anybody been to cuba?

[mooseburger]

thinking of going sometime and need info. where to stay, beaches,all inclusives etc. so any and all help appreciated

[Bobby B.]

I haven't been to Cuba for 7-8 years but I doubt much has changed. We stayed at Breezes, an all inclusive in Veradero. Veradero is well known for it's finely textured sand; much as is Punta Cana in DR.

We always book a number of excursions; we went to Havana for a day trip which included the Tropicana Show (awesome!!!), we went on seadoos over to some little zoo, we did a jeep jungle tour which was a day long trip into the interior (bring lots of hard candies to throw out to the village children), we deep sea fishing (hooked and landed a 30-35 lb wahoo) and a few others which escape my memory at the moment. No matter in which country we've booked tour, and no mattter which tour we booked, we have always enjoyed them.

The wife and I prefer the convenience of all inclusives although we once rented a house right on the beach in Manzanillo with a couple friends. She suggesting we rent again so as avoid the all inclusive buffet fgood plus give her something to do. My dad goes for a month. He rents a car and travels around meeting the locals. He's 73 yrs old and has never once even hinted at feeling unsafe.

Hope this helps.

Bobby B.

[jebber6]

We got married down there in 2003?? We stayed at Sandals Royal Hicacos on the Varadero strip. It was all inclusive and I think you had to be over eighteen to stay there, no kids running around. The beach was nice and the service was great. Did the same touristy things mentioned as well and did a little golfing too.

[mountainmike]

Cuba is great. One piece of advice is hotel ratings. Make it a 5 star hotel for sure. Their 5 is more a 4 to be honest. There is one bar you must see if you are going to Varadero. Go to the cave.......It's a bar inside a cave....sooo cool.

[Rudy198]

i guy at work went and said it was ok,but said he found alot of the people (french)there were rude....I have nothing against french ppl neither does this guy but he was ****ed off at how they acted and treated the resorts employee's.
He said would how ever go again but try another area,preferred Jamaica

[Grizzly Adams]

We went there for a week in Jan. and I have to agree on the hotel rating, which was the only down side to our trip. The food, how can I put this, was unique.:D Stroganoff with pickles and olives and the cuban term for scrambled eggs is Revoltillo, which they certainly lived up to, especially with chopped up wieners. But then, the Karmina Palace in Manzanillo is a tough act to follow.:D
As long as you realize where you are going and and don't have any pretensions of Grandeur, it's a wonderful place. Due largely to the American blockade, they suffer from a shortage of just about everything, but they are not bitter about it and make do with what they have. The people are very friendly. On average, they make about $19. per month, but have excellent health care, a high rate of literacy and post secondary education is free, if you qualify. Canada is their third largest trading partner and our presence is not hard to find, oil rigs outside of Varadero and the excellent local beer, made in partnership with Labatts. Cuban rum is made, among other places, in the old Baccardi distillery.
We did three tours. A three city tour, in which we covered 500 miles, a Havan tour, without the Topicana, and another, where we visited a sugar plantation, Fidel's headquarter's during the Bay of Pigs invasion, a zoo, an Indian village and a crocodile farm. None of the above cost more than a hundred convertible Pesos and always included an excellent meal. the problem with all tours is that you don't have time to really see things. I was counting on touring the forts in La Habana, but wasn't told they weren't included till we were on the bus[nice air conditioned chinese with Banyo]. You get a liberal dose of propaganda with the tours and the CIA and los Nortamericanos are the villains. I finally had to straighten one guide out. No Nortamericanos, No Canadiense.:D
A friend, who had been there a number of times, gave me a Lonely Planet guide to Cuba and i would recommend anyone going there, get something similar.
You can rent a car, but I would advise against it. As I told my wife after our three city tour, they are probably still picking up the bodies behind us.:D Amazing, what forms of transportation, you see on the roads, most without tail lights. Rental equipment can be in poor condition and you are responsible for getting it back in the event of a breakdown. The, if you are in an accident, as our tour guide pointed out, in Cuba, you are guilty until proven innocent.:D
You can't buy Cuban Pesos here and American credit cards are not accepted. My wife had had an RBC bank card and was amazed how fast the bank machine in Varadero processed her transaction, much faster than the local ones.
Don't take your GPS. One of their little paranoid things, but they will confiscate it, if found.:D
I took a couple of those cheap tape measures from Bianca amors place and made some friends for life. One I gave to some fisherman replanking his boat with an old table saw some hand tools his boat in La Habana .
In case you can't tell, I can hardly wait to go back. Cost, all inclusive for a week, just under a thousand dollars.
Grizz
http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1230/4210318/8819103/305402679.jpg
Albrta Outdoorsman in Cuba.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1230/4210318/8819103/305402681.jpg

Cuban goose gun. Didn't think they would let me field strip it, but lifted the feed covers. Nothing wrong with these babies, that a good cleaning and a couple of hundred rounds of ammo wouldn't fix

[Hoochie Papa]

Probably one of the best choices for a vacation. I went with the wife last spring. We stayed at Melia Varadero. Excellent hotel. All inclusive of course. In our resort, there was 7 restaurants to choose from. No matter where in the world you are from, there is something for you to eat there.
Exquisite beaches for miles.
We took in the Havana tour with the cigar factory. Now I know why Cuban cigars are among the finest in the world. We also took a day trip on a catamaran. That was the best day of the trip.

I liked it so much in fact, I spent the whole summer working down there.
And yes, I felt as safe as I do in my own home.

Tip the maids with trinkets, not money. Pantyhose, school supplies for their kids, slippers, hair accessories, things like that.

We will go again for sure.

[mooseburger]

the info you guys are providing me is invalueable and really appreciated, hey Griz , great pictures and goose gun, i heard it is windy down there and can get chilly at the beach? my missus loves the heat, enough so that she would chase the devil outt"a his home lol. so that being said ................Cuba can be done ( all inclusive ) for less than 1K for the week? wow man thats a pretty good deal, who did you guys book with? and what time of the year did you go? is there a rainy season?, do they have a winter season?
again thanks for your responses, keep 'em comeing! .........mooseburger

[gopherslayer]

and what time of the year did you go? is there a rainy season?, do they have a winter season?
.........mooseburger

"Cuba has two distinct seasons, rainy (May-Oct) and dry (Nov-Apr). The dry season is characterized by consistently sunny and temperate weather, with daytime temperatures averaging between 75° and 80°F (24°-27°C). However, temperature swings are greater during this period, and it can actually get somewhat chilly when cold fronts -- or "northers" -- creep down the eastern seaboard of the United States, particularly in the months of January and February. In contrast, the rainy season is overall a slightly warmer period in Cuba, with less dramatic same-day temperature swings. There's a small dry spell most years during August, which is also the hottest month to visit Cuba. The entire Caribbean basin is affected by an annual hurricane season (June-Oct), with September and October having the highest number of hurricanes."

[BEL]

About 10 years ago we stayed at Melino, Veradero. A great hotel and like a previous person said several restaurant go with it. Check out the tour to Havanna and the crocodile farm in the south somewhere. Also, go fishing the flats for bonefish. We didn't cause it was not that popular then and I didn't know about it. Go now before the American investment arrives--Castro is on his way out. BEL

[Grizzly Adams]

the info you guys are providing me is invalueable and really appreciated, hey Griz , great pictures and goose gun, i heard it is windy down there and can get chilly at the beach? my missus loves the heat, enough so that she would chase the devil outt"a his home lol. so that being said ................Cuba can be done ( all inclusive ) for less than 1K for the week? wow man thats a pretty good deal, who did you guys book with? and what time of the year did you go? is there a rainy season?, do they have a winter season?
again thanks for your responses, keep 'em comeing! .........mooseburger
Six of us went, including my 8 month old grandson. We originally didn't have our sights set on cuba, even though I've always wanted to go there. Big Che' fan in my youth.:D My son's mother in law set out to find us the best deal, someplace warm, just after christmas and that's where we ended up. One of those cold fronts had apparently moved through just before we got there and it rained the first day. Couple of showers during the week, one of which screwed up one beach wedding at our hotel. Bright and sunny till 10 minutes before and then it poured. they moved it indoors. Weather sure beat what you guys had here.:D We had the Edmonton CTV channel at our hotel and could follow the approaching cold weather, hoping it didn't make it to Calgary and my truck parked at the airport.
Don't get drunk and disorderly there. Somebody at our hotel insisted on being an ******* and the police were called in. They warned him about the consequences of being arrested, but he wouldn't listen. I guess the cuban version of pepper spray is that they beat you on the legs with night sticks till you quit resisting and they ended up taking him away on a stretcher.
Next time, I'll take my fishing rod. A guy from London[Ont.] was fishing off the canal entrance behind our hotel and claimed he had lost an 8 lb. barracuda earlier that day. The cubans were skindiving for lobsters there, as well.
Grizz

[AbAngler]

Just got back from Veradero last night. Beaches were great, rum was good, towns and cities were not so good....

We were going to go fishing until we heard from many different people that it sucked. Spend $500 for a day and catch two fish, no thanks. Apparently next month is supposed to be better fishing, but I wouldn't count on it. The people are really hurting, so they fish alot to supplement their monthly food rations. So basically, near shore is pretty much fished out an nobody caught anything further off shore.

I golfed a few times at the course in Veradero, which is really nice. Not the cheapest place, but it's in great shape with beautiful views. You can share rental clubs (Taylor Made R7) to save a $60. Don't let them make you rent two sets.

We did the catamaran trip to a small island with a super nice beach, some snorkeling and swimming with dolphins. Warm up your liver for that one!

We also did the jeep tour. You see alot of country, snorkeling on the reef, jet skiing, horse back riding and mild offroading. Only managed to get two flat tires...

My wife wanted to see Havana, so we did the day trip. Lots of history, but its really run down and dirty. The cigar factory was ok, but the rum factory was a joke. For me, I didn't need to go on this one.

It was a fun trip, but I've had better trips to Jamaica (Negril) and the DR (Punta Cana). Probably won't go back anytime soon.

PS As stated earlier in the post, go for a 5 star resort. The 4 stars we saw, were not so nice. The extra couple hundred is well worth it.

[Okotokian]

Stayed in Veradaro at the Barcello property. Not bad. Food in Cuba almost universally bad, take your own spices. I'm not joking. Bland. Take stuff for kids, and scool supplies for local schools. Again, not kidding. They appreciate it.

Resorts there no better than anywhere else (I think most Mexican ones a little better run), though it was interesting to see a communist country and how backward they are. You really see it in Havana. run-down, poor or no public transport, traffic lights don't work half the time (I actually drove there. quite the adventure). On the other hand, it's safe. I've never seen so many police in my life.

Frankly, I would have misgivings about going back there. We whine about our own semi-socialist government, why with our loonies should we support a real Communist government that jails opponents? Just because the beach is nice?

[knifeman]

Was there in Dec/07 and was great. Good food, drink, cigars, and the beach. All around a great trip. But don't over pack because you'll pay on your way home. Ticket said 2 bags 40lbs each, left Edmonton fine but when i was coming home from Cuba they said that it was 40lbs total so i had to pay about 150 canada. WOW what a scene i made in the airport, wife thought i'd be going to jail.

[bignose]

Been to Varadero 4 times over the last few years and really enjoyed Cuba. the all inclusives are good for a beach holiday - and good advice above about tipping with toilettries and stationary, they really appreciate it, and also worth tipping bar and restaurant staff with a couple of dollars - guarantees great service and really helps them out locally. last time we went another guest was fishing off the beach (or rather waded in and fished - caught some decent fish - not sure about species). Every time we go we rent a car and go to Havana for a night, it's about a two hour drive from varadero. Havana is an amazing city, great night life and music, great bars, never felt unsafe (but usual scams and we were always in a tourist area). Difficult to get a good hotel - but usually they're clean. Went for a drive across the island one year (took my in-laws to a bird sanctuary at the Bay of Pigs. the roads aren't really good, and the signposting is almost non-existent. But a great trip, and quite an adventure. Cubans are usually friendly, literate, english often spoken, but very poor and will look to you for dollars if they can. but we were never troubled or felt unsafe. it's a place i'd like to spend more time.

[bobcatguy]

Haven't been to Cuba yet but am going to Varadero at the end of March. I also have never been bonefishing either & I'm wondering if I should take my fly rod or my spinning gear. Also does anyone know how you get a liscense or if one is even needed there. Info on the choice of gear is greatly appreciated.
I was at the dentist yesterday & asked her if she would sell me about 100 toothbrushes. On my way out I was handed 3 boxes, 2 of brushes & 1 of tubes of toothpaste. No charge. I think I'll get some pencils & paper also.