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For many visitors to Cuba the most abiding memories that they take home will be of Havana, Cuba's unique, vital and enchanting capital city. Dating back to the beginning of the 16th century the city has been through numerous upheavals but is currently undergoing a major revival as the historic heart of the old city is renovated after years of neglect and Cuba opens up to the outside world once more. As Cuba's political, cultural and historic centre there is enough to see and do in Havana to warrant going no further. However, the majority of our clients will stay in the Old Town for the first few days of their holiday before moving on and for many it is enough just to spend their time exploring the many alleys and squares of this compact part of the City. For clients who have more time or wish to delve deeper, Havana has plenty more to offer.

Beaches

Few visitors to Havana realise that just 25 minutes drive east of the city there are a number of fantastic beaches known as Playas del Este. The beaches here are every bit as good as those at Varadero and day trips can be arranged through your hotel Tours Desk or though our Havana office. The nearest beach resort to Havana is at Jibacoa some 45 minutes drive away while Cuba's largest beach resort by far, Varadeero, is just 2 hours drive.

Excursions

From Havana you can book day and overnight excursions to almost every corner of the island including the Vinales Valey, Trinidad, Cienfuegos, Santa Clara, Santiago, Cayo Largo & Varadero. Every hotel in Havana will have a Tours Desk through which guests can make arrangements. For those who prefer a little more independence, it is possible to book hire car at most hotels or through our Havana reps.

Food

Nowhere in Cuba offers as much variety as Havana. Unlike Cuba's beach resorts which are almost all run on an All Inclusive basis most visitors to Havana are booked on a Bed & Breakfast basis so restaurants get packed out at night. As with all other Cuban towns and cities one of the features of eating out in Havana is the visitor's choice between the official, government run restaurants and the hundreds of private palladars that are that much harder to track down. There are too many restaurants and palladars to list though we do provide a few recommendations with the final travel documentation. If we allow ourselves to make just 1 recommendadion here it would be for the Bodeguita del Medio near Cathedral Square in Old Havana.

Getting There

Havana is far and away Cuba's leading international gateway with all our featured longhaul flights arriving at Jose Marti airport, approximately 25 minutes drive from the city centre. From Havana scheduled domestic flights leave for Camaguey, Holguin and Santiago while charter flights serve the resort islands of Cayo Coco & Cayo Largo. From Havana we can also arrange numerous land transfers West to the Vinales Valley, Sierra del Rosario Biosphere, Maria La Gorda & Cayo Levisa, South to Trinidad & Cienfuegos and East to Jibacoa and Varadero.

Hotels

Accommodation options in Havana can be divided into 4 fairly distinct areas of the city. The majority of visitors will wish to stay in OLD HAVANA and this is where most of our hotels are to be found. About 10 minutes drive along the seafront is the mainly business district of VEDADO where you will find hotels such as the Nacional, Habana Libre and Presidente. Continuing west along the seafront you will pass the Melia Cohiba & Riviera hotels before reaching the largely residential district of MIRAMAR, about 20 minutes drive from Old Havana, where you will find budget hotels such as the Bellocaribe rubbing shoulders with luxury hotels like the Melia Habana. Drive still further out of the city and you will eventually arrive at the MARINA HEMINGWAY where you will find the Hotels Acuario & The Old Man and the Sea. As an alternative to hotel accommodation, we also feature a number of casa particulars which we can pre-book.