| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 22/05/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 46 |
| Copyright: Other |
1. Beaches
Most people are still drawn to Cuba by its stunning beaches. Varadero is the most popular of the island’s beach resorts and the closest to the capital Havana.
Varadero offers many water sports including windsurfing, jet-biking, sailing and fishing.
Among the quieter alternatives are the northeast coast resorts of Santa Lucia, which enjoy a long, sugar-white sandy beach, and Guardalavaca.
2. music and dance
Six reasons to visit Cuba by Linsey McNeill
Six reasons to visit Cuba by Linsey McNeill
Hit the clubs and get saucy with that salsa
What to do on the Caribbean’s largest island
The popularity of Cuba is showing no signs of waning as new areas open up to tourism and operators expand their programmes.It is already well established as a top destination for beach lovers in search of a week or two in the sun.
But it is also attracting a growing number of culture vultures intrigued by the country’s politics and traditions including its world famous music and dance. Whether tourists want to salsa until dawn, make a trip around the colonial cities rich in history and culture or indulge in one of the many water sports available, there’s plenty to do and see.
For those who really want something a bit different, there’s even a chauffeur-driven trip round the island.
Here we look at the holiday options of this fascinating destination.
3. colonial cities
From the capital Havana on the northwest coast of Cuba to Santiago de Cuba in the southeast, the island boasts several colonial cities worthy of a visit.
Havana, the most significant, was declared a World Heritage Site by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation in 1982. As well as several well preserved civic buildings, the city has many beautiful, if crumbling, town houses built for nobility. Trinidad, on the south coast, is the best preserved colonial town and houses a museum that shows the architectural development of the city.
Panorama has a seven-night Pearl of the Caribbean coach tour that takes in the cities of Havana, Trinidad and Cienfuegos as well as the island’s interior. It costs from £899.
Tourists who venture off-the-beaten track will discover mountains, forests and coffee plantations that can be explored only on foot. One of the best places to get off the beaten track is the mountainous region of the Topes de Collantes National Park, a wild and remote part of the island. Specialist operator Explore Worldwide has introduced a 16-day Cuba Libre trip which combines visits to the colonial cities of Havana, Camaguey and Trinidad, with walking in the Topes de Collantes and a trip into the high sierras where revolutionist Che Guevara took refuge during the Revolution. It costs from £1,095 including flights plus a local payment of £60.
4. activities and adventure travel
5. history and culture
As the largest island in the Caribbean, Cuba has the most to offer, both culturally and historically. In fact, the island is like a vast museum, with the colonial architecture of its main towns providing evidence of hundreds of years of Spanish rule.
Ernest Hemingway and Al Capone have lived on the island and their old haunts can still be found in Havana. Kuoni offers a Discover Cuba cultural and historical tour from £649 for six nights full board.
6. The open road
A growing number of tourists in Cuba are travelling beyond the beach resorts to explore the rest of the island.
While the majority take organised coach tours, which are often combined with a week at a beach resort, self-drive tours are also a possibility.
Distant Dreams offers private chauffeur-driven package tours of the island in 1950s Cadillacs, which cost from £839 per person for six nights. Captivating Cuba offers a seven-night flydrive package, including car hire and accommodation en route, from £845 per person plus $5 a day insurance.