Trinidad de Cuba is a UNESCO World Heritage site. A major centre for trade and piracy in the 1700-1800s, not much has changed in the city centre and it would make a wonderful set for Pirates of the Caribbean. We wandered around the cobbled streets and found a thriving craft market - the nearest thing to a private shopping centre we found in Cuba. Now a little way from the town, the beach was a vision of white sand and blue sea with, as is often in Cuba, very limited facilities.
Plaza Mayor in Trinidad de Cuba
Heading back north (and Cuba is much bigger than you think) we came to Santa Clara, site of one of the pivotal battles of the Revolution when Che Guevara led an attack on a government armoured train. The train’s skewed carriages now provide an imaginative museum. Also here is Che Guevara’s mausoleum - a haunting place - and museum. Che is an icon in Cuba, and his image appears everywhere, much more so than Fidel’s.
A Real Gem
Visiting Cuba is a chance to see a society which, though in many ways familiar to us with its Spanish history and art deco development, has also been isolated from mainstream western culture for half a century. There is no McDonalds, no KFC, no Starbucks, and no Coca-Cola, and that alone is worth the trip!
Havana is a real gem, music is everwhere, there is beautiful scenery, and the Cubans are very friendly. It is not, however, a cheap destination and quality and service are not watchwords; food can be unimaginative and mid-range hotels may offer only fading grandeur.
Cuba is now at a crossroads as Fidel hands over the reins. What will it be like in a decade or two? Who knows - best go now and beat the rush!
Thank you to Elizabeth and Martyn for sharing their fascinating travel experience in Cuba. If you have a travel experience to share with Your Travel Planner readers, please do contact me at Go2 Holiday Research. We’d love to hear from you!
Filed under: Destinations, Reviews: Hotels, Places to Eat, Destinations, South & Central America | Cuba, Havana|1 Comment
This week’s special fare from Virgin Atlantic (as part of their 25th birthday promotions) is London to Havana, return from £425.
The terms are:
- Applies to departure dates of 13 May 09 - 21 Jun 09 and 1 Sept - 28 Oct 09
- Includes all taxes, fees and surcharges
- Additional credit card charges and weekend travel supplements apply
- Book from 7 May to 10pm on 13 May 09
It’s a shame that the travel period for the offer is in the rainy season (May to October); the wettest months are May and June. It’s also the hurricane season, but apparently, most hurricanes strike between August and October.
However, if this doesn’t bother you, the good news is that summer temperatures in Cuba average around 81°F (27°C) with humidity at about 80 percent. Visit Virgin Atlantic’s website for more details and more news of their weekly offers.
Filed under: Destinations, South & Central America, Travel News | Cuba, Havana, Virgin Atlantic Offer of the Week|No Comments
Virgin Atlantic are now into their 6th week of special fares (as part of their 25th birthday promotions).
This week the offer is London to the CARIBBEAN (Barbados, Antigua, St Lucia) return from £599.
The terms are:
- Applies to departure dates of 19 Jul 09 - 16 Aug (St Lucia from 17 Jul 09 - 16 Aug)
- Includes all taxes, fees and surcharges
- Additional credit card charges and weekend travel supplements apply
- Book from 2 April to 10pm on 8 April 09
Visit their website for more details and more news of their weekly offers.
Filed under: Destinations, South & Central America | Virgin Atlantic Offer of the Week|No Comments
I visited the Destinations Holiday and Travel Show in London last week and told YTP Email Club members that I would share some of the travel ideas that had inspired me at the show.
Destinations is the UK’s largest consumer travel show. It’s a great place to get ideas or even book your next trip and I came away with so many ideas, not only for my own travel this year, but also to help clients plan and book their holiday.
I’d like to share my top 3 with Your Travel Planner over the next few days and the first holiday destination idea is:
Belize
I really enjoyed the talk on Belize at the show and was really struck by the diversity this country has to offer:
- Belize has the beautiful Caribbean Sea as its coastline on the East and has the second largest barrier reef in the world. So sea-based activities such as diving, snorkeling, sailing and fishing are very popular.
- If your interest is nature and wildlife, the rainforest is home to more than 600 identified species of birds, and there are many national parks and wildlife sanctuaries including the Jaguar Preserve.
- Belize shares a rich Maya heritage with its neighbouring countries of Guatemala, Mexico, and Honduras. It is considered to have been the heart of ancient Maya civilization and many archaeological sites are open to for public viewing.
- Belize is a country of diverse cultures, languages, and ethnic groups including Creole, Garifuna, Mestizo, Spanish, Maya, English, Mennonite, Lebanese, Chinese, and East Indian. English remains the most common language spoken followed closely by Creole, but Spanish is becoming more widely spoken.
Belize is a 2 hour flight from the US and getting there from the UK does involve an overnight stay because of the connections. In terms of safety, the travel advice on Belize from the UK Foreign Office website says, “Around 10,225 British Tourists visited Belize in 2007 (Source: Belize Tourist Board). Most visits to Belize are trouble-free. However, you should be on your guard and exercise caution, as there have been occasional violent incidents against tourists.”
Want to find out more? See the official website of the Belize Tourism Board: http://www.travelbelize.org. If you like what you see, please feel free to contact me to research and plan your holiday to Belize.
Filed under: Destinations, South & Central America | Belize, holiday destination ideas, Your Travel Planner|2 Comments
