Cuba is the most exciting island in the Caribbean. Unfortunately, getting
there has always been a bit of a drag. The sole scheduled carrier, Cubana
(020 7536 8177, www.cubana.cu), stops in the provincial Cuban city of
Holguin on the way, making the outward trip a 12-hour schlep — and your only
other option has been to go charter.
Now there’s another way. From June 27, Virgin Atlantic (0870 574 7747,
www.virgin-atlantic.com) starts the only nonstop scheduled flights from
Gatwick to Havana. They will leave twice weekly, with fares starting at
£599, and the journey time will be just 9 hours 40 minutes.
Why Cuba? As much for its unique blend of politics, culture and sensuality —
Fidel and Che, revolutionary posters and Spanish colonial architecture,
salsa and cigars — as for the Caribbean staples of sunshine and beaches.
Most visitors, especially first-timers, like to combine the two sides of the
island’s character: a few days in the capital, drinking mojitos, listening
to salsa and admiring the architecture, followed by a couple of days
chilling by the sea, drinking more mojitos.
Not everything in the garden is rosy. The US trade embargo continues to bite,
and a Soviet-style bureaucracy makes life hard for local entrepreneurs.
Patience is a virtue here. Away from Havana and holiday strips such as
Varadero and Trinidad, the tourist infrastructure is creaky: there’s nothing
to buy, and the few restaurants that exist are pretty poor. The much-touted
paladares (independent family restaurants) are generally good, but it’s
pointless recommending any, as they tend to be closed down by envious
government officials if they are seen to be doing too well: asking locals is
your best bet.
Yet the island’s virtues outweigh all that. The countryside is stunning; the
trend for boutique hotels means there’s finally somewhere appealing to stay;
the people are charming and friendly; and the weather is hot. It might have
a long way to go, but Cuba is on the up.
In Havana, the Museum of the Revolution (Refugio 1; 00 53-5 862 4091, £2.10)
is unmissable. Outside is a collection of tanks, military aircraft, and even
an armoured tractor; inside is a detailed and fascinating account of the
1959 revolution, the blood and the passion.
The cigar tour at the Partagas factory (Industria 520; 7 862 4604, £5.50),
directly behind the Capitolio, is a treat. From the heady scent of tobacco
to the shiny skin of the rezagadoras (leaf-graders), the torcedores
(rollers) and finally the escogedores (colour-graders), it’s a sensual
delight. There’s a good shop on the ground floor, too.
Incidentally, don’t buy cigars from anywhere other than a shop, no matter how
authentic they look. They might be fakes, and the real deal is so cheap to
start with, it’s not worth taking the risk.
Havana’s old town is sumptuous and just strolling around is a treat in itself,
but it’s not the only architectural highlight. The Cuban government is also
proud of Trinidad, a picturesque 19th-century sugar town — so much so that
it named its most prestigious and expensive brand of cigar after it. Among
the remains are a watchtower, 144ft high — from which the notorious slaver
Pedro Iznaga could keep an eye on his “employees” toiling in the fields —
and relics of the steam railroad used to transport the sugar harvest.
Varadero is not the holiday capital for nothing. The peninsula’s star
attraction is 13 miles of fine white sand, raked and cleaned daily. Expect
every conceivable watersport, and no hassle.
If you’re in Havana and want a day on the beach, take a cab to the Playas del
Este (eastern beaches). For food, try Playa Santa Maria; for deep-sea
fishing and peace and quiet, go for Playa Tarara. The 13-mile journey costs
£20 each way.
Twenty minutes from downtown Havana, in Miramar, near the Hemingway Marina, is
the exclusive Havana Club. There’s no charge to get in, and it has tennis
courts, watersports and gourmet restaurants.
The best address in Havana is the Parque Central (7 860 6627), right in the
thick of it on the edge of the old town, La Habana Vieja. It might be low on
Cuban character, but it’s slick, the air conditioning works and the food is
okay. Doubles start at £140.
There are several delightful boutique hotels within the old town (a good
website listing them is www.cuba.tc). Ernest Hemingway’s favourite was the
Ambos Mundos (7 860 9530; doubles from £50), with an atmospheric rooftop
rest- aurant and a piano bar on the street. My pick is the four-star Conde
de Villanueva (7 862 9293; doubles from £54), where stunning rooms, every
one a colonial time capsule, open onto a sleepy courtyard, with an excellent
cigar/coffee/rum shop on the mezzanine. But you might prefer El Comendador
(7 867 1037; doubles from £48), a Moorish palace with 14 rooms and a great
tapas bar on the ground floor.
In Varadero, most of the hotels along the beach are fine for sun and sea, but
only the five-star Melia Varadero (4 566 7013, www.solmeliacuba.com) has
that luxury edge. Popular with honeymooners and golfers, it has 490 rooms
and sugar-white sand; doubles £140-£170, all-inclusive.
Nearby, the former DuPont family home, Xanadu (4 566 8482,
www.cuba-hotels.net), has large rooms overlooking the nine-hole Varadero
golf course from £84. It’s ideal if you want a beach holiday away from the
family resorts.
Off the north coast, Cayo Levisa (through www.cuba.tc) is something special.
It’s another Hemingway haunt (fishing this time), a small coral island
accessed by a short ferry ride (£5.50 return). Amid the tropical birds are
40 cabanas linked by a boardwalk, and it offers great scuba-diving, fishing
— and silence. Doubles start at £40.
Another secluded resort, La Moka (7 204 3739, www.cubaweb.co.uk), is unique,
in that it is a hotel owned and run by a co-operative of crafts-people. Only
an hour from Havana, on the edge of Pinar del Rio, the area has wonderful
riding and trekking — and good restaurants, one by a river and another high
on a mountain. Doubles start at £50, including all meals.
It’s hard to eat well in Cuba. In Havana, the paella at the Hostal Valencia is
a must, as is the lobster thermidor at Los Nardos, a small, unsung local
place above a shop opposite the Capitolio. Out in Miramar, El Aljibe
specialises in roast chicken. The big hotels are okay, but otherwise you are
better off seeking out the nearest paladar; it won’t win gastronomic prizes,
but it’ll be tasty and cheap.
The past two years have seen big changes in the Cuban music scene. Many of the
discos have been replaced by live-music venues, where the door policy is to
admit only the same amount of customers as there are chairs inside, and
Cubans are dis- couraged from attending. As a result, it’s all a lot tamer
than it used to be. Some of the old abandon lives on at afternoon discos,
where locals get down while the holidaymakers are at the beach.
Wherever a bunch of tourists get together to share a bottle of Havana Club rum
— at about £14 a bottle, this is the cheapest and most sociable way to drink
— guys with guitars and cheesy grins are sure to follow. Two of the best
spots in Havana are Café de Paris, on the corner of Obispo and San Ignacio,
with live bands until after midnight and CDs of local music; and Casa de la
Musica, on Calle Galiano — there’s an admission charge, £15-£20 a head, and
it can get a bit flirty, but it’s the real deal.
For sheer glam, though, the best of all is Havana’s Tropicana nightclub, under
the stars in the suburb of Marianao. This is time travel — right back to the
1950s. It’s not cheap, at £35 a head (including dinner and one cocktail),
and the food is disgusting, but the show, the colours, the girls, the
rhythms and the whole experience are fabulous. Ask your hotel to book it or
visit www.cubacom.net/tropicana.
Virgin Holidays (0871 222 0304, www.virgin.com/holidays) has one week, B&B,
in Havana from £713pp; or two weeks from £951pp, with four nights in
Havana, B&B, and 10 in Varadero, all-inclusive. Both prices include
Virgin Atlantic flights from Gatwick; regional connections start at £89pp.
Other operators using Virgin’s new flights include Captivating Cuba (0870 887
0123, www.captivatingcuba.com), Regent Holidays (020 7313 6666,
www.regent-holidays.co.uk) and Trips Worldwide (0117 311 4402,
www.tripsworldwide.co.uk).
Don’t use public transport — it’s filthy and overcrowded. Hire cars are not to
be recommended, either: most are in a parlous state, and Cuban drivers are
scary. For long distances, your best bets are the daily excursion buses to
popular tourist destinations, internal flights or colectivos, long-distance
cabs that are good value if there are a few of you. Or you could join the
thousands of Cubans who hitch; it’s safe, and you’ll make friends. In
cities, the official yellow cabs have meters. With the cycle rickshaws and
1950s American taxis, negotiate a price before you set off.
Contact the Cuban Tourist Board on 020 7240 6655 or visit www.cubatravel.cu.
You’ll need a tourist card, which costs £15 and is easy to obtain from a
tour operator or travel agent.
