Telephone: 020 7118 2110

CUBA, CARIBBEAN

BARACOA
Baracoa, located in the isolated north-eastern corner of Cuba, is surrounded by virgin rainforest, secluded beaches and overlooked by El Yunque mountain. Believed to have been where Columbus landed on his first voyage in 1492, Baracoa is considered Cuba’s oldest city. Today, cobblestone streets are lined by the weathered-tile roofs of single-storey buildings and an abundance of cocoa trees gift the region with sweet white chocolate. Inland, the Cuchillas de Toa, one of the world’s last untouched rainforests, shelters a large number of endangered plant and animal species, including the strikingly colourful Cuban land snail.

BAYAMO
Bayamo, founded by the Spanish in 1513, is one of the original seven Spanish cities in Cuba and predates both Havana and Santiago de Cuba. Once the hub of the Spanish slave trade, Afro-Cuban culture remains strong in the area it has since been cast as the city that kick-started Cuban independence and often referred to as “the Birthplace of Cuban Nationality” and “the Cradle of Cuban Revolution”. The elegant city, still a major commercial sugar refining centre, is now a time-warp of city squares, parks and museums, favourably explored via horse cart; a charming glimpse of Bayamo’s easy-going and slow-paced culture.

HAVANA
Havana, Cuba’s sought-after capital city is a treasure trove of lovingly-preserved colonial architecture; from grand mansions, to even grander churches and remnants of the walls that once protected the city. Havana has a creative culture and a seductive atmosphere, with a surge of bohemian bars & cafes where you can sip on rich coffee by day and rum-infused mojitos by night. You can walk along the Malecón esplanade or explore the cobbled streets in an American classic car… Havana is for those with an open mind and a willingness to fall under its spell. This amazing city is also the centrepiece of our Havana Luxury City break.

VINALES
Vinales is an agricultural town and small slice of traditional Cuba. Its main street is lined with colourful wooden houses reminiscent of the colonial era, while in the Vinales Valley, old fashioned farming methods are still used to grow tobacco. Doors are left wide-open in this close-knit neighbourhood, where everyone knows everyone and years of tourism hasn’t diminished tradition.

The Sierra de Los Organos mountains with their steep-sided limestone hills, give a dramatically beautiful backdrop to an otherwise humble town, while the Casa de Caridad Botanical Gardens, filled with colourful orchids and flourishing palms, offer a much different sense of natural beauty.

LAS TERRAZAS – SIERRA DEL ROSARIO BIOSPHERE RESERVE
About an hour west of Havana, in the rural Artemisa Province, is the community of Las Terrazas. A model for rural self-sufficiency, Las Terrazas is part of the Sierra del Rosario Biosphere reserve, created by UNESCO in 1984. The idyllic village is nestled on terraced hills around a man-made lake in the Guaniguanico Mountain Range, where birds and butterflies dance around tree-tops and the scent of lush vegetation fills the air.

Las Terrazas may be a small village, but there’s something about it that you’d be hard pushed to find anywhere else in the world; ride horseback to orchid gardens and the waterfall at Soroa, ascend the mountains to find the ruins of Buenavista Coffee Plantation or descend to the valley and hire a boat out on the lake. Dine in Cuba’s best vegetarian restaurant and retreat to the village’s sole hotel – the eco-friendly Moka. Whatever you do, just don’t overlook it; Las Terrazas is a place best left to speak for itself.

SANTIAGO DE CUBA
Santiago de Cuba, founded in 1515 by Spanish Governor Diego Velázquez, was once Cuba’s capital, before Havana took the status in 1593. Now, Santiago stands as Cuba’s second-largest city and is famed as a hub of Afro-Cuban culture. Both its location, facing out towards the Caribbean Sea and the Dominican Republic, and its fusion of Spanish, African, French, Haitian and Antillean cultures, have justly famed Santiago as the city with the greatest Caribbean ambience in Cuba. Come July, these influences come to life in Santiago’s Carnaval, a festival of passionate music, colourful costumes and son dance.

HOLGUIN
Holguín is a city in eastern Cuba. Known as the City of Parks and once deemed by Columbus as “the most beautiful land eyes have ever seen”, Holguín’s many elegant plazas and colonial buildings are set among rugged, mountainous terrain. Its centrepiece – the Parque Calixto García; an expansive public square dominated by a 1912 statue of the so-named 19th-century general.

Not an area for mass tourism (or really any tourism for that matter), Holguín serves as a behind-the-scenes view to provincial Cuba; the plethora of classic American muscle cars, the roars of the baseball stadium, groups of friends enjoying a locally-brewed beer… Holguín emits an air of authenticity quite unlike anywhere else in Cuba.

CAMAGUEY
Camaguey, Cuba’s third-largest city is a pastel-hued maze of narrow alleyways leading to hidden plazas buzzing with mingling locals, live music and authentic eateries. With an elegance and creative culture reminiscent of capital city Havana, Camaguey’s abstract streets are also home to a number of inspiring art galleries and intriguing museums. Camaguey is also famed as Cuba’s ‘Catholic Soul’, evident through numerous baroque churches and cathedrals that can be found by simply meandering through the city. The height of unpretentious sophistication, a visit to Camaguey is nothing less than a pleasure.

TRINIDAD
Trinidad is a perfectly preserved colonial town in central Cuba. Cuba is known to be a place where time has stood still and in Trinidad, it can feel as though you’ve been transported back as far as 1850. Its rainbow-painted homes with weathered-tiled roofs and pretty cobbled streets add charm and character to the grandeur of its neo-baroque plazas and colonial architecture. This combined with a backdrop of rolling hills and mountains, make Trinidad one of the most photogenic towns in Cuba, and have granted it UNESCO World Heritage status since 1988.

SANTA CLARA
Santa Clara, a largely populated city in the geographical centre of Cuba, is a painting of Cuba’s revolutionary history. In 1958, Che Guevara’s liberation of Santa Clara marked the end of the Batista regime, shaping both the immediate and long-term future of the city. Now a creative hub of youth culture, satirical political humour, drag shows and festivals, Santa Clara continues to challenge the status quo, making for an interesting, vibrant yet somehow still quintessentially Cuban city experience, right at the heart of the nation.

VARADERO
Varadero, spanning Cuba’s Hicacos Peninsula, is a thriving resort town on the north coast of Cuba. Boasting one of the best and most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean, with some 20km of uninterrupted golden sand, Varadero is paramount to Cuba’s tourism industry. Bite-sized elements of Cuban culture – art galleries, bohemian bars & cafes, live music, cabarets, cigar & rum shops – are dotted along the narrow strip and there are plenty of options to break up the sunbathing; water sports, hiking trails, even one of the two only golf courses in the entire country… Varadero is the perfect Cuban holiday destination.

CAYO COCO
Cayo Coco, named after its native white ibis (coco bird), is an uninhabited tropical island off the north coast of Cuba. It is a colourful Caribbean paradise with intense turquoise waters, flourishing coral reefs and beautiful natural lagoons inhabited by pink flamingos. It has the sense of seclusion reminiscent of a paradise island, yet is connected to the main island of Cuba by a 17-mile purpose-built causeway.

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Havana, Cuba’s seductive capital city is an atmospheric treasure trove of lovingly-preserved colonial architecture, from grand mansions, to even grander churches and remnants of the walls that once protected the city. A city loved by the famous American writer Ernest Hemmingway known as “Papa” by the Cubans and of course of Fidel Castro. Today, this open-air museum boasts an ever-developing art scene which, despite contemporary art movements, continues to take the old with the new.

More recently, Havana’s creative culture has lent itself to an experimental surge of bohemian cafes and bars, perfect for sipping Cuba’s famously rich coffee by day and rum-infused Mojito’s by night. Walk along the Malecón esplanade, explore the cobbled streets in an American classic car… one must come to Havana with an open mind and a willingness to fall under its spell.

Tropicana Cabaret is hugely popular in Havana, known as the “Paradise under the Stars”; it opened in 1930’s and offers a true taste of Havana nightlife. The Cabaret show is an unrivalled spectacle of lights, costumes and entertainment. Nightly presentations are held in an open-air amphitheatre, where hundreds of dancers perform exotic dance routines. The show which normally starts at around 21:30 also offers a Dinner option which requires an earlier entry time.

Club Habana is one of Havana’s only “high-end gated communities” with one of the only sandy beaches along the Havana Bay coast. Its features a sporting complex with a large swimming pool, outdoor tennis courts, indoor gym, locker rooms, table tennis tables, snack bars, and an elegant restaurant. This beach oasis is fully equipped with chaise lounges, umbrellas, and attentive service from an awesome outdoor bar. Club Habana, originally called Havana Biltmore Yacht & Country Club gained notoriety when it refused Fulgencio Batista (the Cuban president) entry, is your go-to beach oasis if you want to get out of the hustle and bustle of Havana and relax for an afternoon.

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As Cuba’s tourism expands it not surprising to find new hotels and resorts are being opened, and with the assistance of our local travel partner, we regularly review those we consider most suitable for a Destination Wedding and or Honeymoon. In addition to those we have featured below, we highly recommend the Hotel Royalton at CayoSanta Maria, the Melia Cayo also at Cayo Santa Maria and the Paradisus Varadero Resort & Spa.

MELIA CAYO COCO, located on one of the best keys in Cuba, is an All-Inclusive luxury resort designed for adults over 18 years only. An idyllic oasis of elegance and tranquillity, connected to the mainland by a stone causeway – the first built over the sea in Cuba – it offers total intimacy.

Add the pristine beach, ideal for scuba diving and fishing, to the wonderful rooms, superb services and resort facilities, and you have the perfect fit for that unforgettable romantic Honeymoon.

All the stylish luxury rooms at the Melia Cayo Coco have flat-screen TV with satellite channels, a hairdryer, minibar and free toiletries. They are distributed over two areas of the resort: the bungalows area on stilts over a natural seawater lagoon, and on an area of land adjacent to the beach. There are five different room types: Classic Rooms and Junior Suites with gorgeous views of the gardens, Junior Suites and Grand Premium Lagoon View rooms built on stilts over the natural seawater lagoon and Grand Suites with spectacular views of the lagoon and exclusive luxury services.

There are four restaurants offering a fascinating variety of dining options, six bars that include a beach and sports bar, a large freshwater pool, a fitness centre, sport facilities with a club house, and free day round service between the Melia Cuba hotels in Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo. You can see why this luxury resort is popular with discerning holidaymakers.

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Varadero Golf Club: This 18 Hole par 72 course, the only 18-hole course in Cuba was opened in 1936 after several earlier attempts. This historically interesting course 6269 metres long, designed by Les Furber is made up of 5 x 5 par, 2 x 4 par and 5 x 3 par holes laid over three golfing architectures: A Classic design with broad fairways bordered by trees and wide and scarcely protected greens, Target Golf design with narrow fairways and heavily protected greens surrounded by sand traps and lakes, and Links design with holes located alongside the sea following the shoreline where the ocean acts as another obstacle. The Club House “Xanadu Mansion” a Cuban National Monument inaugurated in April 1930 has a “players” reception at the Caddie House, a Pro Shop and Snack Bar. Accommodation is also available at Xanadu Mansion, which has undergone some recent refurbishment, but that has not interfered with the day to day golf activities

This established international golf venue will in October 2019 stage its Grand Golf Tournament X1 Edition, which is open to players from around the world. It’s a unique golfing festival that includes a Vintage Car Exhibition, Tastes of rums and Cigars and nightly Live Music that will leave you with lasting memories. Anyone interested in playing in the current annual event or next year and beyond should call 020 7118 2110 for details and registration.

Club de Golf la Habana: This 9 Hole par 35 course is located at Capdevila in southern Havana, fairly close to José Marte international airport. Also known as Dilpo Golf Club, it was founded by a group of British diplomats in the 1920s. One of only two in Cuba, the diplomatic corps is largely the clientele today. Originally called the Rover’s Athletic Club it also has tennis courts and a Basque ball court.

Fidel Castro and Che Guevara once played a round here as a publicity stunt soon after the 1962 missile crisis and photographs of the event still exist. Che, an ex-caddy, is said to have won. The golf course with wide and undulated fairways and greens set amongst slender palms and hundreds of big leafy trees offer a challenge to all golfers, but it is what it is, and can be considered a not to be missed “golfing experience”.

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