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