| Something I often find myself getting asked from | | | | delight in the museums, while music aficionados will be |
| friends and relatives who know my expertise in the | | | | truly taken with the salsa clubs and live jazz that is |
| island is what the average Cuban holiday actually | | | | hard to miss in the city. The big city life gives the |
| involves. This is a question I simultaneously love and | | | | capital a real energy, and with a population of around |
| hate answering - I love it because it gives me an | | | | 2,000,000 it's hard not to get caught up in the |
| opportunity to chat at length about a topic I love, | | | | excitement of the place, which at times feels an |
| but I hate it because if they've asked that question it | | | | uneasy mix between modern metropolis and 1950s |
| means I'm going to be there for a while. You see, | | | | throwback - part of the charm of the place is its |
| simply put, there is no 'average' Cuban holiday, and | | | | seeming fixation of classic cars that you just don't |
| everyone goes to the island for different reasons | | | | find (still working) anywhere else in the world! And |
| and receives a unique experience in return. The | | | | escaping the big city life is easy - the beautiful white |
| experience holiday makers get on their Cuba holidays | | | | sands of Havana's beach is just a 30 minute trip |
| can be relaxed, cultural, exhausting or breathtaking - | | | | away from the town centre. |
| but never forgettable. | | | | But a Cuba holiday isn't just about Havana, and while |
| For a start there's the accommodation - your | | | | it would be very easy to spend your whole holiday |
| 'average' Cuba holiday maker will first have to decide | | | | there and feel you'd taken in so much that you must |
| whether they want to stay in the lap of luxury in a | | | | have seen everything, the truth is that you'd be |
| five star resort, or to opt for the basic but more | | | | majorly missing out. |
| authentic experience of staying in a private house | | | | Take Varadero for example - as Cuba's biggest |
| with a local. Whichever style accommodation you opt | | | | beach resort with an impressive 12 mile long |
| for, what you choose to with your days is the next | | | | peninsula, this is the ideal spot for those looking to |
| point at which the idea of a stereotypical Cuba | | | | experiment with water sports or diving on their Cuba |
| holiday shatters: You could choose to enjoy the | | | | holidays. Then there's Trinidad, which history buffs will |
| breathtaking landscapes and charming caves at the | | | | delight in: the quant village feels virtually unchanged in |
| stunning Vinales Valley, enjoy the open roads and | | | | 300 years and as a result is positively steeped in |
| unexplored areas of the island with a hire car (the | | | | history. Or for more recent highlights in the island's |
| roads are virtually deserted, as evidenced by the | | | | history, who could resist a trip to Santiago de Cuba - |
| dozens of hitch-hikers) or be that little more active | | | | cradle of the Cuban revolution and nowadays a |
| with some horse-riding or diving to discover the | | | | luxury spot for foreign visitors to the island? |
| wreckages of sunken ships! | | | | There are hundreds of ways you could spend your |
| Havana is an area I have already written articles | | | | Cuban holidays and I'm really only scratching the |
| about (and no doubt bored those who have asked | | | | surface. Spend your whole time on one activity, or |
| me to death with my desire to share my | | | | mix and match your hobbies to create a unique |
| enthusiasm) but it really does deserve a mention | | | | Cuban adventure, one thing's for sure: There's no |
| here for the ample and varied opportunities it | | | | such thing as a typical Cuban holiday. |
| provides Cuba holiday makers. Culture vultures will | | | | |