It is a city unlike any other, transporting visitors back to the 1950s, when brightly-coloured, old-school automobiles shone under the Caribbean sun. Yet it has changed significantly over the past decade.
Havana is Cuba's largest city and the most recognizable in postcards, with its iconic malecon (seawall), cobblestone historic city centre, and vibrant buildings in pastel and vibrant hues.
I recently visited the popular destination for the second time, returning to a couple of my top spots and discovering some new favourites. My first trip, in 2015, included a typical city tour of Havana's colonial history, which I highly recommend; there are several available. You can take a walking tour to see the top spots or in one of the city's iconic cars (it makes for some great photos).
But this year's trip had a decidedly different vibe. I wanted to explore, but also dive deeper into the city's culture, stay outside the tourist centre, and take a day trip to an otherworldly area.
My Spanish-speaking friend accompanied me for the three days I spent in Havana following a three-day stint in Varadero, the island's most popular resort area. While I've been to Havana before, having a translator proved a priceless commodity for negotiating cab fares, getting information, and more. Travellers can easily visit Havana without speaking Spanish but at least a rudimentary understanding of the language is useful.
Flights from Vancouver to Cuba
To find the best deals to get to Cuba from Vancouver, you may want to book through a third-party travel platform. I booked my trip through FlightHub but opted for a return trip to Varadero instead of Havana because tickets are dramatically cheaper and I wanted a little beach relaxation to sandwich my time in the bustling metropolis. Who can say "no" to one of the world's most iconic white sand beaches?
Have a look at where I stayed, played, explored, ate, and danced in Havana.
Hotel Nacional de Cuba
The Hotel Nacional de Cuba is one of the city's top historic accommodations, greeting visitors with photos of iconic guests including Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Ernest Hemingway, Errol Flynn, John Wayne, Jean-Paul Sartre, Jackie Robinson, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and many others.
The hotel has also housed famous Canadians. I saw a photograph in the lobby with former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien conversing with Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Visitors can enjoy a free tour of the hotel in the mornings that they can arrange with reception.
The stately accommodation sits on the top of Taganana Hill overlooking the ocean, and its dreamy courtyard offers an ideal place to listen to live music while soaking in views. We didn't stay there this time (I stayed on my first visit) but shared a cocktail and appetizers in the courtyard before a show. You don't need to be a guest to enjoy this area, which is home to a range of resident birds, including peacocks and chickens.
La Villa Teresa Havana Cuba
The Hotel Nacional de Cuba offers jaw-dropping ocean views and is close to several other downtown attractions. However, guests must pay top dollar to drink and dine at its restaurants and bars. However, room rates aren't especially high for a historic accommodation (prices start under US$150).
I enjoyed my stay at La Villa Teresa, a bed and breakfast, far more. While I can't speak on the other room categories (we had the largest suite), we enjoyed above-and-beyond service, warmth, and proximity to more affordable eats.
After the journey from Varadero, a smiling woman welcomed us and gave us a tour of the property's impressive historical collection, including various pieces of fine china and sculptures. Each room offers a feast for the imagination, with rich colours, sparkling surfaces, and ornate decorations.
While it is a bit of a journey to reach the accommodation's soaring location, the views from our suite were nothing short of spellbinding, particularly after dark. We also enjoyed the roomy balcony to ourselves, which has access to the rooftop. No city tours include a unique view of the city like the one we enjoyed.
The hostel is also gated for safety and has a 24-hour security guard available to welcome guests back in.
Each morning, Chef Odalys prepared a breakfast of whatever we requested, including a big plate of fresh fruit with banana and papaya, fresh juice, eggs any style, toast, and coffee with milk. The cost was US$8 per person.
On a morning when we had to go on a tour, Odalys was kind enough to prepare an egg sandwich early (before 6 a.m.) so we could eat while we waited for the bus downtown.
The welcome staff also helped us with our driver Jose who ended up helping us with transportation for most of our time in Havana. He was available to drive us home at various times, including picking us up before dinners, after staying out for the night, and on our final drive back from Varadero to Havana. Having the number of a trusted local provided us with a means to enjoy the town at an expedited yet safe pace.
La Rosa Rosa Ortega
La Rosa Rosa Ortega is a restaurant directly across the narrow street from La Villa Teresa. It features beautiful indoor and outdoor seating, nostalgic decor, and a diverse menu.
Drinks, meals, and appetizers are significantly cheaper than in popular tourist stops in Old Havana and places near the malecon. Some of the options I enjoyed included a fresh fish dish with rice, beans, and potatoes, while my friend had pasta. We ate there on two occasions because it was so much cheaper than in some other places (and delicious).
La Rosa Ortega is also a bed and breakfast with overwhelmingly positive reviews on major travel booking platforms. The staff are warm and helpful (not unlike at La Villa Teresa), providing a more intimate experience than staying in one of the big hotels.
Buena Vista Social Night
Buena Vista Social Night is a must-see dinner, dance, and powerhouse musical performance in Havana.
I arrived at the venue well before the show kicked off, which was lucky; we were seated in the front row in what ended up being a full room.
The musicians belt out a range of popular Spanish hits, including some famous Cuban songs. While I wasn't familiar with most of them, it is hard not to fall in love with the passionate and electric compilation of salsa, rumba, bolero and guaguancó.
To my horror and delight (it was both), an older gentleman with a buttery voice pulled me on stage to dance with him while he was singing to the entire showroom. While I was hugely embarrassed (Cubans can dance and I cannot), it was so much fun. When I tried to leave the stage, he instructed other people to start dancing and several guests got up from the front rows and eased my embarrassment.
The price of a ticket also includes three drinks of your choice, a three-course meal, and a roughly two-hour performance.
Day trip to Viñales Valley and tobacco farm
My travel companion and I embarked on a 12-hour excursion from Havana to the mountains to visit a tobacco farm and a UNESCO World Heritage site. You can book these excursions through Cubaturs at most big hotels in Cuba or before you leave home.
We had to be ready for the tour at 7:30 a.m. in the Hotel National de Cuba's lobby. While the company picks up guests from several hotels, the big buses can't navigate the tight streets where La Villa Teresa is situated.
Cuba's westernmost province, Pinar del Río, offers several top attractions a relatively short distance from Havana. Visitors to Cuba can opt to stay in the region or take a day trip from Havana.
The tour's first stop is a visit to a tobacco farm where the group learned about the harvesting process and watched an expert hand roll a cigar.
Guide Alexandar Garcia speaks several languages, including English, French, and Spanish, allowing visitors from several countries to learn everything from the unique drying house - made completely of tobacco leaves - to all the steps in the rolling process, including cutting the leaves and rolling several times. Unlike other cigars, the farm uses honey to seal them and we each got to try a taste of it. We were also offered a cigar to puff in the mid-morning sunshine (officially the earliest I've ever smoked a cigar).
After the farm, the tour stopped at a stunning viewpoint called Mirador de Los Jazmines where we snapped several photographs and browsed some local vendors.
Viñales Valley artwork and cave system
El Valle de Viñales (Viñales Valley or Viñales National Park) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the region that features awe-inspiring views of unique hills and lush valleys. The dome-like hills, known as mogotes, rise dramatically up to 300 metres from the flat terrain which features farms and some forested areas. The fertile and warm climate is ideal for growing crops, including tobacco, and raising livestock.
Visitors can discover unique handicrafts in the nearby village and enjoy the region's rural landscape with colonial, one-storey homes dotted along its main street. Our tour bus drove down the main drag and saw a variety of these homes, with mostly bright or pastel hues, as well as shops, restaurants, and bars. Most buildings include a porch for people to sit in the shade (temperatures in the valley soar).
Cuban artist Leovigildo González Morillo and a team of over a dozen people transformed a mogote face with a massive painting spanning 120 metres called the Mural de la Prehistoria. The colourful artwork took over four years to complete and features sea creatures, dinosaurs, other animals, and humans, showcasing the evolution of life on Earth.
Our group took some time to snap photographs in front of the massive artwork and enjoyed the scenic views around it. Someone was climbing part of the hill face when we approached the nearby restaurant but visitors should avoid navigating the steep terrain. Not only will they do so without safety equipment, but there also aren't any immediate emergency medical services available if they get injured.
The tour included lunch at a local restaurant beside the mural, which included one drink of choice (water, beer, wine, or a cocktail), salad, a type of yam, rice and beans, chicken, dessert, and a coffee.
After lunch, we visited the Cueva del Indio, a beautiful cave with a walking path and river running through it. Our group split into two to take small boats through the waterway, admiring illuminated paintings and rock formations. Our guide also pointed out unique areas by pointing a red laser at them and explaining which each resembled, such as a crocodile, a lady, and a shark.
La Fábrica de Arte Cubano
La Fábrica de Arte Cubano is an art gallery and performance venue in Havana that also functions as a nightclub. Visitors move through a few halls of art upon entry before entering the first music hall, which has a massive stage and plenty of space for people to dance. After that, they move out of this area and can access the multi-level art gallery, displaying a range of works on display, for sale, and a gift shop at the top.
There are access points to two other club areas, as well as a VIP area serving premium liquor and featuring special access to a bird's eye view of the stage from the first performance venue (it sounds like a bit of a maze but makes more sense as you move through it).
The attraction also includes several places to enjoy the open air and people stay until about 2:30 a.m. filling their eyes and ears with up-and-coming artists and performers. It is one of the most vibrant nightlife options I've experienced and I didn't want the night to end.
Middle of the night eats
Late-night revellers don't have to fret about finding food in the middle of the night - although they might have to travel to locate exactly what they want (but full meals are available).
Like convenience stores, numerous small shops stay open late across Old Havana and other areas, selling small snacks and other foods.
Our driver Jose took us to the Friki Monkey, located across the street from Cuba's national zoo. It was 3 a.m. when we stopped for a bite but the elated owners made me a burger and fries and my friend and our driver each a massive pizza for $20 total. He also offered us about half a glass of rum each (straight up), which I politely declined. He gave us some water to drink instead. A couple of other patrons were hanging out in the late-night eatery sharing laughs and food.
This cool spot has a colourful mural of - you guessed it - a "freaking-looking" monkey outside. We snapped a photo with the owner before heading back to our higher-altitude home for the night.
Getting around Havana
My friend and I hired a Coco-Taxi to take us from the Hotel National de Cuba to the Buena Vista Social Night. These open-air, rickshaw-type taxis are bright yellow and located across the city. You should arrange a price with your driver before heading to your destination.
It would have taken roughly 45 minutes to walk from the hotel to the part of Old Havana to the top Buena Vista Social Night location (there are a couple of venues) but we were told it can be dangerous to walk on the malecon at night. It was still early-ish (before 8 p.m.), so it was dark but we did not feel unsafe. Still, we opted for the cab because it would be easier to navigate in the dark with limited time. We ended up not being able to buy tickets to the top venue (it had sold out) so our driver was kind enough to take us to the other option at no additional fee. He also told us fun stories as we powered through the streets and it was fun to enjoy the sights in the open-air vehicle. With a big toothy grin, he told us his name was Hamlet "like in Shakespeare."
Taxis in near big hotels in Havana, including by the Hotel Nacional de Cuba, may ask surprisingly lofty fares (try US$25 for a relatively short ride). Keep in mind that there is a fuel shortage in the island nation so prices may cost more than they have in other years. However, not all drivers charge the same fares. Also, if you plan to do a great deal of exploring closer to the malecon or in Old Havana, you may prefer to stay in that area. This will save money on transportation.
Thanks to FlightHub for facilitating travel to Cuba from Vancouver by hosting our flights and Varadero hotel stay.
None of the above-mentioned experiences or meals were hosted; the entire itinerary was self-curated and paid for by the author with no prior arrangement with any business.
All opinions and inclusions are those of the author and were based solely on personal experience. None of the businesses or entities featured were granted any previews of the story before publication or paid to be mentioned.
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