- Havana
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Cuba
Stationed outside the Capitol building in Havana you'll find some brilliantly restored convertible Cadillacs. These are available for one-hour tours for about 30 CUC. Not cheap by Cuban standards but, once you've seen them, you may just not be able to resist.
Barcelona, Havana, Cuba
+53 7 8637861
Google map: bit.ly/x1b8HR
If you're three people or more using a taxi to travel between towns is actually slightly cheaper than the Viazul bus. Find yourself a vintage Cadillac and travel like Elvis!
Once you've booked your first casa particular you enter an unofficial chain where the owners of your present casa will offer to book your next one and arrange for you to be picked up at your point of arrival. We were gently bounced from one casa to the other up and down Cuba. Of course they're taking a cut but it does make things easier for you.
Do get yourself some pesos and buy food from the stalls/windows. It's delicious (freshly made egg tortillas, oyster cocktails, flan pudding hot from the tin), ridiculously cheap and completely safe - food hygiene is fanatically enforced. Also, it's a lovely change from the endlessly repeated chicken/pork/prawns/lobster plus rice plus symbolic amount of salad combo you get in the restaurants. Hard to believe as it is, you can get very tired of lobster.
Not just for Napoleophiles (who will definetely think they've died and gone to heaven), this is set in a huge hilltop mansion with glorious views over Havana. Also boasts Havana's most charming tour guides and the field glass Napoleon used at Waterloo.
Calle San Miguel No. 1159 esq. a Ronda. Ciudad de La Habana
+53 7 8791412
Google map: bit.ly/w3FUwz
A lively, buzzing local restaurant in Vedado that does good pizzas and has – of course – great live music. Just a block from the Hotel Nacional, during the afternoons Sofia attracts a nice combination of locals sharing a bottle of Havana Club and visitors drawn in by the infectious sounds. The service is not the fastest, so best just to order a drink and relax.
Calle 23, El Vedado (one block from Hotel Nacional).
+538320740
Google map: bit.ly/ezySIa
Hackneyed though it may be, the hop on/hop off tourist bus in Havana makes a lot of sense. First off, in a city where transport is pricey for tourists, these CUC$5 are well spent if only as a means of getting around. Secondly, while you won’t be using the bus to explore the crumbling splendour of Havana Vieja’s side streets, you will hit other more distant spots like the Plaza de la Revolucion, with its somewhat scary murals of Che and Camilo Cienfuegos, and the artisan market. But nicest of all, in a city where much of the life (and best photos) happen one floor up on the bustling, colourful balconies, the open-top bus gives you some of the best views in town.
From the Hotel Inglaterra in the Parque Central, and various other points around the city.
Google map: bit.ly/e5glFN
Atmospheric outdoor bar/restaurant on Calle Obispo, not far from the Parque Central. The food is nothing to rave out, but a great band and draught Bucanero in huge tankards more than make up for it.
Location: Calle Obispo, a couple of blocks from La Floridita.
It's a luxury hotel in the centre of Havana with great views of the capital building. On the top floor is an open swimming pool, where you can sit besides the pool at night, sipping rum and coke, looking up at the stars while the hustle and bustle of Havana goes on in the streets.
Neptuno e/ Prado y Zulueta, Habana Vieja, Ciudad de la Habana, Cuba
+53.78.606627
www.nh-hotels.com/nh/en/hotels/cuba/havana/nh-parque-central.html
Google map: bit.ly/fRou4u
www.hotelnhparquecentral.com/
Dos Hermanos is a dependable and friendly bar and restaurant in Old Havana. Fish and shrimp are especially good and the mojitos are great. This is a bar that Hemingway and other famous writers hung out in. Its location - right by the ferry terminal and the Museum of Rum - is an easy walk.
On Sol and the waterfront, near the Ferry Terminal.
This is an excellent café selling strong espressos for 1 Cuban peso (extremely cheap about four pence!)
Unlike most of the tourist cafés and restaurants, there were always Cubans there enjoying a coffee.
On the corner of Calle Amargura and Mercaderes, Habana Vieja
Old style perfumery where one can buy cologne and perfume with scents such as citrus, jasmine, rose, orange blossom, lavender and tobacco.
If you bring your own container you can purchase the scent for the bargain price of 0.20CUC per 10ml. If you want to splash out you can buy the scent in one of the ceramic perfume containers or bottles of varying sizes that make a nice present.
Mercaderes No 156 bwtn Obrapia & Lamparilla, Habana Vieja.
Google map: tinyurl.com/ycvewkp
Artisan market set in recently refurbished warehouse. Until November 2009 it was located in the streets around the Plaza de la Catedral.
Here you can find all sorts of interesting Cuban souvenirs including beautiful paintings, wonderful photographic prints, guayaberas (traditional shirt), woodwork, leather items, jewellery, painted ceramics and handcrafted cigar boxes (my personal favourite - the best ones can be found from an amiable man
in the centre of the market. He is quite passionate about them!).
Don't always pay what they first ask for. Haggle for a better price.
There are also food venues, money exchange facilities, public toilets and public phones.
Open every day including Sundays and holidays (except national Holidays or when the authorities declare special holidays) from 10am to 6pm.
Avenida del Puerto. Across from the Iglesia de San Francisco de Paula, corner of Calle Leonor Perez (Paula) and Calle San Pedro. 10 minute walk from Plaza San Francisco
Hello, I found this wonderful page about bus schedules on Cuba. It was very useful on my trip to the island a few weeks ago.
It is a gay-friendly guest house in the centre of Havana. Jorge, the landlord of the place, is a wonderful gay man who will give you plenty of tips during your trip. He has also a great sense of humour and speak many languages.
The rooms are nicely decorated and very comfy with private bathrooms and air conditioning. He can cook breakfast, lunch and dinner if you wish.
Security: this place is very safe as Jorge takes all necessary measures. Nothing will ever happen to your wallet!
I will definitely go back to Jorge very soon as all gay travellers who have been to his place do.
Casa Jorge Silvio
Calle e/oquendo y Soledad
Centro Habana
Tel:00 53 78790789
Mobile:00 53 52951543
Email: bojimor@yahoo.es
Photos: casajorge.50webs.com
Casa Carlita is a casa particular with the feel of a B&B - a set of three guest rooms with an immaculate shared bathroom.
The casa is located right next to Havana University and within a short walk of Havana Libre and The Nacional, two big hotels where you can change money, hire a car, book excursions or top up on food/drink.
The Casa offers good food whenever you want it, though it is located in the Vedado area, which also has a range of alternatives. Vedado is supposedly great for nightclubs, though we hit it while jetlagged on a Monday, so can't vouch for this.
It is a 30 minute walk (or $2-4 taxi ride) along the Malecon (sea wall) to Old Havana. We stayed in Old Havana later in our trip but would be happy to stay in Vedado again.
This was a great first stop on our tour of Cuba. It was also good value. I would recommend it wholeheartedly.
Avenida San Lazaro no 1207
entre Mazon y Basarrate
Vedado
10400 Havana
Cuba is great and part of the fun is discovering places to stay by yourself - we stayed in many casas particulares (private homes) - some better (and friendlier) than others, but none were dire. A great way to meet locals, especially if you find ones where you can communicate with the owner (ie if you speak Spanish, or they speak English).
When travelling around, taxi drivers (some licensed, some not) hang around bus stations to offer shared rides - which can be cheaper and get you to your destination much quicker.
Remember to take cash - cards don't work in ATMs and changing money on a card, or buying anything on a card is punitively expensive - around 12% charge.
Avoid Varadero if you can - you may as well go to the Costa Del Sol.
Go into the foyer of the impressive Bacardi building (it is now used as offices) in Old Havana and ask for the bar. The lift operator will take you up in his ancient contraption to a perfectly preserved art deco masterpiece.
Old wood and the bat symbol is everywhere. The only drink available was a perfect mojito ($2) when I was there (1999), but who cares? Not one single other tourist, just some staff from the building who had finished for the day.
I was stuck for two hours during an horrendous thunderstorm, it was great. Beats a week slobbing in Varadero any day.
Bacardi building, old Havana
If you want to experience great Cuban hospitality with a lovely family in central Havana I would highly recommend Casa Mer.
Wilfred and his family share their sweet art deco villa for a very affordable price and it's just a stroll or taxi away from the jazz clubs, the Malecon and central Havana shopping and night life. They also recommended to us other Cuban families to stay with in other towns which worked out well as the local government hotels aren't so great and cost about five times the price!
Casa Mer
calle 28 # 206
entre 21 y 19
Vedado Habana Cuba
telefono (537) 833 44 12
www.casamer.justincuba.com/
Havana is too big to see on foot. Take a ride in a horse and carriage, the driver is a proper tour guide.
We had a two-hour drive up to Plaza de la Revolution and back, stopping where we wished for photos and finding out lots of local knowledge.The funniest part was the driver chatting up girls walking along the street while we trotted along beside them.
Central Havana, we found Leonardo and Picasso outside the Hotel Inglaterra where there is a bar where you can sit and look out on the busy street.
Is this your business?Search Been there
