From gorgeous cities swaying to the beat of tropical rhythms to unspoiled, lush forests, Cuba delights travelers with a wide variety of contrasting places.
Travelers will find eclectic architecture, white-sand beaches and prime wildlife-watching spots across the country. Here are 10 places worth adding to your Cuba itinerary to truly experience the Caribbean’s biggest and most fascinating island.
1. Valle de Viñales
Best for beautiful natural landscapes and tobacco
About 180km (100 miles) west of Havana, Viñales is one of the most beautiful places in Cuba. It was added to Unesco’s World Heritage list because of its dramatic landscapes of red soils and distinctive limestone outcrops called mogotes.
Viñales has the best casas particulares in Cuba and some of the friendliest and most helpful casa owners who are the go-to coordinators for local activities. Choose from cycling, horseback riding or hiking to Los Acuáticos and Valle del Palmarito, or drive to the Gran Caverna Santo Tomás, Cuba’s largest cave system.
Planning Tip: Touted as the growing spot of the world’s best tobacco, Viñales isn’t fully experienced unless you book an expert-guided tour inside the triangle-roofed drying houses scattered on local tobacco plantations.
2. Havana
Best Cuban city for art and architecture
The Cuban capital of Havana is packed with vintage cars, embellished with old-world cobblestoned plazas and silhouetted on the north by a five-mile sea drive known as the Malecón. Make sure you visit Habana Vieja’s old squares for a glimpse of the colonial architecture that shaped the city in the 1700s and 1800s, and admire the palatial mansions that now operate as museums and hotels. A walk along pedestrianized Obispo Boulevard offers art galleries, shops, music venues and incredible architecture, with buildings ranging from the 1700s to the late 1900s in just a mile.
Planning Tip: Art is everywhere in Havana, with plenty of galleries and artsy outdoor areas such as San Isidro Art District or Fusterlandia. For an in-depth session on Cuba’s artistic history, spend a day at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes – Arte Cubano.
3. Varadero
Best Cuban beach resort
Even if every tourist in Cuba decided to meet in Varadero, there’s still room for more. Varadero is Cuba’s best beach…
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