Cold showers, hard beds, thirty-year old pillows, slow luggage, dirty streets, bad food and high prices—all the tradeoffs of this fascinating trip. I want to caveat this post by saying that Cuba is officially not open to tourism, though there are many commercial flights now running to Havana as of last month (we flew from Orlando, but there are many from Fort Lauderdale and Miami too). I spent many hours applying for visas and on the phone with the U.S. Department of the Treasury before booking our trip, and my conclusion is that the rules are not clear right now. While a visa explanation is needed in one of twelve qualifying categories, our experience was that using the education provision is quite accepted by U.S. Immigration agents.

I also want to point out that a visit to Cuba is not for the faint of heart and for all intents and purposes should be anticipated as more of an experience than a “vacation.” This country literally runs without Internet or credit cards of any kind. Be sure to plan ahead and book accommodations early, we were not able to do this and got stuck with some less than savory ones. The country uses two different currencies both of which we had trouble exchanging for at the airport, but USD was accepted (though reluctantly) at a surcharge of about 10% though the CUC exchange rate is 1:1.

Cuba is an extremely limited country when it comes to imports; there really is nothing to buy and very few stores. You will not find snacks, bottled water (outside of a hotel) or sunscreen—plan ahead and bring what you will need. The aspect of Cuba I found most surprising was the high prices. Taxi rides and food cost more than in American and you are very limited in terms of options as there are not many places to find food or rent a car on your own. We pride ourselves on being pretty scrappy travelers and there was just no way around spending quite a bit of money on this trip. Bring great walking shoes that you do not mind trashing, we walked about 11 miles a day while in Havana, note that the streets are not high heel friendly.

Please note that this post is being published in early January of 2017, both America and Cuba are changing so rapidly I cannot guarantee relevance of much of this information into the future.

EXPERIENCE

Havana was the focus of our trip and the majority of the time here was spent on foot walking the streets of the entire city taking in the art nouveau architecture and stopping for mojitos when the heat became too exhausting. Neighborhoods like Vedado offer unique character and showcase the former range of wealth that existed in Cuba prior to the revolution.

The primary destination while in Havana however, is Old Havana. The experience here is to roam the narrow streets taking in the architecture and vibe of this unique city. While roaming you will seemingly happen upon the popular landmark destinations of Plaza de la Cathedral, the National Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of the Revolution, the Grand Theater of Havana and the Old Square (Plaza Viejo). We also visited the Christopher Columbus Cemetery, which was slightly interesting, but not that great. Another must do while in Havana is a ride down the Malecon in a 1950’s classic American convertible.

©2017 Jen Seiser

We made a few day trips while in Havana. Our first was our to Ernest Hemingway’s House which was a lovely stop. The colonial house is well preserved and full of some amazing artifacts from the late writer. The property is also quite beautiful and it made for a nice excursions and reason to ride in another 1950’s car. I would recommend seeing the movie Papa before you go.

I had read great things about the beaches of Cuba before our trip but being there on a holiday weekend meant many of the further beaches were impossible to get to. We settled for a day trip out to Playa Santa Maria near the sad and disheveled Tropicoco Hotel on the recommendation of our Airbnb host. This beach was okay and again more interesting to see than a beach that will knock your socks off.

Live music, cigars and rum mojitos are the other thing to do while in Havana. If you roam old Havana you will find no shortage of these staples and there is not much better to do with your time than indulge in them. We got lucky with some great bands and dancers dipping into restaurants and bars we were in Old Havana. I hear some other great places to check out for live music include Fabrica de Arte Cubano, Diablo Tun Tun and La Casa de la Bombilla Verde.

©2017 Jen Seiser

STAY

We had two hotel experiences while in Havana. Our first night in town I booked us at a not very nice hotel called Hotel Park View. This place looked like it had not been touched since the revolution in 1959. The breakfast was included but not very good and the place was generally uncomfortable and unclean. Though this place was not impressive, the location was great for exploring Havana by foot and we felt safe here.

Our second two nights were slightly better as we transferred to a B&B I found through Airbnb called Casa Flamboyan. This Italian run gay hideaway in Vedado was quite charming. This place had a great porch, lots of character and clean (yet still uncomfortable) bed and shower. For reference this place is listed on TripAdvisor as the #1 B&B in all of Havana. I mention this because it’s all about adjusting expectations while in Cuba. The proprietors have so little to work with when it comes to furniture, interiors or breakfast ingredients. Effort and kindness go a long way in determining a great stay from a terrible one.

EAT

La Guardia, which was the setting of the film “Strawberries and Chocolate” is the ultimate place to eat. We were not able to get a table, but the interior is almost magical and the mood is totally romantic on this rooftop location in the heart of central Havana. Not eating here is my one regret of the trip. Instead of this place however, we stumbled upon a Swedish owned restaurant called Casa Miglis, which quickly became our favorite place in Havana. We ate here two nights and had the best meals of our trip including shrimp pasta, fried eggplant, homemade chicken nuggets and a banana ice cream dessert.

Other restaurants I heard are good, but we did not try include Mundo Pizza, Café Bohemio, D’Next for sandwiches, Herad’oro for ice cream, Riomar, Starbein, Dona Euitimia, Cocinero, Los Dos Chinitas for Chinese and El de Enfrente. There are supposed to be great bars at Encuentro, Espacio, Siakara, and El de Enfrente which is a Mediterranean themed rooftop.

We had a total of four days in Cuba. Originally I was thinking this would not be enough time to fully experience the country, which it certainly wasn’t, but at the end of the long weekend we felt we had fully experienced Havana. Next trip I’d love to explore beyond Havana to visit the reportedly nicer beaches of Varadero and Jibacoa (for snorkeling). I’d also love to check out Santiago and Trinidad. The people of Cuba are kind, highly educated, welcoming of Americans and the overall feel of the country is extremely safe. I’d encourage you to make a visit while you can still see Cuba as a place trapped in time.