Cuba-Any good??

Karlrove

Hey,thinking of heading to Cuba and maybe Mexico...Does anyone have any opinions on the country or any travel tips,how to book etc...any sort of opinion,advice or experiences welcome! Karl

ncmc

Hi Karlrove,

I have been to both Cuba and Mexico and if I had a choice of one to return to, I would definitely pick Cuba. We went there on our honeymoon and spent 9 nights in Varadero (beach resort) and 4 nights in Havana. To me it was the perfect mix of baech/relaxation and culture. The culture in Havana is amazing, it is a very poor city and you may be shocked by how decrepid it is in places, but the people have amazing spirit and you will literally see them dancing in the streets!

We were in Mexico in 2006 and while it was lovely, I would not care to return. We stayed in Cancun and in my opinion, we could have been in a any holiday resort in Spain, it was not worth the expense or the long flight in my opinion. To get any sense of the 'real Mexico', you had to go away from the resorts on tours etc, which really add to the expense of the holiday. Now don't get me wrong, once you get away from the high rises of Cancun, there is some stunning natural beauty and amazing historical sights. But for me, Cuba has a stronger culture which you see evn in the resorts.

I don't know what the best way to book it is, it is a few years since we were there, we went to Mexico with Budget, but I don't think they do it any more. A couple of practical things, June-November is rainy/hurricane season, we were in Mexico in July and Cuba in October and we were so lucky in that we had no rain at all, but it is a consideration. Aug-Sept tend to be the worst months for Hurricanes. Most of the hotels in the big resorts are All-inclusive which means all your food and most beverages (incl alcohol) are included in the price. This is a real money saver, but if you do go for this option, I would recommend that you leave the hotel and pay for a few meals, as you do go a bit stir crazy if you don't leave the hotel!

Mexico was better for food in my opinion and also had the edge for snorkelling/watersports as the 2nd largest coral reef in the world is here. But Cuba and especially Havana win hands down for me, as you get to experiance a totally different culture and way of life.

joker77

Hey

I spent a month in Cuba 3 years ago, and while I really enjoyed it and it was a worthwhile experience, it was also tough going at times.

I didn't do resort in Varadero thing - I just booked a flight, a couple of nights accomodation and then back-packed the rest. When I was there, the only way to stay in Varadero was to be part of a package holiday type thing, which I wasn't into and couldn't have got to while I was there even if I wanted to, although that may have changed. It's supposed to have the most beautiful beaches in Cuba, but I wasn't into the idea of the locals not being able to stay there and only being bussed in to work in the resorts.

The accomodation in Cuba is quite limited, it's basically a B&B type situation - they call it 'Casa Particulares', which are peoples homes. You stay there and if you like to pay an extra few dollars they'll feed you. Generally I found this very good, as the standard of food in Cuba is really bad - it wouldn't be known for it's cuisine, so it was better to eat what the family cooked you. However, not everyone speaks English, so having Spanish would definitely be a help.

In terms of getting around, as a tourist you'll be directed to the 'Tourist Bus'. Most locals couldn't afford it, it runs generally on time but they make you arrive a bit early. If you speak Spanish I read you can avail of the local transport, which is effectively sitting/standing in the back of a pickup truck.

I'm probably not painting a great picture here, so the good points - well I basically just went there to take a break, wanted to see what the country was like as you don't really hear much about it. I didn't really go there because of the whole Cuban revolution / Che Guevara thing, but I quickly started getting fascinated by it while I was there. I read a lot, and visited most of the historic sites, including a trek to Commendancia de la Plata - it was the outpost in the Sierra Maestro mountains where Castro + Che and their men hid out for 2 years after being initially beaten. They had a radio station up there which was broadcasting for a couple of years, which helped spread their message to the people so that when they launched their 2nd offensive, they had a lot more support and eventually overthrew the dictator. That was one of the highlights for me, and of course the usual sights in Havana.

So it depends what you want from your holiday, if it's the resort type thing then I've heard nothing but good reports from doing say 4 nights in Havana + a week or so in Varadero.