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This is the sea wall around Havana, and a fantastic place to cool off after a hot day. You can sit in the night's cool air, feel the sea breeze and enjoy the local rum.
It's also a great place to meet and talk with the locals.
Rooftop Bar with live Cuban music and beautiful views over Havana at night.
Parque Central
This is the place from which Fidel Castro gives most of his famous 2-4 hour long speeches. You can also sit within the chair where Fidel Castro sits. Behind the José Marti statue there is also a museum located there which talks about the history of Cuba and Havana. However most of the exhibits are in Spanish – but it is easy to understand what is going on.
Visit the Castillo de Morro fort and the Jesus statue which is located opposite the bay of Havana. From here you can see spectacular views of the city as well as a fort used to protect Havana. You can also see the spectacular statue of Jesus and opposite Ché Guevara’s house – now a museum.
Discoteca el Rodeo, Parque Lenin, about 20 kms outside of Havana, is a cheap weekend club with a fun, easy atmosphere, very good live bands and a mostly young Cuban crowd.
No phone.
It has something of a student union about it but is fun, fast and friendly, with good live bands and fantastic dancing. Upstairs is Delirio Habanero, (+53 7 8735713), overlooking Plaza de la Revolucion - for hot jazz and trad Cuban music.
Paseo, corner Plaza de Revolucion, +53 7 8790710.
Casa de la Musica is a late night, live music venue with a big stage and a dance floor in front. It’s bigger and more upmarket that its downtown sister (on Calle Galiano in Havana Centro, +53 7 8624165) showcasing some of Cuba’s top bands, playing anything from reggaeton to classic salsa.
A good place to go dancing but at around a £15 entrance charge, there won’t be many Cubans in there.
The Calle Galiano Casa de la Musica (above attracts more of a local crowd, especially for the regular matinees. Not particularly comfortable, but excellent bands and a friendly, atmosphere.
3308 Calle 20, corner Miramar
Tel: +53 7 2026147
The Santiago Festival (end of July) is a great experience, but it doesn't get started until 10/11pm, and continues well into the early hours. It involves many lavish parades with dancing and costumes, and there is a great party atmosphere. The only problem is that you need to get there early ( 8pm) to get a good seat.
Maria La Gorda beach is a long drive away, and possibly for the scuba enthusiast only. However, Cayo Levisa is a day trip away, a secluded island accessible only by boat, with diving opportunities as well as being a relaxing day trip
Just 20 minutes by taxi from Old Havana there are perfect Caribbean beaches – fine white sand and inconceivably turquoise water — which are the perfect escape from the heat of city. There are a few beach bars serving decent fried fish, etc. Swimming pools are a rarity in Havana, but there is a good one in the lovely Hotel Sevilla — cocktails available.
Cuba is world famous for its music, but the most keenly awaited festival is always for Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano festival, perhaps Havana’s most glamorous event of the year, with lectures, parties, hobnobbing in the Hotel Nacional and ten solid days of cinema. It’s held every December, in itself one of the best times of the year to visit Cuba.
www.habanafilmfestival.com, December 5-15.
Try pizza for Cubans, sold from house windows. If you look around you can get this cheap and tasty local pizza for as little as 5 peso cubanos. Greate taste. Enjoy your meal!
Try Piro Guinart, the green house on the corner, a few metres from the bus terminal.
Renting a scooter gives you total freedom, and is not that expensive at 24CUC per day. It gives you the possibility to visit remote places, like old manors in Valles de Los Ingenios, and to ride around Topes de Collantes, where the 62m high waterfall must be seen! Or simply ride to one of the remote beaches along the Ancon Peninsula. Don’t forget to take some colour pencils or crayons for kids you meet along the way.
Scooter rental, Ruina del Teatro Brunet, Calle Antonio Maceo, Trinidad
Rogelio and his wife are the warm and friendly hosts of this beautiful, colonial casa particular (B&B). Right in the centre of Trinidad old town, this 18th century house is filled with antiques and original features. Huge iron beds, original wooden floors and tall windows make it a truly romantic place to stay. From the roof terrace you can enjoy beautiful views over the rooftops and up to the mountains while watching the sun setting at an amazing speed over the horizon. Just 20 minutes by car or taxi to a palm-fringed, white sand beach, on one side of town and the jungle-covered mountains on the other, this casa is perfectly placed for exploring the best Trinidad has to offer. Book in advance as this place is very popular!
Simon Bolivar #312, Trinidad;
www.cuba-junky.com/sancti-spiritus/casa-rogelio.htm
Based on the Malekon, overlooking the sea and the bay, this is the best hotel in Havana - full of history and atmosphere. A tour of the hotel is a must, as you can see the trenches and bunkers built in the early 60s in preparation for a possible US invasion.
Calle 21 y O, Vedado, Plaza, Ciudad de la Habana, Cuba, 10400;
tel: (53-7) 836 3564 al 67;
www.hotelnacionaldecuba.com
On the Malekon - cannot miss it
Visit the largest flea market in Old Havana for souveniors, paintings, carvings and T-shirts. Bargaining is possible, unlike the rest of Havana.
In Havana old town.
Food is pretty basic in Cuba, mainly ham, cheese and eggs (for breakfast lunch and dinner!). Fruit is plentiful and fresh outside Havana, but a bit 'tired' in the city itself.
There are lovely restaurants in Havana if you look, but they do cost quite a lot. Oddly for people who love kids so much, they never take them out at night. We started off trying to have an afternoon sleep and then go out with kids in the evening, but we soon reverted to early dinner and then making our own entertainment in the hotel/casa.
There is a fantastic ice-cream place in Havana but beware, it is designed for locals, so only go if you manage to get some local currency. We were very embarrassed when it came to pay....
We stayed in the wonderful Sevilla Hotel in Havana and then 2 Casa Particulars (people's houses) in Trinidad and then back in Havana. In retrospect I would probably have finished with the hotel as after 2 weeks in Cuba you really need a bit of luxury! The casas are great however, as you get to stay with a proper Cuban family and they love kids.
Carrie found us all the casas, and she was invaluable. Her site is www.cuba-particular.com and you can contact her at carrie@cuba-particular.com
Cubans love kids! We went everywhere and did everything and heard constant moans from fellow tourists about being hassled and ripped off - we had none of that and can only assume that they left us alone because we had kids in tow. So, they can be an invaluable asset.
Beautiful coastal resort on the southwest tip of Cuba. Tatty, inexpensive accommodation, limited food, lovely people, stunning coral sea and white sand beach. Difficult to get to, but that ensures only the more adventurous tourists get there. Fantastic scuba diving with a friendly crew.
If you drive there, you can't afford to be squeamish about crushing crabs, there is a crab crossing area on the way in and you won't be able to avoid them. Otherwise, take a taxi from Pinar del Rio (it's not worth an overnight stay)and get chatting with the driver!
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