You know you have arrived somewhere special when your airport transfer is a pristine aquamarine 1950’s Chevy; its outside polished within an inch of its life, whilst inside it’s so spick and span you could eat you dinner off the seats. Welcome to Cuba!
There are a number of ways to visit this enigmatic country. There’s the one where you stay at an all-inclusive hotel on the beaches of Varadero, never actually venturing further than the guarded gate. Then there’s the one where you get under the skin of Cuba, peeling back its many historic layers and uncovering hidden gems with the help of a private guide.
It’s no surprise that Julian and I opted for the latter. We spent 10 days travelling from the capital, to the lush and fertile valleys of Viñales, onto pretty Spanish colonial Trinidad and exploring many towns in between.
Our Cuban journey began in Havana. This city is truly like no other. Just driving from the airport is like paging through a history book. From the grey concrete Soviet-era buildings of Revolution Square to the vintage American cars, most dating back to the Fifties, a throwback to the pre-revolution era when the American mafia moved into Havana, making it a playground for rich and famous Americans.
From the roof terrace of our hotel, the centrally located Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski, we got our first real glimpse of the city as the sun set over the Capitol Building.
Whilst down below the candy coloured cars and people on the busy streets looked like toy models.
The next morning we headed out on a walking tour around Havana’s old colonial centre (Habana Vieja), where we quickly got a feel for the past. The area has been lovingly restored over the last two decades through the work of architect Eusebio Leal. Cobbled streets lead to immaculately polished Baroque churches and plazas, which have been returned to their former glory, fountains flowing and facades attentively rendered.
But perhaps more charming are those streets that remain untouched, where you’ll find the real beating heart of Havana.
We were very fortunate to get access to this with our photojournalist guide, Abel. Here the street life is vibrant and colourful. Socialising is one of the city’s main pastimes, whether it’s a game of dominoes or gossiping on the doorsteps and street corners with family and friends.
Next we visited another relic of Cuba’s past, Ernest Hemingway’s house, Finca Vigia. Set on the outskirts of the capital, the house was visited during the 1940s and ’50s by numerous renowned celebrities and remains virtually untouched since his death in 1961.
Even if, like us, you know very little about Hemingway, in the hands of our expert guide Nelson, you cannot help but be fascinated by his life in Havana and that period in Cuba’s tumultuous recent past.
As another sun set on the capital, we joined locals along the Malecón, a broad esplanade that hugs the coast, the sea wall filled with people reading, fishing and canoodling against a back drop of decaying buildings.
It was interesting to see how Havana had changed since 2016, following the death of Castro and Obama’s visit as the first American President to set foot in Cuba in nearly a decade. In my view, the changes have been positive. The country still remains true to its revolutionary ideals. You won’t find a Mc Donald’s or a Coca Cola sign. Wi-Fi is such a new thing that getting hold of it isn’t easy and Havana is one of the only places these days, where you go out to dinner and find people actually talking to each other, instead of having their noses in their phones. But with Cuba’s guarded openness to private enterprise grabbing hold, there’s an evolutionary wave of self-expression and creativity with new and inventive offerings in food, culture, night life and hospitality. The capital now feels like a very happy mish-mash of past and present, freedom and restriction.
But there’s a lot more to Cuba than Havana and next month our trip continues as we explore rural life, colourful colonial towns and have the maddest Christmas Eve ever!
Cuba is a unique travel destination and with my great team on the ground, I can help you avoid the crowds and the tired tourist trails to uncover the “real Cuba” sprinkled with one-off experiences. Please do get in touch if you would like to find out more about a trip to Cuba, or would like other ideas on where to head to for your next holiday.