Cuba is sort of a second paused in time.

It went from being some of the vibrant occasion locations for rich Individuals within the 1920’s to a spot the place Communist rule has led to a long time of disagreements between America and Cuba.

This disagreement made it arduous for Individuals to journey to Cuba due to a business, financial and monetary embargo that was positioned within the 1950’s.

In 2016, President Obama began what seemed to be a sluggish unwinding of the embargo, however this appears to be altering beneath the brand new American Presidency.

Fortunately, throughout the brief window that Individuals may journey freely to Cuba, I hopped on the bandwagon and went. Twice.

Right here’s my expertise touring to Havana and Vinales with pals.

A four day weekend in Havana, Cuba

Attending to Cuba

We traveled on Frontier Airways leaving from Miami, Florida. Complete price was $220 per individual.

We received our Cuban visa one month earlier than touring for $110.

Each web site I learn made it sound like YOU MUST get the visa earlier than you journey, however in actuality, after we received to the check-in counter, the airways had been promoting them for $100. So we paid an additional $10 for peace of thoughts.

I’ve heard when you enter Cuba from Mexico the visa is simply $20 USD.

Cuba’s north shore is simply 90 miles south of the southernmost level of the USA in Key West, so the aircraft journey from Miami was just one hour and 15 minutes.

On the aircraft they offer you a visa card to fill out which explains your motive for touring.

We selected the People2People trade as a result of we really went there to be taught concerning the Cuban Tradition and immerse ourselves in it.

We arrived in Cuba, received off the aircraft and entered Cuba and not using a hitch. I don’t know if immigration even checked out our vacationer playing cards.

What To Pack Touring to Cuba

Pack mild.

There isn’t a motive to pack your excessive heels or favourite silk prime. Critically you’d simply be flaunting it round. I discover it’s finest to mix in and turn out to be part of the tradition.

I like to recommend mild and comfy clothes, strolling footwear and a hat. (A hat is a will need to have if touring in summer time!)

These are the two backpacks that I exploit when touring:

• Light-weight Day Pack – this backpack folds down into a little bit sq. so you’ll be able to throw it in your huge bag and use as a day pack while you want it.
• Marmot Aspen backpack – these backpacks are nice for journey and match every thing completely when you roll your garments.

Ensure to deliver the necessities – toothpaste, deodorant, toothbrush, sunscreen, and so on. You gained’t be capable of purchase them there as they don’t have comfort shops.

Try these posts that can assist you discover one of the best baggage or suitcase for you:

Lodging in Havana

We had organized an Airbnb in Vedado which is a number of miles west of Previous Havana.

We selected this space as a result of the Airbnb was good, had nice opinions, accommodated 7 folks and truly had air-con.

If you wish to be in Previous Havana, you would keep proper in Central Park – one of many 5 important squares of the town.

There have been fairly a number of good resort choices in Havana’s Middle:

Cuban Foreign money

There are NO bank card services so you have to take money.

We took about $800 USD money for two folks for four days. We didn’t trade all of it although – I simply needed to verify I had sufficient money in case.

They really have 2 currencies – The CUC (Cuban Convertible) and the CUP (Cuban Peso). You’ll be utilizing CUCs as that is the forex particularly for vacationers.

Above is an image of the 2 currencies. Vacationers use the Pesos Convertibles (left).

There’s a 10% tax to trade USD + a three% trade charge. So for $100 USD you’ll get about $87 CUC.

You possibly can trade it at a financial institution together with your passport, however we simply exchanged with the house owners of our AirBNB who had American . So we saved the three% forex charge and paid solely the 10% tax. So $100 USD = $90 CUC.

$90 CUC is some huge cash there, however as with all place you journey, there are vacationer traps and folks will attempt to rip you off.

Right here’s a terrific article concerning the Cuban currencies.

Issues To Do in Havana, Cuba

We had four days in Havana over a protracted weekend. Right here’s what we did.

Revolution Sq.

The sq. is notable as being the place many political rallies happen in Cuba.

You’ll see the well-known faces of Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos – essential figures throughout the Revolution.

The above picture is taken from an enormous obelisk with Jose Marti overlooking the sq.. I didn’t know a factor about Jose Marti, however the Cubans adore him.

He’s a author, poet, journalist and essayist however he additionally lead the primary Cuban Revolution and it’s stated that Castro received his inspiration for his Revolution from Jose Marti.

Previous Havana Strolling Tour

This can be a FREE strolling tour placed on by college college students.

Havana is laid out by 5 important squares and so they stroll you round to every of them and offer you a VERY in depth historical past (from their perspective) about Cuba and the Cuban Folks.

Carry money to tip your information for all of their arduous work!

Day Journey to Vinales on a Cuban Basic Automotive Tour

We took a basic automotive tour to Vinales, a city on the western aspect of Cuba which has these stunning steep-sided limestone hills, often known as mogotes.

This tour will decide you up in an previous basic automotive of your alternative (we selected a convertible Bonneville) and can drive you about 2.5 hours to Vinales.

On the way in which we stopped at a standard Cuban Espresso Stand after which went to a farm the place they confirmed us how they made Cohiba Cigars.

To place it into perspective, Cigars there have been about $10 USD for one. In case you had been to purchase that very same cigar right here can be $20 USD. So that you save about 50%.

HOT TIP! One of the simplest ways to inform in case your cigar is genuine and actually made from pure tobacco leaves the ash shall be white when it burns.

Then we went as much as the attractive resort to snap a photograph of Vinales itself.

Because it was fairly busy, somewhat than occurring a Cave tour (which is typical with these excursions), they took us to this wonderful lake close by (a spot that jogged my memory of a summer time camp).

We rented canoes and paddled round and went swimming within the freshwater lake – a giant reduction from the warmth!

Revolution Museum

I extremely advocate you try the Revolution Museum. It’s about $eight CUC for the entry charge. You’ll be taught concerning the Revolution from the Cuban perspective.

Nationwide Museum of Effective Arts

It’s fairly a big museum with a lot of stunning paintings so I believe you want about three hours to discover each flooring. We solely had one hour and it wasn’t sufficient.

Playas des Este

That is the closest seaside to Havana. You possibly can catch a bus close to Central Park, or get a taxi to take you (about $15 CUC every approach).

Meals and Nightlife in Havana

It’s best to solely pay about $3CUCs for a mojito. Something extra and you might be in a really costly place that’s catering for you, the vacationer.

Most important programs for meals was about $7 CUC, however you would pay as much as $22 CUC when you had been getting Lobster (and that’s costly there).

Listed here are a number of of my favourite locations that we visited.

Resort Ambos Mundos

Come as much as Resort Ambos Mundos for sundown and revel in a Pina Colada whereas overlooking all of previous Havana. They may deliver it to you in a contemporary pineapple and can pour the well-known Havana Membership Rum in there!

This resort was a favourite of Ernest Hemingway (he spent numerous time in Cuba and Key West) and there’s really a small museum devoted to him within the resort.

Apparently the lobster is definitely fairly good in Cuba and it’s also no the place close to the worth of lobster in Maine.

ChaChaCha Restaurant

If you’re searching for a pleasant place to eat after you tour the Revolution Museum, this can be a good possibility. The meals and environment had been nice (attempt the pasta!)

Lamparilla 361

This can be a enjoyable cantina off the crushed observe, advisable to us by our native Cuban tour information. It jogged my memory of a hip bar that you’d come upon down the streets of Melbourne, Australia.

Paladar

A paladar is a small family-run restaurant in a Cuban dwelling so it’s one of the simplest ways to style conventional Cuban meals. You’ll see Paladars in all places.

They all the time have a great worth and also you get 4 programs and a drink.

It was about $12 CUC pp for lunch.

Salsa Membership 1830

Come out to one of the best salsa membership in Havana. Get these hips shifting and check out salsa, or get pleasure from a Havana Membership and relax on the patio beneath the celebrities.

Observe: There was a $5CUC cowl charge after we went.

Need to journey to Cuba however don’t wish to go alone? Try these excursions from the superior G Adventures tour firm. We advocate them as they deal with native ccommunities and atmosphere whereas providing you with a enjoyable and genuine time.

Extra Cuba Journey Ideas:

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What are a few of your favorite issues to do in Havana, Cuba?

A couple of nights away was simply what our household wanted, and Brunswick Heads was the proper location for this weekend retreat.

We had been seeking to escape our busy calendars and loosen up as a household. And we needed the youngsters to be off their know-how and be open air exploring the world.

Our household wanted unplugging from the chaos of our on a regular basis life to reconnect with one another. The good coast line of Northern NSW was the place to do exactly that.

We headed straight to the Reflections Vacation Parks Massy Greene at Brunswick Heads, solely a brief journey from our dwelling on the Gold Coast.

Packing mild and never having to journey far was one of many joys of this household weekend getaway.

It meant we may loosen up extra and have longer time to take pleasure in our vacation spot.

The seaside city of Brunswick Heads is the correct mix of sleepiness, funky retailers, cafes and native eating places. It’s solely 20 minutes north of Byron Bay, however nowhere close to as busy or crowded.

Reflections Vacation Parks Massy Greene is located proper on the Brunswick River, the proper place for taking part in and unwinding.

The Park itself has quite a lot of lodging from unpowered and powered websites and self-contained cabins.

(As Caz and Craig are within the US, we traveled on behalf of y Journey Weblog to write down about our expertise at Massy Greene and we stayed as friends of Reflections Vacation Parks. Maintain studying to the top as there’s a probability so that you can win a calming getaway too!)

Reflections Vacation Parks, Massy Greene

The placement of Reflections Vacation Parks Massy Greene on the banks of the calm and clear Brunswick River can’t be beat.

The seaside and city are additionally inside strolling distance.

Our household expectations for any lodging might be fairly excessive and at Massy Greene all of the containers had been ticked.

Our excellent household lodging guidelines appears to be like like this:

• each particular person has their very own mattress
• a separate lounge space the place we are able to loosen up as soon as the youngsters have gone to mattress
• cooking amenities to arrange some meals
• clear lodging

The deluxe cabin we stayed in was past our expectations. We spent two nights in a 2 bed room deluxe cabin and we wished we may keep longer.

The cabins are located one row again from the river and we may see glimpses of the water from our deck.

The cabin was the proper arrange for a household of 5 because the second bed room had a double mattress with a bunk excessive of the mattress.

Our bed room had a really comfy mattress with lodge high quality white bedding and fluffy towels.

We additionally had a TV in our room in addition to one other TV within the lounge room. The cabin was very clear and had a separate bathroom and bathe.

The deluxe cabin had a big kitchen, eating and lounge room. The kitchen had a full measurement fridge, dishwasher, range high and microwave and sufficient crockery and cutlery to eat in and cook dinner.

We took benefit of the BBQ on the deck and had sausage sandwiches for lunch. The massive deck had an outside setting for all of us to sit down round and have breakfast and afternoon nibbles.

Sitting on the deck and watching the vacation park exercise was the place to be every afternoon with our cheese and wine.

We watched the afternoon rituals of the opposite vacation makers, taking their drinks and chairs to affix their new discovered buddies and have a yarn.

Everybody within the park was completely happy to have a chat and provides us a wave whereas we watched from our deck.

The children liked the playground subsequent to our cabin and had been completely happy to play every afternoon and make new mates.

After a play on the slides we headed to the river to look at the youngsters play within the shallow waters with the opposite Vacation Park friends.

The tidal river was crystal clear and was a hive of exercise.

At low tide the youngsters loved constructing sandcastles and taking part in within the water. As soon as the tide rose the fishing rods got here out and with the bait purchased from the reception we had been capable of catch just a few bream.

The children wished they’d purchased their bikes and scooters as there was many different kids taking part in on the Parks streets with their bikes.

Exploring the coastal city of Brunswick Heads

We left the automobile on the Reflections Vacation Park all weekend as every part we wanted was in strolling distance.

Though Brunswick Heads is a small coastal village there’s such an enormous number of eclectic retailers and cafes. We walked from our cabin and explored the city of Brunswick Heads.

On the town we discovered a tremendous mixture of retro collectables, funky second hand shops and distinctive homewares.

Every retailer had its personal vibe and character; it was straightforward to get misplaced in them and discover quirky items.

Being on holidays meant that there we no plans to cook dinner dinner! With so many restaurant selections and an assortment of takeaway menus that we collected from our stroll round city, we determined to strive the Mexican restaurant, Gringos, which is positioned simply outdoors the doorway to the Vacation Park.

I feel we counted 50 steps from our cabin to Gringos.

We had an exquisite recent meal sitting outdoors having fun with just a few margaritas with dinner. The children’ meals had been massive and well-priced and everybody left pleased with their dinner.

There are various locations at Brunswick to swim – the river has many hidden gems and might be accessed throughout low tide.

We additionally walked to the seaside from the Vacation Park which took about 5 minutes. The seaside is a implausible stretch and has lifesavers dotted alongside the coast line.

We watched many fisherman take their boats out so we determined to rent one for ourselves. Outdoors the Brunswick Resort is a ship rent place which is just a few minute stroll from the Vacation Park.

We took a small boat out for just a few hours and took benefit of the Brunswick River.

With our fishing rods on board we bought fortunate with just a few catches. Spending the afternoon fishing collectively on the river was one of many highlights to our weekend at Brunswick Heads.

If you happen to’re in search of a spot to getaway from the chaos of your regular household routine, soar within the automobile and head to Massy Greene at Brunswick Heads.

Don’t overlook to pack your fishing rod!

Reflections Vacation Parks

Reflections Vacation Parks, (beforehand North Coast Vacation Parks, South Coast Vacation Parks and Inland Waters Vacation Parks) are all about getting again to and nearer to nature.

All 37 NSW parks are positioned on crown land in iconic places.

It means staying at a Reflections Vacation Park will get you nearer to animal life, seashores, lagoons, and actions like fishing, browsing and bush walks.

In contrast to different vacation locations, Reflections Vacation Parks reinvest again into their parks and public recreation reserves on Crown land  to make sure that households have pure areas to loosen up and reconnect and benefit from the serenity.

As you unwind, do not forget that funds raised out of your keep return into caring for and re-developing the vacation parks and essential Crown land public recreation reserves which so many communities take pleasure in.

Your break reinvigorates each you and the atmosphere.

And for canine lovers, 24 of the 37 Reflections Vacation Parks are dog-friendly.

Be taught extra in regards to the serenity and enjoyable within the following video: