HomeWhether relaxing on a beach, hiking jungle strewn mountain trails, or visiting the ballet in Havana, Cuba’s multi-faceted history permeates every aspect of Cuban life.
Hiking
Cuba’s landscapes are increasingly open to trekkers looking to get off the beaten track to explore the country’s flora and fauna. The eastern province of Baracoa combines mountains and shorelines and, whether it be day trips or three-day wild-camping hikes in the eastern Sierra Maestra, following in Fidel Castro’s footsteps, slowing down and walking with Cuba Private Travel’s ecological experts is the best way to learn about the day-to-day life of rural Cuban communities. The karst limestone peaks of Vinales are great for rock-climbing and caving as well as wild swimming in clear fast flowing rivers.
Touring
Harley Davidson bikes were imported in their thousands during the Bautista era – the years running up to the 1959 Revolution – and are still on the road thanks to the ingenuity of their owners. Leather up and join Ernesto Che Guevara’s biker-mad son, also called Ernesto, on a Harley Davidson bike tour of the island. Cycling enthusiasts can benefit from e-bikes throughout Cuba, staying off the beaten track on guided tours, and Cuba’s iconic collection of classic 1950’s American cars add a touch of memorabilia to any journey around the island.
Wild Cuba
Cuba, the largest island in the Caribbean, is a biodiversity hotspot, home to 368 species of birds including the world’s smallest, the Bee Hummingbird. Cuba is consistently ranked in the top ten on the World Sustainability Development Index and has reforestation programmes that date back to 1959. Manatees and hawksbill turtle range in the coastal waters and the coastline is a diver’s paradise featuring more than 1,000 sq miles of protected coral reef. Cuba’s landscape is full of opportunities for adventure off the beaten track.
Alternatively, a different safari awaits visitors to Cayo Saetía in Holguin, where you can meet descendants of the African animals presented to Fidel Castro by the government of Mozambique.
Tobacco
Cuba is catnip for cigar aficionados. While cigars are not rolled on the thighs of virgins as mythology suggests, Cuban cigar rollers, or torcedores, are the most skilful in the world. From Havana salons to the old tobacco plantations in Vinales it is possible to explore every facet of Cuba’s famous export including how Afro-Caribbean roots still influence Cuba’s unique Stanteria religion today.
Food
Cuba Private Travel can introduce you to the entrepreneurial restaurateurs, and the small organic farmers who supply them, in the city of Havana and further afield to understand the culinary changes taking place in Cuba. Explore the rich, Creole cuisine of the wider island and discover exciting new openings lighting up Trinidad, an iconic colonial town in a fertile swathe of mountain and sea on the south coast that has always enjoyed a reputation for the best food in Cuba.
Art and Culture
While ballet and art are centred in Havana, there is talent to explore further afield as well. Learn to Rumba and meet new artists in Santiago di Cuba. Alternatively discover the reasons why Cuba holds the performing arts in such high esteem when you meet children studying at Compañía a la Sombra de un Ala in Santa Clara. Holguin is home to an annual film festival, Festival Internacional de Cine Pobre, which features concerts, theatre and exhibitions as well as the cinematic programme. Cuba’s leading sports venues are where modern passion and prowess meet.
Architecture
Because of Cuba’s isolation many towns beyond Havana remain remarkably unspoilt and intact. Trinidad is the most famous, a place where nothing has changed for a hundred years and where the wealthy legacy left by affluent sugar mills is still palpable. The restoration of Havana Vieja, is recognised by UNESCO as one of the most well-preserved colonial cities in the Americas and now private owners are also restoring architectural treasures, giving Cuba Private Travel access to the best new-era guesthouses where a 21st-century outlook combines with elegant high ceilings and tropical light to magical effect.
Music
With such a strong reputation for music, whether that is partying to Havana’s nightlife or taking rumba classes in Santiago de Cuba, music runs through every aspect of Cuban life wherever you choose to travel. In Santa Clara you can listen to the rarefied chords of piquete groups and in Camaguey we can introduced you to the city’s most skilful violin makers.
Beach and Ocean
With more than 3,000 miles of coastline the beaches of Cuba are hitched to every nook, jungle corner, Atlantic outpost and Caribbean cove. Swim with dolphins in Cienfuegos or kite-surf at Kempinski Hotel Jardines del Rey. Baraccoa’s coves offer hidden treasures and there are more than 600 coral isles to dive and snorkel around Cuba’s shores. Surfing is relatively new in Cuba so you will have the pick of the breaks. Alternatively, more traditional sailing, deep-sea fishing and fly fishing for stone fish evokes the bygone era of a Hemmingway retreat.
Pampering
The Kempinski Hotel Spas in Havana and Jardines del Rei are bringing international beauty and wellness treatments to Cuba’s shores. Offering a chance to sooth body and soul in stunning surroundings, Cayo Guillermo epitomises barefoot luxury in a beautiful shoreline setting of sand dunes and coral reefs, where talented chefs weave magical menus using the freshest produce from land and sea.
