Havana, the city that seems to be left in the past is a great place to visit in the future. It is a vibrant city full of history, music, dance and soul. Havana is a stunning city, its glorious miscellany of architecture and local design is scattered with reminders of this remarkable state’s history. In Havana you feel the faded grandeur all through the streets of the city and with all of the old cars and the gracefully crumbling buildings, you really feel like you are back in the fascinating days of the 1950’s when Havana was at its most thriving. In fact Havana and many of its treasures especially Habana Vieja, situated inside the old city walls has become a UNESCO declared world heritage site. The people are very friendly and although poor, they welcome visitors to their country like long lost friends.

When to go to Havana:

High season runs from November through to April when the Caribbean is at its driest. May and June are also a good time to travel as it is before the weather gets too hot and before the rainy season begins. Rainy/Hurricane season is traditionally from June to October with the wettest months being August and September. July and August is very hot and tends to be quite humid. Normally in rainy season, you would get 2-3 days out of every week or so where you would experience heavy tropical rain for usually less than a few hours and then it tends to dry up as though it has never been raining at all.

From the Airport:

If you have Cuba booked as a package, there would be a transfer representative at the airport to show you to the correct coach for your hotel be it in Havana or Varadero. If, however, you have booked your own flights and accommodation separately, taxis are plentiful and will take you to wherever you need to be. It is always a good idea to negotiate a rate in advance to make sure you are getting the best deal.

Havana Attractions:

Havana is a city full of recent history and culture and there are many sites worth visitng, from the cigar and rum factories to the Hotel Ambos Mundos where Ernest Hemmingway is said to have penned part of his famous literary tome ‘for whom the bell tolls’. Below is a list of some of the main attractions but to be honest everyone who visits Havana will always come back and tell of new treasures that they have found.

• Cigar Factory, Fabrica de Tobacos Partagas
  
• Art Museum, Museo Nacional De Bellas Artes
  
• Malecon
• Che Memorial, Plaza de la Revolucion
  
• La Guarida, Most famous Paladar (restaurant in a persons home)
  
• Hotel Nacional, Allegedly founded by the Mafia
  
• Tropicana Show (trips can be booked from Havana or Varadero)
  
• Museo Ernest Hemmingway
  
• Bar Montserrat, near Parque Centrale (local bar with live music)
  
• Vieje Habana (the streets of old Havana)
  
• La Bodeguita Del Medio, near Cathedral Square
  
• Playa Del Este ( Beach located 20-25 minutes by taxi from Havana)
  
• Museum of the revolution
  
• Casa Natal de Jose Marti an early revolutionary who founded the Cuban revolutionary party in 1892 and died shortly after being appointed a General in the revolutionary army in 1895, held in high esteem by the Cubans
  
• El Barrio Chino, Chinatown
  
• Market at the entrance to Cathedral square
  
• Palacio O Farill now a hotel once a stately home of Ricardo o Farrill who is of Irish descent (londford area)
  
• Rum Factory (Bacardi building and also Havana Club)
  

Tips and Advice on travelling to Cuba:

A Cuban tourist card is required for entry to Cuba. This can be obtained through ourselves when booking a package with a minimum of 2 nights accommodation in Cuba. If you are doing the flights only, you can contact the Cuban Embassy on 01 4752999 for details on how they can help you obtain a visa.

When leaving Cuba, there is a 25 Cuban Convertible Peso departure tax payable locally in cash using local currency only. The procedure for paying this is when you have checked in for your flight and obtained your boarding pass, you go to the departure tax window before security where you pay your fee and your boarding card is stamped. Once this is stamped, you are free to go through security and immigration to board your flight.

Do not purchase any liquids in the Duty free in Havana as they do not seal the bags and so they do not meet European security regulations. This means that any liquids not in your checked baggage will be confiscated by the relevant authorities on entry into your European gateway city.

With regards to cigars, you are permitted to take a maximum of 23 cigars without documentation out of the country. If you wish to take more, you can go to one of the cigar shops who will complete the paperwork for you in order to allow more up to normal duty free limits. Please make sure any cigars or tobacco products purchased in Cuba are packed in your hand luggage as sniffer dogs are in operation and all bags are checked and often delayed if there is even a sniff of tobacco coming from your suitcase.

The currency used in Cuba by tourists is the Cuban Convertible Peso and the rate against the euro is similar to the Euro/US Dollar rate. Do not bring US dollars as you will be charged a penalty of up to 20% and a hefty commission also. Commission levels are also high on travellers cheques. Laser cards will not work in Cuba nor will credit cards drawn against US banks such as MBNA/Cuban Express/Diners Club etc. The best option is to carry cash or to withdraw funds (for a fee) from your credit card in the bank. In order to do this, you must present your passport in addition to the card for security reason.

Mosquitoes are present in Cuba and while not malaric, are very annoying, it is also a good idea to bring an antihistamine cream/tablet in case you do get bitten as such items, whilst available in Cuba are very expensive. The same can be said for normal over the counter medications such as aspirin/motillium/immodium etc.

To find some of our cuba holiday offers or you can call our Cuba travel specialists on +353 01-2412341

To find a good selection of Havana hotels or to book hotels in Havana or for flights to Havana from Dublin you can call us on +353 1 2412389.

Gohop.ie has made every effort to make sure the above destination guides and the information contained is accurate, we accept no responsability for any inaccuracies contained in said information. It is ultimately the responsability of the traveller to ensure that they have the correct passport, visa and other information required for travelling to this city.