Dazzling sugar-soft beaches, twinkling turquoise seas, palm-tree studded mountain trails, muscular castles, and pretty cities brimming with handsome villas, live bands, salsa dancing, and art. Oh, and those vintage, colourful American cars… Cuba is an enigma, clinging to socialism while finding its feet in a post-pandemic world. Come for vibrant Havana and its nightlife but take off into the wilds of this crocodile-shaped isle for adventure, wild beaches, cultural quirks, cigars, diving, festivals and foodie spots, and the best thing of all – the warm and witty Cubans.
Current travel restrictions and entry requirements
There are no Covid restrictions on entry or on the ground. Travellers must obtain a visa-like tourist card and fill out the online Viajeros form before travelling.
Best time to go
Cuba is a great destination year round, but is insufferably hot in July and August (though the city of Santiago de Cuba hosts two riotous, musical festivals in July that are worth catching). November to April is high season, when the weather is glorious, and prices are higher. Dozens of festivals and events are held in this period: music, dance, ballet, jazz, film, and art. Hurricane season runs from June until November.
Top regions and cities
Havana
The Spanish conquerors of Cuba grew rich on the back of the sugar and tobacco trade and poured their wealth into one of the finest cities in the Americas. As a result, Havana is gorgeous: richly worked with colonial villas, decorated churches, flower-filled patios, Art Deco towers, and 50s mansions. Find its heart in the streets of the Old City, now vibrant with indie shops, bars, and cafés. Stroll the ocean promenade, the Malecón, and hail a chrome-festooned vintage motor to tour the castles on the bay and the leafy streets of villas and galleries of the Vedado neighbourhood. By night, seek out rooftop bars, art gallery openings, and boho nightlife spots across the city.
Viñales Valley
It’s impossible not to be seduced by this lush valley of mini mountains, royal palms, tobacco farms, horse-riding farmers, and cutesy B&Bs in rural Cuba. At dawn a mist encircles the columns and porches of homes in Viñales town. Breakfast on eggs and mango as the sun burns through, then venture out on a horse, or by foot, to explore this Jurassic region of Cuba where towering limestone humps, known as mogotes, dot the valley floor, a result of millions of years of erosion. At sundown sit on the porch of your B&B sipping a…
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