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Overview | Epic colonial architecture, libidinous young salsa dancers, Che Guevara murals, white-powder sandy beaches, swaying fields of sugar cane - the images of Cuba are as transfixing as they are timeless. This is an island of unique historical heritage floating amid a sea of encroaching globalisation.
Travel in Cuba can involve anything from sipping mojittos at an all-inclusive resort in Varadero to scraping the spit and sawdust off your shoes outside the Casa de las Tradiciones in Santiago. The burgeoning tourist sector rubs up against the Cuba of communist myth. | When To Go | The best time to go to Cuba is between December and April, after the lashing rains of the hurricane season and before the hot and sticky discomfort of the scorching summer months. However this is also when planeloads of Canadians and Europeans arrive in pursuit of the southern sun, and room prices soar by up to 20%. Cubans take their holidays in July and August, so local beaches are very crowded at this time. Christmas, Easter and the period around 26 July, when Cubans celebrate the anniversary of the revolution, are also very busy. August to November is the worst time for hurricanes, while the winter months can bring in cold fronts when temperatures in the north and west of the island can dip under 15ºC 60°F.Weather aside, Cuba has few other hurdles for visitors. Culture vultures should keep a close eye on the annual arts calendar for festivals and events; baseball fans will certainly not want to miss the post season, which runs from April to May; and political junkies may want to cat | Visas | Virtually all visitors require a Cuban visa or Tourist Card, available from travel agencies, tour operators or a Cuban consulate, for a stay of one month. These days cards are often given out on flights before landing. Check with your travel agencyflight operator before departure. Your stay can be extended for a further 30 days at an immigration office situated in any major provincial Cuban town cost 25.00. After 60 days you must leave the country - although you can return immediately.The USA officially prohibits its citizens from travelling to Cuba unless they obtain a special license and very heavy fines are imposed on visitors not fulfilling this requirement. | Weather | There are no great differences in seasonal temperature in Cuba, its pleasant subtropical climate being augmented by the gentle northeasterly trade winds. The wet summer season is between May and October, and the drier winter season runs from November through April. The average temperature reaches 27°C 81°F in July and August and 22°C 72°F in February. An average of 80% humidity exists all year round, with things just a little more sticky in the wet season. If you're coming between December and March, be prepared for cooler evenings. A light rain jacket is a wise precaution any time of year. | Getting There | Almost all visitors to Cuba arrive by air, with scheduled flights arriving from Canada, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and Europe. The main gateways for US travellers continue to be Cancún, Nassau and Toronto. There are direct flights available from the USA, but to take them US citizens will need the permission of the US Treasury Department, which restricts travel to Cuba to journalists, researchers and a handful of other groups. There's a 25.00 airport departure tax. |
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 |  | Cuba in a Nutshell | Your trip starts, and ends, in historic Havana with plenty of time to soak up the atmosphere of this elegant and lively capital. You’ll experience the beat of its own hypnotic rhythms, once a playground of the rich and famous. Explore the old city, stroll the esplanade and cruise in a classic 1950s automobile. |
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|  | | | | Salsa Cubana | You’ll explore old Havana and recall Cuba’s historic past of Che Guevara, Castro and Hemingway. Classic American cars still ply the city’s roads and from cafes and bars you can enjoy the hypnotic rhythm of Salsa music beats. Travelling west to the lush countryside of Vinales you’ll walk through tobacco fields nestled amongst curiously shaped limestone outcrops. |
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| | | | | Viva Che | It’s difficult not to fall in love with Havana’s old streets which reflect a decayed elegance of former glories. Music floods out from many doorways and classic 50s automobiles ply the roads. By contrast Vinales offers a backdrop of stunning landscapes and the chance to experience rural Cuba. You’ll walk through tobacco fields and perhaps stop for coffee at a local campesino’s house |
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| | | | | Viva Cuba! Family Holdiay | Havana is an elegant capital of classic American cars, old forts, colonial streets and salsa rhythms. You travel west to Vinales to walk through tobacco fields and lush countryside surrounded by sheer-sided mountains and learn how cigars are made. Across the crocodile-infested Zapata Marshlands, you pause at the historic Bay of Pigs, where the U.S. military invasion was repelled and on to the lively town of Cienfuegos. Here you’ll take a boat trip to fishing villages and explore a haunted castle. |
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