Cuba can sometimes be a confusing and challenging place for many travellers, but with all that I think you should give it a try anyway and experience some Cuban magic for yourself. This wonderful country famed for its world class cigars, infectious street music, vintage Cadillacs and pastel hued decaying mansions, will transport you into a different world.
We arrived to Havana in a direct flight from Amsterdam. Once you are here, stepping outside the airport terminal, you’ll will find plenty of state owned cabs. The official price to the city is 25 cuc. It should not cost you more than 25 cuc to get from the airport to Havana city. You’ll get to the city centre in about 20-25 minutes.
HAVANA
We stayed in Old Havana for most of our stay. I highly recommend staying in Havana Vieja. This area it’s really close to tourist attractions like museums, restaurants and shopping. It’s located just a 10 minute walk from Centro Habana.
Havana is a city that’s perfect to explore on foot. You can see most of Havana’s most famous places in half a day. But we had very little time and you rented one of those beautiful a vintage cars. We told our driver what we are most interested to see and then we started our ride. Our driver even stopped on a quiet street so we could take photos with his car! He provided some interesting facts about the city and even posed with me! I have to admit that the tour around the city was pretty awesome.
There are so many streets and alleys you can wander in. There are countless colorful colonial buildings, vintage cars and restaurants to visit. If you like photography, you’ll have endless opportunities to snap away. Everywhere we went and everything we saw was full of life. I am completely mesmerised by this Caribbean island.
INTERNET
Internet is not easily accessible. It requires you to buy WiFi (ETECSA) cards in 1 hour increments in order to get internet access. You’ll need a WiFi connection (available in WiFi hotspots located throughout Havana) and WiFi cards which can be purchased at ETECSA office or at certain hotels. Some travellers say that they didn’t had a very good internet signal, but this was not our case. The internet worked pretty well, when we had it hahaah.
SAFETY
In case you are worried about safety you should know that Cuba is one of the safest destinations to travel to. Violent crimes against tourists is unheard of and is extremely uncommon. However, you should take normal travel safety precautions (like anywhere) to avoid petty theft, pickpocketing or scams.
VARADERO
When it comes to a beach vacation we all dream of white sand, turquoise water, palm trees and no other people around. If this is your dream, then Varadero beach might be the right destination for you.
You’ll see old cars around in Varadero as you explore the town and probably will be asked if you want to ride. Don’t worry it isn’t something you’ll need to book in advance.
If you want to have a tasty lunch or dinner there are plenty of restaurants around. Most of them are located on the main road beach side, meaning most of what you’ll be looking for is nearby and easy to access.
There are plenty of things to do in Varadero, not only laying down at the beach. I highly recommend you to jump ahead and do some scuba, snorkel and explore caves. I was not expecting such good snorkelling spots. If you ask me this was the best snorkel I did in the Caribbean sea.
We loved this incredible white sand beach so much that we stayed until late at night swimming, taking photos and laughing. This beach is perfect if you’re not planning on staying at a resort or private beach house, since it’s so easy and completely free to access.
Madeleine 𓇼 