Have you ever fancied stepping back in time? Then get yourself booked on a trip to Havana! You get to experience the heart of a country currently in transition where the government is allowing independent restaurants to open and it’s a great transitional time to visit. The below is our best bits of Havana! Enjoy!

How long?

We asked ourselves this question when we were sat at Virgin booking our holiday, we chose to stay for 4 days but 3 days is enough to do the main things in Havana

Get yourself in a old American car!

I cannot recommend this more highly, we loved it so much we did two rides. Firstly we did an hour tour around the city and suburbs booked through our hotel. Our tour included driving around the main streets, heading to Praque Aimendares, past the university and then heading up the infamous Malecón (the coastal road). It’ll cost you approx 30CUC and we tipped 10CUC because it was so fab. The pro’s of this is you get a great tour of the city and see key places without much stopping time. A con we saw is the “official” taxi’s aren’t really kept in the best condition hence…..

Secondly once you’ve sampled a bit of rum get yourself in a private taxi back to your hotel or negotiate a ride. We paid 20CUC from the city centre to the hotel we stayed at in near the famous CUBA sign, Expensive yes but oh so good.

Get yourself a Daiquiri at Floridita

Made famous by Ernest Hemmingway as the “best place in cuba to get a Daiquiri” it is a must for a tour of Havana. Expect to pay a pricey sum for the Daiquiri I think we paid 8CUC but it will be the best one you’ve tasted!

Book a table at La Guarida

 

Wanna try the lonely planets recommended restaurant? Check out La Guarida! You’d have never guess it was there by just walking past it. You hike up two derelict floors which by the way are stunning and reach the 3rd floor where you’ll find the restaurant. Food in Cuba is fairly average but the meal we had here was lovely. Expect to pay around £80 for two so expensive by cuba prices but worth it. Request a seat on the Balcony for the full experience!

Get a drink and a snack or dinner at La Mas

Located in the Heart of the city we stubbled on this modern bar/restaurant. It’s atmosphere and friendly staff will set your visit off with a smile and they can recommend some great cocktails or Rum. We stopped and had a snack and were really pleasantly surprised by the quality. Oh and you get some amazing chips and dip with your cocktails! A MUST!

Go see who this Ernest Hemmingway is

Rather naively we’d heard of this guys but didn’t really know much about him. In all honestly we booked a day trip with our virgin rep as we wanted to see the main square and a cigar factory. For 70CUC each this Ernest Hemmingway trip took us to Revolution square to see the famous buildings then out to Ernest’s house. Which was rather lovely wandering around. We even tried freshly squeezed sugar cane and rum cocktail, Yummy. Another part of this tour that sold it for us was a visit to the cigar making factory. Don’t be fooled this is the University where they teach newbies but its worth a look. We did find it interesting understanding all the different types and watching the people make them, whilst watching our guide puffed her way through one. At the end of the trip we had dinner in a lovely local restaurant so we felt this was 70 CUC well spent!

Walk up the Malecón

Stretch you legs and get walking around Havana it’s the best way to see it and make sure you take a stroll down the Malecón. In there evenings this wall is one big sofa with the locals all getting together.

Somethings to avoid!

Check out my link to a few things to bare in mind in cuba and how not to get ripped off!

Enjoy! Kell x