Cuba exists in a category of its own in the Caribbean — a country where time has moved differently, where 1950s American cars cruise avenues lined with Spanish colonial architecture, where the sound of live salsa spills from open doorways at all hours, and where a genuine and complex culture awaits travellers willing to look beyond the beach resorts.
Havana is one of the great cities of the Americas. The Malecon — the broad seafront esplanade — is the social living room of the city, where Habaneros gather at dusk to fish, drink rum, and watch the sunset over the Straits of Florida. Old Havana, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a grid of baroque churches, colonnaded plazas, and crumbling mansions in various stages of restoration. The Plaza Vieja, the Cathedral, and the Capitolio reveal the city's former grandeur. The classic car taxis — lovingly maintained Chevrolets and Fords in candy colours — are both practical transport and one of the world's great photo opportunities.
Trinidad, five hours east of Havana, is another UNESCO jewel. The cobblestone streets, ochre-painted colonial houses, and salsa clubs set in former sugar barons' mansions create an atmosphere unlike anywhere else in the Caribbean. The nearby Escambray Mountains offer hiking and waterfalls, while the Valle de los Ingenios preserves the ruins of the plantation era.
Vinales in the west is Cuba's tobacco heartland. Limestone mogotes — flat-topped hills — rise from the valley floor, where tobacco farmers still cure leaves in traditional wooden barns. Hiking, horse riding, and cave exploration are all available in this bucolic landscape.
Cuba's beaches are world-class. Varadero is the most developed resort area, but Cayo Coco and the waters around the Bay of Pigs offer diving and snorkelling in near-pristine coral reef environments.
Cuban food has historically been simple — rice, black beans, roasted pork, and fried plantain. The paladares (private restaurants) that have flourished in recent years have elevated the dining scene considerably. The best time to visit is from November to April, during the dry season, when humidity is lower and hurricane risk has passed.
